News and Opinion

Labour has called for an investigation into whether Boris Johnson’s former press secretary “knowingly misled” journalists over the Downing Street flat refurbishments. On March 8, Allegra Stratton told reporters: “Conservative Party funds are not being used to pay for any refurbishment of the Downing Street estate.” The Conservative HQ “supports the leader of the Tory party […]

A union representing senior public servants has been given the go-ahead to bring a High Court challenge against the government. The FDA union launched judicial review proceedings in February over the prime minister’s decision to disregard the findings of his adviser on ministerial standards last year. Sir Alex Allan left his advisory role in Downing […]

Boris Johnson has told his cabinet to prepare for cuts as part of an ‘efficiency review’. Ministers were told that the “savings and efficiency review” will take place later in the year as the chancellor looks to make savings following the pandemic. A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister highlighted that departments are being asked […]

Alex Salmond’s Alba Party is on course to win eight seats at next week’s Holyrood election, according to a new poll. The survey also suggests the Scottish Greens will return 11 MSPs, with the SNP, Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour all losing seats. Polling by Panelbase for the Scot Goes Pop website found 6% of […]

Six in 10 people in Britain regard Boris Johnson as “untrustworthy”, new polling has revealed. In an Ipsos MORI survey commissioned by the Evening Standard, only 35% of voters said they trusted the prime minister, compared to 59% who did not. The findings will increase alarm in Tory circles after weeks of leaks and allegations about sleaze. The […]

The resonance, or otherwise, of constitutional issues will be a key factor in a dramatically unpredictable Senedd election For those of us living in Hen Wlad fy Nhadau, it feels that Welsh devolved politics only makes it onto the radar of UK politicians when it’s given a kicking as part of the game of political […]

European Commission female president Ursula von der Leyen has blamed sexism for the “sofagate” debacle in Turkey earlier this month. Von der Leyen was left without a chair during a meeting in Ankara with Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdogan on April 6. She said that the incident only happened because she is a woman. “I cannot find […]

A cabinet minister has downplayed concerns over the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s official residency by Tory Party donors, declaring the public was not interested in “some wallpaper or sofas”. Work and pensions minister Therese Coffey also said “the right declarations will be made” in due course showing the prime minister is personally paying for the £200,000 refurbishment. Questions have […]

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s fresh jail term is a signal that Iran will detain her until the UK resolves a long-running debt dispute with Tehran, her husband has said. Richard Ratcliffe said he fears his wife is facing an “open-ended detention” after she was sentenced to an additional year’s imprisonment and a further year-long ban on leaving […]

The leaders of six Westminster opposition parties will meet with Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to discuss holding a debate on Boris Johnson’s “inaccuracies” in parliament. The Liberal Democrats, Greens, SNP, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and Alliance Party will attend the talks with Sir Lindsay. Labour has said it will not back the call for a debate […]

The European Union has said it “will not hesitate” to use dispute resolution mechanisms in the Brexit deal if the UK breaches the agreement. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, was speaking as MEPs prepared to ratify the deal thrashed out between the EU and UK. Von der Leyen told the European Parliament […]

Michel Barnier, the man who led the European Union’s negotiations with the UK, claimed that Brexit is a “mark of failure”. Speaking in front of MEPs as they prepared to vote on the trade agreement with the UK, he attributed the Brexit vote to “social anger and tensions” in the UK. He said: “This is a divorce. […]

Allegations of bullying by home secretary Priti Patel will reach the High Court after a union representing senior public servants challenged Boris Johnson’s refusal to sack the minister. The FDA union launched judicial review proceedings in February over the prime minister’s decision to disregard the findings of his adviser on ministerial standards last year. Sir […]

Boris Johnson has been accused of telling aides he would rather let coronavirus “rip” than impose a second lockdown. It was claimed he argued during a government debate in September that lockdowns were “mad” as he raised concerns about the economic harm they cause. Downing Street described the claims in the Times as “gross distortions” of […]

Len McCluskey has been a large, often disruptive, figure in the Labour Party. With his departure, will his Unite union revert to its former, steadying role? Keir Starmer had a bit of good news this week, for a change. Not only is his most dangerous enemy, Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite trade union, […]

Douglas Ross has said that offensive comments attributed to Boris Johnson are “indefensible” but stopped short of calling for the prime minister’s resignation. Johnson has denied accusations that he said “no more ****ing lockdowns – let the bodies pile high in their thousands” in a furious Downing Street rant. Asked about his boss’ behaviour, Ross said […]

Number 10 has refused to deny that Boris Johnson personally briefed editors of pro-Tory newspapers over a number of leaks against him. The Telegraph, Sun, and Times last week all claimed that Dominic Cummings was to blame for “systematic leaking” of the prime minister’s texts with James Dyson and Saudi prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The […]

Boris Johnson did not try to block the investigation into who leaked the decision to impose the second lockdown, the top civil servant has suggested, as he said a culprit is yet to be identified. Simon Case declined to comment on Monday on whether the prime minister’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings had been cleared […]

The Tories have suffered a slump in public support as allegations of sleaze and cronyism continue to mount, a new poll suggests. The results come as voters across the UK head to the polls in less than 10 days. Ipsos MORI found the prime minister’s party on 40%, down from 45% in March, with Labour on 37%, down from […]

Downing Street has said the idea of a European Super League was not discussed when the prime minister was introduced to Manchester United executive vice chairman Ed Woodward days before the announcement. Reports suggest Boris Johnson may have given the impression he would back the proposal just four days before its launch following a meeting […]

Boris Johnson has claimed it is “total rubbish” that he allegedly made a remark suggesting they should let “the bodies pile high” over coronavirus rather than have a third lockdown. He also claimed that the public was “not interested” in what was reported in the newspapers over the matter. Talking to reporters, he said: “What I […]

Downing Street has said it is too busy dealing with the pandemic to launch a public inquiry into its handling of the crisis. In a letter seen by The Guardian to lawyers representing bereaved families, the government said “an inquiry now is not appropriate” because “the very people who would need to give evidence to an […]

Brussels is on the verge of suspending Turkey’s membership negotiations to join the EU over human rights violations. MEPs on the Foreign Affairs Committee voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing the European parliament to vote on a formal suspension next month. If passed, this would be the first major shift in EU-Turkish relations since negotiations […]

Jason Solomons looks at how Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman helped take The Father from French fringe play to the Oscars It started life as a one-set play in a fringe theatre in Paris. Nine years later, The Father is now, as they say, a major motion picture and a very strong contender for this […]

A group of former political and religious leaders have urged the prime minister to “step up” to tackle recent violence in Northern Ireland. Police came under sustained and violent attack on both sides of a Belfast peace wall earlier this month following successive nights of violence. Loyalists staged protests at the so-called border in the […]

An overwhelming majority of Brexit voters back closer ties with Europe on “mutually beneficial” areas such as trade, new polling has revealed. Some 60% of Leave voters said it was important the UK cooperate with Brussels to tackle climate change and deal with threats from Russia and China. The large-scale poll of over 3,000 adults conducted […]

The SNP is demanding that Boris Johnson should resign if reports he said he would rather see “bodies pile high in their thousands” than have a third English lockdown are true. Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said Johnson had a “duty to resign” and called for the PM to address the reports in parliament and […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer has been encouraged to support making changes to the Brexit deal agreed with the EU to develop a closer working relationship with member states. A report published by the left-wing pro-EU group Another Europe Is Possible strongly supports the case for active engagement with the EU to improve the deal. Starmer […]