News and Opinion

Bernie Sanders has ended his US presidential campaign after disappointing primary results, leaving Joe Biden as the likely Democratic nominee. The Vermont senator’s announcement makes former vice president Mr Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee to challenge president Donald Trump in November. Sanders initially exceeded sky-high expectations about his ability to recreate the magic of his […]

The European parliament building will be opened up to the homeless during the coronavirus outbreak and its kitchens will help provide meals for health workers. European parliament president David Sassoli outlined the measures the EU building would take to support those in need in Brussels. In agreement with the Brussels Capital Region, the building will […]

With no PMQs to review for a while, we look back on some classic encounters. This week it’s the first to be televised November 28, 1989: a watershed in the history of prime minister’s questions. Because, after years of lobbying from the BBC and equally intense counter-lobbying from MPs keen to protect the green benches’ […]

We are already starting to see the political blame game in response to the coronavirus – but who really benefits? Among the contemporary chaos, one prediction can be made with confidence. The coronavirus pandemic will soon lead to an outbreak of divisive and disruptive political blame games. Politicians, policymakers, advisers and experts will all seek […]

As left-wing Labour pressure group Momentum told members that the ‘left cannot continue as it has been’ a split has emerged with the creation of new group ‘Forward Momentum’. Momentum’s key officers in the National Coordinating Group (NCG) issued a statement saying it was to begin reviewing its strategy, but said that the election of […]

We will come out of the coronavirus wiser if we do not frame the response in narrow military language, says ALEXANDRE CHRISTOYANNOPOULOS. In speeches, commentaries and conversations about the coronavirus pandemic, we keep hearing war-like metaphors being deployed. It happens explicitly (‘we are at war’, ‘blitz spirit’, ‘war cabinet’) and implicitly (‘threat’, ‘invisible enemy’, ‘frontline’, […]

Boris Johnson’s health is said to be improving after doctors managed to get his temperature down, with the prime minister in a ‘stable’ condition. But he remains under ‘close monitoring’, according to Downing Street, and there are fears it could be weeks or months before he recovers. The prime minister is said to have ignored […]

Concerns have been raised about the government’s coronavirus strategy as Downing Street appeared to defer any decisions while Boris Johnson as in hospital. England’s chief medical officer admitted at the last Downing Street briefing that the UK has ‘a lot to learn’ from Germany’s expansive testing scheme. ‘We all know that Germany got ahead in […]

Overweight people and smokers – in other words the poor – are most hit by coronavirus, argues WILL SELF. Is it just me, or was that really Lynda Snell shitting the bed at the end of last week’s Archers Omnibus? Yes, yes – I know I said I’d stopped listening to the long-running Radio 4 […]

PETER TRUDGILL on how some ‘antiquated’ words drop out of use In George Borrow’s 1843 book The Bible in Spain, he reports one of his interlocutors, a servant, as saying to him: ‘Though I have been turned out of so many families, I was never turned out of that one; and though I left it […]

Boris Johnson is “responding to treatment” in a London hospital as he battles coronavirus, Downing Street has said. The prime minister’s official spokesman said the premier remained in a stable condition at St Thomas’ Hospital after spending two nights in intensive care. “The prime minister remains clinically stable and is responding to treatment,” the spokesman […]

A cross-party group of peers are calling for a ‘virtual parliament’ to be swiftly established to hold the government to account during the coronavirus outbreak. Parliament was suspended until April 21 amid the Covid-19 crisis as members in the Palace of Westminster try to abide by social distancing measures to slow the spread. The peers, […]

The UK Labour movement now understands the important of Scotland, the newly appointed shadow Scotland secretary has claimed. Ian Murray suggested that discussion about Scotland within the party will increase following the election of Sir Keir Starmer as leader. The Edinburgh South MP, the only Labour member to hold a seat in Scotland, also said […]

Ex-prime ministers John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are among a group of 92 former world leaders calling for a global financial stimulus to tackle the economic impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. The creation of a G20 executive task force and an immediate global pledging conference which would approve and co-ordinate a multibillion-dollar coronavirus […]

The prime minister’s spokesman said there is an ‘established order of precedence’ within Downing Street to replace Dominic Raab if he becomes incapacitated. The Downing Street official has said that chancellor Rishi Sunak would be the next stand-in for Boris Johnson. As first secretary of state – effectively deputy prime minister – as well as […]

Dominic Raab’s powers as de facto prime minister are extensive, and would allow him to order military action, Number 10 have said. Boris Johnson asked the foreign secretary, as part of his role as first secretary of state, to stand in for him after his coronavirus symptoms worsened on Monday afternoon. The Prime Minister’s official […]

A Derbyshire mayor has lost the Labour whip after claiming that Boris Johnson deserves the coronavirus. Sheila Oakes, the mayor of Heanor, has been forced to apologise for her Facebook comment under a post that showed a message of support for medical workers, which also referenced Boris Johnson’s condition. She wrote: ‘Sorry, he completely deserves […]

Former prime minister David Cameron has played down the prospect of a national unity government to respond to the Covid-19 crisis, as he sent his best wishes to Boris Johnson. The former Tory leader said people can be reassured by the ‘incredible machine’ of the civil service which will prepare decisions for the prime minister […]

Michael Gove has become the latest member of the government to go into self-isolation because of the coronavirus. It is understood the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is quarantining at home in accordance with official guidance after a member of his family displayed ‘mild’ symptoms. He is said to be continuing to work as […]

Jewish leaders have praised new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for having ‘achieved in four days more than his predecessor in four years’ with his steps to tackle anti-Semitism in the party. Sir Keir, who replaced Jeremy Corbyn as leader on Saturday after convincingly winning a three-month leadership contest, spoke to Jewish leaders over Skype, […]

BBC Children In Need and Comic Relief will come together for the first time in a special televised event, The Big Night In, to raise money for those affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The Big Night In will raise money for those affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Photograph: BBC Children In Need/Comic Relief/BBC/PA Wire. – […]

Political campaign group Led By Donkeys has swapped its political campaigning to use its platform to praise heroism amid the coronavirus outbreak. One of the Led By Donkeys billboard campaigns which compares coronavirus “heroes” and “zeroes”. Photograph: Led By Donkeys/PA Wire. – Credit: PA The group was originally formed to fight Brexit, but is now […]

A decade ago, Dominic Raab was readying himself for a possible career in frontline politics. Today he dials into a cabinet meeting as de facto prime minister of the United Kingdom. The foreign secretary has spent much of the last month trying to get Britons repatriated from various far-flung corners of the globe amid the […]

Jeremy Corbyn’s director of communications, Seumas Milne, has left his post within the leader’s office and has been replaced. Milne, a former Guardian journalist, endorsed Corbyn as Labour leader before becoming Executive Director of Strategy and Communications after the Labour leader was elected in 2015. He was originally hired on a one-year contract but went […]

The prime minister is ‘extremely sick’ – with many coronavirus patients who need intensive care requiring invasive ventilation, an expert has said. Derek Hill, professor of medical imaging at University College London (UCL), said the PM could be given a breathing aid known as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which bridges the gap between an […]

As the world’s most famous drum break turns 50, Matt Brennan explains why the selfless drummer must pay such a high price for their contribution to our common culture James Brown released a seven-inch single called Funky Drummer in March, 1970 – a loosely arranged jam session showcasing the talent for improvisation of drummer Clyde […]

Boris Johnson is in a “stable” condition after spending the night in intensive care as he battles coronavirus. The prime minister’s official spokesman confirmed he had been receiving “standard oxygen treatment” but had not required a ventilator at this stage. Downing Street also confirmed he was not being treated for pneumonia. Mr Johnson was transferred […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson has been moved to intensive care after his coronavirus symptoms worsened, Downing Street has said. A Downing Street spokesperson said that Johnson had been moved to the intensive care unit at St Thomas’ at 7pm as a precaution should he require a ventilator. He had been admitted to hospital on Sunday […]