News and Opinion

The mayor of London has said he is concerned about a further rise in hate crime after Brexit day on January 31st. Speaking to LBC, Sadiq Khan admitted there could be further rises in hate crime, similar to the weeks following the EU referendum result on 23rd June 2016. He said: “It’s always a concern. […]

An MEP has hauled Ann Widdecombe up for her misleading statements about what ‘the British people’ want in a dramatic intervention in EU parliament. During the last session that British MEPs will partipate in, Dutch MEP Sophia In ‘t Veld stepped in to correct the Brexit Party stalwart on her claims that all of the […]

Jess Phillips is set to make her case for Labour to be ‘100% committed’ to the union between England and Scotland in an upcoming visit to Glasgow. The Labour MP – whose place in the ongoing party leadership contest was secured on Monday – is expected to argue against Scottish nationalism after having earlier accused […]

Priti Patel has denied that racism could be a factor in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to step back from senior royal duties. 'I don't believe there's racism there at all' Home secretary @patel4witham says she doesn't think there's any racism in the media coverage of Meghan Markle. Listen on @BBCSounds #5LiveBreakfast pic.twitter.com/QnhQ20ZTHn— BBC […]

Culture secretary Nicky Morgan and environment minister Zac Goldsmith have taken their seats in the House of Lords after becoming lifelong peers. Baroness Morgan of Cotes quit the Commons in the December election but was given a seat in the Upper House by Boris Johnson. It is unusual but not unprecedented for a secretary of […]

A Remainer has claimed that the pro-European cause would ‘outnumber’ those celebrating Brexit in Parliament Square on January 31st. In a ‘throwaway remark’ Jonathan Lis managed to anger Brexiteers and the Daily Express by suggesting a counter-demonstration would attract more Remainers than Nigel Farage will attract Brexiteers on January 31st. Farage, who is planning to […]

Clive Lewis has abandoned his bid to become Labour leader, after acknowledging he could not get the required support from his fellow MPs. With five nominations, he was still 17 short of the 22 backers he needed to move to the next stage, and said he decided to step out so that his supporters could […]

The EU could take the UK government to court over the Irish border issue, a respected think-tank has warned. The Institute for Government said it did not believe that Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans surrounding the Irish border would be deliverable by December 2020. It warned that if Johnson does not ensure the measures are in […]

A former cabinet minister has said he is ‘100% certain’ that Scotland will vote to go independent after talking to his own family about their views on the matter. Labour MP Ben Bradshaw said it was “completely untenable” for the UK government to deny a second vote on the matter, adding he had “no doubt” […]

Leading second Brexit referendum campaigner and MP PETER KYLE on why he’s backing Ian Murray for deputy leader of the Labour Party. Solidarity and internationalism are in Labour’s DNA. That’s why every Labour government has championed the Union, fighting for communities in every nation and region of the UK. Unlike Nationalists, we don’t believe in […]

The Labour peer who introduced a key amendment guaranteeing rights for unaccompanied child refugees says he is ‘hopeful’ the House of Lords will insist that it is put back in the Brexit bill. Lord Alf Dubs said that Conservative peers have urged him to fight to keep the amendment in Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill […]

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has backed calls for Leavers to ring local church bells to mark Brexit – with campaigners likening it to the end of the war. With their calls for Big Ben to chime at 11pm on January 31st going ignored, desperate pro-Brexit campaigners have now turned their attention to a nationwide attempt […]

Hardline Tory Brexiteer MPs are still pushing for Big Ben to chime on Brexit day, claiming it will provide ‘closure’, despite the cost being in the region of £120,000. For the clock to chime for the occasion there would need to be 14 days’ worth of testing to enable it to chime at 11pm on […]

The Father of the House has warned that a no-deal Brexit would be an ‘unintended mistake’ that could cost the economy more than 10% – and leaving with a trade deal could shrink it by up to five per cent. Sir Peter Bottomley also said that former Tory MPs culled by the party for defying […]

Leading grassroots campaigner MIKE GALSWORTHY dissects what went wrong – and right – and why we must get organised to help with the next campaigning efforts. The People’s Vote campaign and broader array of Remain/final say movements had a string of successes since 2016 but ultimately fell at a late hurdle. For me, in summary, […]

A newly-elected Conservative MP has dismissed claims that people paid a price with the government’s austerity programme. Gary Sambrook, the new Birmingham Northfield Tory MP, was appearing on the BBC Politics Midlands programme to talk blue-collar Conservatism when he blamed Labour for the government’s austerity choices. He said: “We’ve come out of the other end […]

The director of the event dubbed the ‘festival of Brexit Britain’ has claimed he will prove cynics wrong about the celebrations. The nationwide event – expected to cost taxpayers £120 million – intends to bring the nation together by showcasing British creativity and bring “joy, hope and happiness”. First announced by Theresa May, Boris Johnson’s […]

The only thing that hasn’t changed since the election is Boris Johnson, argues MITCH BENN. So how do Remain regroup and go forward? As you may recall, I left last week’s column on a cliffhanger, saying I’d been thinking about things we – as in the Remain movement – could still do in this new […]

The process of division did not start with Donald Trump, but his assassination of Qasem Soleimani has revealed the chasm between America and Europe, says JOHN KAMPFNER, with Britain adrift between the two. In the language of modern relationships this would be called abuse. One partner is nervous and needy. The other is controlling and […]

Layla Moran has said she would not rule out the Liberal Democrats having a formal relationship with Labour, saying lessons need to be learned from overly ‘tribal’ campaigning that handed the Tories a huge majority in the general election. The MP, who is tipped as a possible future Lib Dem leader, said that her party […]

The central organisation for bellringers has chimed in on the question of whether church bells nationwide should ring out to celebrate Brexit, saying they ‘do not endorse’ the idea. The Central Council of Church Bell Ringers (CCCBR) issued a statement saying “as a principle” bell ringing is not done for political reasons. The body was […]

Labour leadership contender Rebecca Long-Bailey is to pitch to shake up the constitution to voters if she becomes leader of the party. “I do want to abolish the House of Lords and we’ll be rolling out as my campaign progresses how we intend to really shake up that constitutional package,” she told Sky News’s Sophy […]

Labour leadership contender Clive Lewis said that the pro-Brexit campaign during the EU referendum had ‘racism at its heart’. Speaking to the Sophy Ridge On Sunday show on Sky News, Lewis said: “I think part of the Brexit campaign, and part of the undertone of Brexit, from some politicians, Nigel Farage and others, had racism […]

The general public still want the UK to remain in the European Union with just days to go untl the intended Brexit departure date. In line with polling over the last three years, the latest BMG poll for the Independent has found that more people want to see the UK to retain membership of the […]

Jean Seberg, the Iowan farm girl who became a Parisian modernist, has been given the biopic treatment. JAMES OLIVER looks back at the tragic life of a talented, tortured star. American actress Jean Seberg (1938 – 1979) arrives at an airport carrying a copy of the book ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J. D. […]

PETER TRUDGILL on a rural region of Ireland where a dialect took root and remained for centuries The English language came into being in Britain, and spent its first 700 years on this island. When it did then start spreading beyond these shores, this was to the neighbouring island of Ireland. This first expansion of […]

Nigel Farage is set to pocket £150,000 when the UK leaves the European Union – but his Brexit Party MEPs will receive nothing. The Brexiteer will get a six-figure ‘transition’ payment because he has spent more than 20 years as an MEP in the European parliament. But his 29 MEPs who were elected in June […]

Tiny clips from films and TV shows have become a staple of online discourse. But is the era of the GIF coming to an end, asks PAMELA HUTCHINSON How are you feeling today? Good? Like two-Minions-squealing good? I’ll drink to that, or rather Leonardo DiCaprio will toast you with raised eyebrows and a saucer of […]