News and Opinion

CHARLIE CONNELLY on the life and tragic fate of Etty Hillesum, who turned down opportunities to go into hiding before her murder at Auschwitz. On a hot day in early September 1943 a train moved slowly across the flat Dutch countryside, clanking slowly along rails that shimmered in the heat. For the thousand Jews crammed […]

PETER TRUDGILL on the origins of many of our most common surnames… and much more besides There are quite a lot of people in Great Britain, and in other English-speaking parts of the world, who have surnames ending in -kins or -kinson: Atkins, Dickinson, Jenkins, Parkinson, Simkins, Tomkinson, Watkins, Wilkinson – and plenty more. If […]

A Tory minister has been given a list of broken promises made by leaders before being asked to respond why voters can trust his party. Justice minister Chris Philp was given a long list of examples of David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson telling mistruths and broken promises by a caller to Eddie Mair’s […]

Classical music may have played a central role in Finland’s history, but so has classic rock. SOPHIA DEBOICK reports. Finland is a land of extremes. With a population of five-and-a-half million, it is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union, and it is also the EU’s most northerly country, its northernmost third lying […]

Perhaps Britain’s most important living painter, Bridget Riley’s op-art paved the way for the Swinging Sixties. Claudia Pritchard reports. The 60-year career of the artist Bridget Riley seems as clear-cut and directional as the knife-sharp edges in her eye-catching stripes, as solid and dependable as the coloured discs of her later years.
And a glorious retrospective […]

A Conservative candidate has insisted a vote for him was still valid despite his name being spelled incorrectly on the ballot papers. Jack Gebhard’s middle name of Alexander was missing an ‘N’ when his nomination papers were submitted for him to stand in Wansbeck, Northumberland, against the Labour chairman Ian Lavery. The town councillor in […]

Released 40 years ago and now the subject of its own exhibition, The Clash’s London Calling simultaneously paid tribute to rock ‘n’ roll and took an iconoclast’s Hammer to it. SOPHIA DEBOICK reports. Joe Strummer of The Clash exchanges his shirt with a member of the audience during a concert. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis […]

Musician Martin Kemp says he fears for young people growing up in the current political crisis surrounding Brexit. Appearing on the Jeremy Vine on 5 programme Kemp was asked about what he thought of Jeremy Corbyn’s warning that the NHS was now up for sale in a post-Brexit trade deal with America. He hit out […]

They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Zelda Perkins not only met hers, she produced the musical he staged in his dying days. She gives a first hand account. Michael C Hall as Newton and Sophie Anne Caruso as Girl in David Bowie and Enda Walsh’s Lazarus directed by Ivo van Hove at the Kings […]

Several Conservative general election candidates appear to be following Boris Johnson’s lead on environmental issues and are not attending climate change-themed hustings nationwide. The prime minister has received much criticism for deciding not to take part in Channel 4 News’ climate change-themed general election debate. But campaigning media organisation DeSmog have found that at least […]

Nigel Farage has posted a tweet aimed at making fun of Jeremy Corbyn, but has ended up the butt of the joke instead. Disappointing choice. Past its best, now leaves a bitter taste. pic.twitter.com/1RKIxwX21y— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) November 27, 2019 The Brexit Party leader posted a picture of himself holding up a bottle of wine […]

Amid the frenzy of the election campaign, MICHAEL WHITE finds it striking what the main parties are NOT addressing Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn holding the Conservative Party manifesto during a climate emergency rally in Falmouth, Cornwall, while on the Gneral Election campaign trail. Photo credit: Joe Giddens/PA Wire – Credit: PA Turning on the […]

Neither the Conservatives nor Labour is being honest with the electorate or are offering a ‘properly credible prospectus’ in their general election manifesto spending plans, a leading economic think tank has said. “Neither Labour nor the Conservatives is being honest with the electorate,” said Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director Paul Johnson at a presentation. […]

Channel 4 is to host a climate change debate this evening which will focus on how party leaders will tackle one of the key issues for voters in the general election. But Boris Johnson and the Brexit Party’s Nigel Farage look set to snub the hour-long Emergency On Planet Earth debate. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, […]

YouGov’s MRP modelling has suggested that politicians that defected to the Liberal Democrats could lose their seats in the general election. The analysis highlighted four former Conservatives said to be trailing in their respective constituencies – Sarah Wollaston, who is 19 points behind in Totnes, Antoinette Sandbach who is trailing by 33 points in Eddisbury, […]

A raft of misogynistic and sexist comments by Boris Johnson have come to light, adding to the prime minister’s reputation of being contemptuous of women. In a series of articles written for the hard-right Spectator magazine, Johnson attacked single mothers and unmarried women and suggested they should be taken control of. Johnson described children of […]

A justice minister has defended Boris Johnson’s use of the term ‘bum boys’ claiming it was ‘free speech’ for the prime minister to use the term to describe homosexuals. Justice Minister Chris Philp was appearing on Eddie Mair’s LBC radio programme when he was asked about Boris Johnson’s use of the term “tank-topped bum boys” […]

Opposition parties appear to be in panic mode with just two weeks to go until election day. It revolves around YouGov’s MRP polling which suggests the Tories are on course for a majority of nearly 60 seats. Within hours we learn that Labour is now looking to move the focus away from winning over Remainers […]

The Labour Party has hit the reset button after fearing that it had underestimated the threat of Leave voters switching to the Tories. The party is making the move after a poll suggests the Tories could win a majority after election day on December 12th. According to Labour insiders a key mistake up until now […]

Andrew Neil has told Boris Johnson he is ready to interview him ‘any time, any place and anywhere’ as the Tories claim that ‘discussions are on-going’ over whether the prime minister will appear on the BBC before election day. It comes as it’s reported the Tories have offered the prime minister to appear on The […]

Romney has never been one of Trump’s favourite people, until now, says BONNIE GREER. The state of Utah has several things about it that might be considered ‘trippy’, at least to other Americans. The state can even blindside you. Back in 1977, after the death penalty was upheld by the US Supreme Court, the first […]

With the People’s Vote campaign still mired in infighting and controversy, prominent supporter and broadcaster GAVIN ESLER writes an open letter to fellow campaigners. Steven Bray founder of SODEM (Stand of Defiance European Movement) holding placards during the protest outside the Houses of Parliament Picture: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images via ZUMA Wire – Credit: Zuma Press/PA […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock became the latest Conservative minister to give an agonising performance as he tried to explain how the Tories would introduce 50,000 nurses into the NHS. The Tories have been criticised throughout the week for the pledge, which mostly appears to revolve around trying to convince the nurses to stay working for […]

A Conservative general election candidate has been accused of racially abusing his Labour competitor at a hustings last night. Labour supporters have demanded former Tory defence minister Philip Dunne step down after he told Labour’s Kuldip Sahota “he’s talking through his turban”. Sahota, who is challenging the seat of Ludlow that Dunne has held for […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Swindon, home of new wave rockers XTC. But who on the panel is making plans for Nigel (Farage) – and who would be better off running for Mayor of Simpleton? […]

Much-anticipated polling analysis from YouGov, which most accurately predicted the outcome of the last general election, predicts Boris Johnson could win a majority. YouGov’s multilevel regression and post-stratification poll is commonly known in the industry as ‘MRP’ and seeks to predict the outcome of Britain’s general election on December 12. The MRP polling attempts to […]

A much-anticipated poll from YouGov, which most accurately predicted the outcome of the last general election, predicts Boris Johnson will fall short of a majority. YouGov’s multilevel regression and post-stratification poll is commonly known in the industry as ‘MRP’ and seeks to predict the outcome of Britain’s general election on December 12. The MRP polling […]

A Tory minister has been accused of avoiding the ‘searchlight’ of scrutiny on his party’s problem with Islamophobia, and was compared to the Labour leader for its milquetoast response to the issue. Justice secretary Robert Buckland was confronted on BBC’s Andrew Neil show with examples of egregious prejudice towards Muslims by Conservative party figures, both […]