News and Opinion

TIM WALKER reviews Sydney & the Old Girl at Park Theatre, London. Miriam Margolyes has a splendidly comic face, a splendidly comic voice and a splendidly comic sense of timing. A more splendidly comic actress it’s hard to imagine. I could happily watch Margolyes reciting the entire electoral roll without becoming even remotely bored. I […]

The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has prompted a collective cringe on social media after he baited Stormzy with his own rap lyrics on Twitter. Big man ting!— Daniel Hannan (@DanielJHannan) November 26, 2019 In reaction to the grime artist’s public declaration of support for the Labour party, Michael Gove earlier told TalkRadio that […]

The Brexit Party has dropped out of this Thursday’s leaders’ debate hosted by Channel 4, who the group say are too pro-Remain. We won't be taking part in Channel 4's special programme on Thursday night. Read more below. ?? pic.twitter.com/bMoDkQMMmx— The Brexit Party (@brexitparty_uk) November 26, 2019 Nigel Farage’s party claimed they stepped back out […]

A Brexit Party MEP has received a humiliating comeback after he attempted to challenge a Green Party MEP’s credentials in EU parliament. Brexiteer MEP for South East England Robert Rowland seemed to believe he was throwing down the gauntlet when he stood up to question Molly Scott-Cato on her fitness to comment on economics, and […]

Boris Johnson has been given the chance to make good on his word and lay in front of a bulldozer in opposition to the Heathrow expansion. A bulldozer was brought to his Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency on Tuesday to give the Prime Minister the chance to oppose the third runway at Heathrow Airport. As […]

Labour activists and voters have been encouraged by new polling which shows Labour taking a six-point lead over the Conservative Party in Wales. The polling also suggested the Brexit Party won’t win any seats in Wales. The polling by YouGov for ITV Wales shows both Labour and the Tories have made gains since the most […]

Led by Donkeys campaigners have unveiled a brilliant new campaign to remind the public of Jacob Rees-Mogg, while the Tory MP hides from the public eye. The Conservatives are hiding @Jacob_Rees_Mogg away (he wasn't even allowed to come to their manifesto launch). So we're getting him out there in town and cities across the country?Register […]

The Scottish tennis legend Andy Murray has said that the Brexit referendum shouldn’t be binding and added he expects a second vote on Scottish independence. He also predicted Scotland will have another independence referendum if the UK does leave the EU. He told the Daily Star Online: “I am assuming Scotland when we leave will […]

Child poverty is set to continue rising to a 60-year high under a Conservative government, while Labour’s spending would prevent a further 550,000 children living in poverty, a new report has found. The report from the Resolution Foundation found that the Tories’ 2019 manifesto makes no change to existing social security policy and risks child […]

The Liberal Democrats have lowered their ambitions and are now focused on stopping a Conservative majority according to Chuka Umunna, as the party reconfigures its strategy. The Lib Dems predicted they could net up to 200 seats at the start of the campaign, and had a chance of forming a government. Now the party’s foreign […]

Lord Heseltine has lambasted Brexit yet again calling for a second referendum with the former depuity PM saying he cannot support people who are going to make the country ‘poorer and less influential’. This was, however, something he was criticised for after being a lifelong Conservative member. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he […]

The chief DUP whip has pulled apart Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, stating that there isn’t a single party in Northern Ireland that supports the deal. The DUP parliamentary candidate Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would “destabilise Northern Ireland’s relationship with the rest of the UK” and be “disadvantageous” to the Northern Ireland […]

Amid the impeachment drama, BONNIE GREER discusses another threat the to Trump presidency. The fact that the late, great Katharine Hepburn was born in Connecticut would have come as a surprise to no one in America. She was descended, after all, from a Mayflower Pilgrim. Connecticut is perceived as one of the more regal states, […]

A signifier of awareness of racial and social discrimination, the power of the word ‘woke’ has been eroded by over-use. HARRIET MARSDEN reports on its roots and where it is heading. The BBC’s identity correspondent Megha Mohan recently tweeted: “Note to editor; no-one in diverse circles uses the word ‘woke’ anymore. In fact, it’s the […]

The Liberal Democrats are beginning to regret several general election campaign decisions, including the promise to revoke Article 50 if they receive a majority, according to reports. The confidence the party enjoyed during the summer has faded somewhat, reports the FT, with expectations of 60 to 80 seats now cut to 40 at best. At […]

A raucous hustings in Dominic Raab’s constituency became even noisier when it emerged that the grieving family of Harry Dunn had not been allowed in. Supporter of Harry Dunn's family complains they haven't been allowed in. All hell breaks lose. pic.twitter.com/5EPNmeB72m— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) November 25, 2019 The foreign secretary was facing a grilling from […]

The Conservative party fulfilled less than half of the promises outlined in its 2017 manifesto – and the others were less ‘important’ to voters, say researchers A new study has found that only 48% of the promises made to the electorate have been fulfilled, and most of those were considered by voters as less central […]

Stormzy tops the bill of a list of musicians, artists, rappers and grime MCs who are backing Jeremy Corbyn and Labour at the General Election. The PA reports that rappers Akala, Kano and Professor Green and singers Katy B and Peter Hooton of Liverpool group The Farm are among the 39 artists signing the letter, […]

The staunch anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray has confronted Dominic Cummings in Westminster for the second time. It's a small world, Dominic Cummings just now. . . Brexit is all Cummings but we're never going #GetBrexitGone pic.twitter.com/8LXkM5mABC— Steve Bray #RevokeArticle50 (@snb19692) November 25, 2019 It is part of his mission to interrogate Brexiteers in London as […]

Free from EU laws and initiatives to improve the lives of women, MARY HONEYBALL asks what equality would look like in post Brexit Britain. Women have been largely non-existent during the Brexit process. The agenda remains male dominated. Female voices are hardly ever heard and gender equality is nowhere to be seen. EU rights and […]

A Twitter user has dubbed one of Matt Hancock’s latest general election Twitter videos with Silence of the Lambs dialogue. Despite his best efforts to take off on social media, Matt Hancock has had numerous bumps in the road whilst trying to get his message across in video tweets. One tweet, in which Hancock gave […]

Chris Martin has said that he will ‘probably’ vote for Jo Swinson and the Liberal Democrats in the general election. Despite spending most of his time in America, the Coldplay frontman still votes in UK elections, and told the Sunday Times that Jo Swinson has his eye. He first joked that he would cast a […]

Business owner and activist Gina Miller, who took the government to court over prorogation, has warned talk of a Tory landslide is premature. Miller claims tactical voting still could wipe out a Conservative majority, as it did in the 2017 general election. “People are getting despondent when they read the headlines forgetting that in 2017, […]

Nearly three million people have registered to vote in the past month, according to government figures. There are less than 36 hours left until the voter registration deadline at 11.59pm on Tuesday 26th November, with 2.98 million already submitting applications between October 24th and November 24th. The biggest spike was on November 22nd when nearly […]

The BBC has issued an apology following public backlash to a clip which edited out the audience’s reaction to a question put to Boris Johnson. A newsreel summarising clips from Friday’s two-hour Question Time election special, edited out a derisive audience reaction when the prime minister was asked how the public can trust him. The […]

Social media posts by a candidate for the Brexit Party have been revealed by an anti-hate group who say the candidate has been stoking hostility to immigrants. Rosamund Beattie shared messages from Islamophobobes and highlighted calls for a ban on Muslim immigration. The Brexit Party candidate for Ealing Southall, which has a large Muslim population, […]

A Conservative incumbent told voters he is not ‘personally’ able to do anything about child poverty in his seat, in which he has been MP for nine years. At a campaign event in Sittingbourne and Sheppey, where in some areas nearly half of the children live below the poverty line, incumbent Gordon Henderson placed much […]

Former prime minister Tony Blair has warned both Labour and Tory majority governments are a risk to the UK. Blair, speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event, said both wins for Jeremy Corbyn or Boris Johnson will not be a “good thing”. “Both as majority governments pose a risk. It’s just that the chances I think […]