News and Opinion

You might want to forget it ever happened but now it’s all over, how much do you remember about the 2019 general election? Test your knowledge of the election campaign by taking this bumper quiz from The New European…

Ken Clarke has said he believed Labour could have won the election – and had advice for the party looking to win back power from Boris Johnson. He told All Out Politics says the result was “remarkable” for Boris Johnson, and said the “collapse of the Brexit Party vote was the key thing” at the […]

Far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – known as Tommy Robinson – has claimed to have joined the Conservatives after its election win. In a message to his subscribers on messaging service Telegram he wrote: “OK, I have just joined the Conservative Party. “Good work everyone that went out and voted for the Conservatives today. “We have […]

Former Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson could return to the Houses of Parliament after Sir Ed Davey said he wanted her back ‘as soon as possible’. It has sparked rumours that Swinson is being lined up to enter the House of Lords as a Barnoness under the Dissolution Honours List. Sir Ed Davey told Sophy […]

Boris Johnson has been warned his election will win not help him solve the problems facing his plans to ‘get Brexit done’. Despite a majority of more than 80 MPs, his win will not give him any extra leverage in Brussels, with further warning that it is unlikely he will be able to get the […]

A dropped Brexit Party candidate – who said she was from a distant star – has said she is suing Nigel Farage after claiming she would have won her seat. Jill Hughes, the party’s prospective candidate for Batley and Spen, was stood down after it emerged that she believes she comes from the star Sirius […]

A Labour frontbencher has accused the BBC of playing a role in the party’s defeat in the general election. Appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme, shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald was asked whether continued criticism of Jeremy Corbyn played a role in the election defeat. But McDonald said: “Don’t get me started on the media, […]

Labour figureheads are encouraging people to rejoin the party to reshape it after the election defeat. Alastair Campbell, a TNE columnist and Tony Blair’s communications chief, was among those urging people who had left under Jeremy Corbyn to rejoin. Shortly after the result he tweeted: “I’m not sure that I can because I was expelled. […]

Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray has vowed to keep on fighting for the cause, despite Boris Johnson singling him out as a Remainer who should stop fighting. The prime minister pronounced after the election that the ‘stop Brexit man’ should ‘put a sock in it’ after his election win. He told reporters: “And I say respectfully, […]

Boris Johnson is set to welcome his new batch of Tory MPs as he prepares for them to vote on his Brexit deal. Johnson will use his majority of 80 to get his Withdrawal Agreement Bill to get Brexit approved so the UK can formally leave the EU by the end of January. The PM […]

Boris Johnson has finally agreed that the report into Russian interference can be published – just days after the election had concluded. The prime minister cleared the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee report into alleged Russian interference in the UK democratic process. His official spokesman confirmed it had now been approved: “In line with his […]

Huw Edwards has hit back at ‘toxic cynicism and accusations of bias’ at the BBC from all sides during the election campaign. Edwards, who led the BBC’s coverage on the night after taking over from David Dimbleby, took to LinkedIn to respond to the latest accusations. He said: “You realise yet again that the real […]

Labour frontbencher Emily Thornberry has accused a party colleague of sharing a ‘total and utter lie’ as infighting broke out amid a race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as leader. The shadow foreign secretary, who is believed to be eyeing a shot at taking over the top job from her ally, was accused on Sunday of […]

Reports have emerged that Boris Johnson’s party will boycott BBC radio’s flagship current affairs programme over alleged bias in its election coverage of the Conservatives. Emboldened by the party’s election victory, an unnamed No.10 source briefed the Mail on Sunday with the message that it would boycott the Today programme, which was also tweeted by […]

Senior Conservative cabinet member Michael Gove ruled out holding another referendum on Scottish independence despite the SNP increasing the number of seats in the House of Commons. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said the Tories would “absolutely” not hold another public vote on the matter during the course of the Parliament regardless of […]

A former Labour minister said Jeremy Corbyn had not taken enough responsibility for the party’s defeat and called on party members to elect a new leader who hadn’t had a hand in the party’s Brexit campaign. Caroline Flint, who lost her seat in Don Valley in the general election, replied “no” when asked if Jeremy […]

Joint acting Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said the party had to focus on ensuring they learned the lessons from the general election before moving forwards and electing a new leader. Jo Swinson resigned from her position as leader of the Liberal Democrats after being voted out of her own constituency in East Dunbartonshire. […]

Nicola Sturgeon called on Boris Johnson to ‘respect democracy’ and allow a second Scottish referendum of independence to be put to the people. Speaking on BBC’s Andrew Marr show Nicola Sturgeon said her party had experienced an “emphatic victory” following the December 12 general election. The Scottish First Minister said: “I’ve just won an election […]

Erich Mielke’s name and face may not be as recognisable as history’s other villains but, 30 years after his downfall, there are signs that his monstrous methods still resonate. IAN WALKER reports. Erich Mielke meeting young ice hockey players. Photo: ADN-Bildarchiv/ullstein bild via Getty Images – Credit: ullstein bild via Getty Images Part of the […]

It’s a disheartening time to be a Remainer, after seeing Boris Johnson swoop back into Downing Street with the greatest majority the Tories have seen since the Thatcherera. But, it’s not time to give up just yet – the case against Brexit can still be fought. Johnson may have a large majority, but it’s only […]

Boris Johnson’s shameful, specious and spineless campaign represents defeat for many of the tenets of true democracy, argues LIZ GERARD. That’s it then. We’re sunk. Boris Johnson has been returned to Number 10, thanks to the votes of those who will suffer most when he “gets Brexit done” – whether it’s at the end of […]

The election result was devastating for the Remain movement, but there is a way to salvage something from it, says JAMES BALL. The first stage of dealing with a blow like this one is acceptance. There will be virtually nothing any politician can do during this parliament to challenge the commanding majority the Conservatives have […]

A reader calls for the Remain movement to focus on rejoining instead. So Brexit, together with all of us, will now get done. We must not lose heart. For the first time we have a strong pro-EU movement in our country. Once the squabbling has stopped, we have infrastructure. Unlike Labour, we know what we […]

Despite more people voting against pro-Brexit parties than supporting them our voices have been ignored again, says ROGER HINDS. Tactical voting in the general election was so widespread, mostly over the issue of Brexit, that no political party can claim a mandate for its entire manifesto. That’s why proportional representation must be brought in so […]

While there was plenty of doom and gloom in this week’s mailbag, some said it wasn’t all bad for Remainers on election night. Silver linings time: ? The DUP are irrelevant again. ? The ERG have been neutered (unfortunately not literally) by the size of the Tory majority. ? Rees-Mogg is back in his box. […]

From the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean, the continent’s coasts are dotted with ultra-remote offshore communities. STAN ABBOTT asks whether they can survive in the modern age. Fair Isle in Shetland. Photo: Dr. Karen Debler/McPhoto/ullstein bild via Getty Images – Credit: ullstein bild via Getty Images “Safety, a sense of community, opportunity.” Mati Ventrillon chooses […]

A longstanding Conservative MP has alarmed listeners by saying that in order to properly fund social care, he advocates an insurance system ‘for those who can afford it’. The Conservative manifesto promised that nobody will have to sell their homes to fund their social care – but that doesn’t mean people won’t need to use […]

The 1980s political reform campaign fizzled out, but its message seems strikingly relevant now. One-time supporter WILL SIMPSON looks back and suggests a few lessons we could learn from it. London April 13th 1995: Melvyn Bragg at The Royal Opera House. Photo: Tom Wargacki/WireImage – Credit: WireImage The dramatic events of recent months – in […]