News and Opinion

JAMES BALL questions whether any of the remaining Democratic party candidates can defeat Donald Trump. The night misleadingly called “Super Tuesday” turned into anything but for the Democratic Party, leaving it with the dismal choice of which of two elderly white men it should pick as its champion to beat the elderly orange man in […]

Boris Johnson has ‘no shame in defending bullying’ in his government, Jeremy Corbyn has said, after he failed to confirm if he knew about bullying allegations before appointing Priti Patel. Corbyn said the latest allegations that Patel bullied staff in a third government department would suggest a “shocking and unacceptable pattern of behaviour” if they […]

Labour leader has been booed whilst presenting an award at the British Kebab Awards. The vegetarian politician was presenting the best kebab restaurant in north and west London award to Kabul City Restaurant when he was met by jeers from some parts of the crowd. Corbyn told the crowd: “My test of a kebab restaurant […]

Comedian Eddie Izzard has ran 29 marathons in 29 days in an attempt to ‘spread unity and hope’ after Brexit day. Eddie Izzard’s Make Humanity Great Again campaign. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant The Remain supporter raised more than £135,000 in donations from more than 6,000 donors on a Crowdfunding website after running more than […]

Spitting Image is making a return to the small screen – with Dominic Cummings and Donald Trump among its new victims. The series will air this autumn on BritBox, with Boris Johnson, his chief adviser Cummings, US President Trump, Beyoncé, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of York to be ridiculed in […]

A resurgent Joe Biden has swept to victory across the country on so-called Super Tuesday. Biden’s campaign to become the Democrat candidate for president was boosted by primary wins in many states but Super Tuesday’s biggest prize went to rival Bernie Sanders. The former vice president’s campaign received a timely rebound after disappointing showings at […]

Home secretary Priti Patel is facing fresh allegations of bullying from a staff member in a third government department. A senior official at the Department for International Development (DfID) reported a “tsunami” of allegations of abuse by officials in her private office when she was secretary of state, the BBC’s Newsnight reports. Newsnight quoted a […]

The Labour Party could be facing one of its worst local election results in recent history, its own research claims. The internal document – first reported by the BBC – estimates that the party may lose councils including Harlow, Amber Valley, Crawley, Sheffield and Plymouth. It suggests Labour could potentially lose 315 seats under the […]

A Tory MP has called for the government to review the EU’s working time directive after Brexit to fill labour shortages. Appearing on the BBC’s Politics South West programme, the Conservative MP for North Cornwall was asked about how the government will solve the problem of shortage of workers once the Brexit transition period ends […]

A political aide who clashed with Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings has left her role in government. Lynn Davidson exited her post as special adviser to Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. However, senior Tory sources stressed her departure was not in response to her criticising Cummings as “out of order” during a meeting on February […]

Boris Johnson has been ridiculed after he suggested he had been shaking hands with coronavirus victims at a recent hospital visit. Boris Johnson boasting about shaking hands with coronavirus patients. You could not make it up. Britain is about to learn the hard way this is not the man to lead us in a crisis.pic.twitter.com/mgg8TL8zKh— […]

The government has been urged to be ‘transparent’ about its new emergency powers to tackle the coronavirus. Thegovernment intends to rush legislation through later this month which will give more flexibility to schools to help them stay open, give Border Force officers extra powers and make it easier for retired medical staff to return to […]

Brexiteer Arron Banks is said to be launching a shareholder coup at an iodine manufacturer in a bid to ‘take advantage of the Coronavirus’ outbreak. The Telegraph reports that the billionaire Leave-backer wants to see Iofina’s non-executive chairman Lance Baller replaced, and wants to join the board alongside others including his brother John Banks. The […]

The Democratic presidential candidates are racing toward the biggest day in the primaries calendar when 14 US states vote on Super Tuesday. It is the day when the primary season goes nationwide. Instead of a single state voting at a time, candidates have to focus on contests in every region of the country with all […]

Question Time host Fiona Bruce says she is surprised by the ‘level of toxicity’ surrounding the programme. The BBC presenter, who replaced David Dimbleby last year, told the Radio Times she had not anticipated how heated the debate would get surrounding the programme. “I’m all for a passionate debate, and sometimes things can be heated, […]

A judge has dismissed an appeal surrounding a former BBC employee’s crowdfunded case that called for a judical review into the corporation over alleged Remain bias. David Keighley, who was once a publicity officer for the corporation and now runs website News-Watch, claims that there is “systemic bias” in the BBC’s reporting of EU news […]

Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson has been arrested after a fight broke out at a holiday park, it has been reported. The Sun said that 37-year-old Robinson got into a row with another man in the pool at Woburn Forest Center Parcs in Bedfordshire. Witnesses claimed that Robinson, whose real name is Stephen […]

The SNP have reacted furiously to Tory plans to pack the Scottish Affairs Committee with five Tory MPs – despite only having six in the whole country. The SNP are planning to block a motion which would agree the membership of the select committee after it accused the government of trying to “hijack” it. The […]

A Tory MP claimed that Foreign Office officials had said ‘people had got it wrong’ in relation to the Brexit vote. Alicia Kearns, who formerly worked in the department, made the remarks in relation to allegations about Priti Patel, who faces accusations of bullying from a former civil servant. Speaking in the Commons, Kearns said: […]

A SNP MP has called for the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece as part of Brexit talks, claiming that it would ‘mark a sea change in how Britain is viewed in the world’. The Parthenon marbles, which date back to the fifth century BC, were once in the ancient Greek Parthenon temple and […]

Climate change become of the biggest issues concerning Brits – overtaking the economy and immigration in the latest research by Cardiff University. When the survey was last conducted in June 2016 immigration was seen as the biggest issue affecting the UK, with concerns about the climate in 13th place. But now people now cite climate […]

Home secretary Priti Patel is to be investigated again following allegations of breaking the ministerial code. Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove confirmed Boris Johnson has asked the Cabinet Office to “establish the facts” following an urgent question from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn asked the question in the Commons after Sir Philip Rutnam quit as […]

DON BRIND on why the next Labour leader needs to shift the party position to ensure it has a future. My old boss, the BBC political editor John Cole, had a perceptive test of political leadership. Good leaders, he said, had to be ready to “chip away at the prejudices of their followers”. It looks […]

Robots should be used to fill staff shortages in post-Brexit Britain, a new report has claimed. The study indicates that many UK workers would support the use of robots to take on some manual roles, particularly those involving heavy lifting. The findings are part of the Trend Index 2020 published by Automatica, a leading exhibition […]

Tory Brexiteer MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has reiterated that people should ‘wash their hands’ to combat the spread of Covid-19 – but with his own take on the advice. “It turns out that one verse of the national anthem is exactly the right length of time for which to wash your hands,” he said. The health […]

Brexit trade talks have started with the European Union with the government also publishing its negotiating mandate for discussions with America. The government has threatened to walk away from talks with Europe if it does not make sufficient progress with the European Union, while it has warned neither privatisation of the NHS nor worsening food […]

Pro-Brexit newspapers have been mocked for claiming a ‘victory’ in the Brexit talks, because they will be discussed and written up in English. The Express reported a “Brexit victory” as the European Union will be made to pay for translations from English to French, while The Sun reports that “Britain lands early win on trade […]

British attempts to rival the European’s Galileo satellite navigation system – hailed as a symbol of post-Brexit independence – has floundered after a series of disagreements over the costly space project. The government had intended to rival the EU’s Galileo system, which will have 24 satellites orbiting earth to serve satellite navigation systems, as well […]