News and Opinion

Nigel Farage has admitted that he never intended to publish a manifesto for the Brexit Party, saying ‘that was a joke’. The Brexit Party leader also said he was not going to refund the application fees of the 317 parliamentary candidates who he has decided to stand down. Farage made the decision over the weekend […]

A Liberal Democrat candidate has stepped down after tweets resurfaced where he used deeply racist and homophobic slurs. The Lib Dems opened a disciplinary investigation into Kevin McNamara, who was their candidate for Thurrock, after an investigation by the Mirror found the old tweets. In one tweet from 2010, McNamara wrote: “I smelt horse s*** […]

The former Brexit Party candidate for Crawley has said he will consider standing for UKIP or as an independent after being dropped from Nigel Farage’s party. Being tricked out of that £100 has really got you guys riled hasn't it!Why don't you contact the other 316 candidates & form a Brexit Party Indy Group.I'll even […]

Nigel Farage has hit back at allegations from Labour that US president Donald Trump is pulling the strings in the UK general election. The Brexit Party leader was appearing on BBC Breakfast when he was asked if Donald Trump had told him to work with Boris Johnson, as the president had previously suggested in his […]

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has called on the Tories to stand aside in Labour-held seats to try to get more pro-Brexit MPs elected. The Brexit Party had been under pressure not to field candidates in Labour marginals after he abandoned plans to contest those held by the Tories at the last election. Farage said […]

With a general election on the horizon, there is growing pressure on the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to call for a body to regulate political advertising. But that’s not all that needs to happen, argues JON GOULDING. The Lords gave the ASA a grilling at a recent inquiry, asking CEO Guy Parker and chair Lord […]

Calls for Labour and the united Remain parties to form an alliance are mounting from candidates, political organisations, and pundits across party divides. This is a critical moment for Jo Swinson. Does she want to continue splitting the Remain vote for a dozen extra seats, or work with Corbyn to prevent a hard Brexit backed […]

MEP Alexandra Phillips has said she has been ‘disenfranchised by my own party’ and will not be voting in the election now that there is no Brexit Party candidate in her constituency. She said that “the choice is taken away from me” after party leader Farage stood down 317 candidates over fears of splitting the […]

A senior Tory has finally apologised for its party’s use of a doctored video featuring Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer talking about Brexit. Treasury chief secretary Rishi Sunak admitted Tory HQ had gone “a bit too far” and that there were “lessons to be learned”. He appeared on Good Morning Britain the Tory managed to do […]

WILL SELF ponders why perceptions of Pakistan are so bogged down in prejudice, ignorance and cliché. The man in the late-night convenience store on Clapham Road was watching his mobile phone, which lay on the counter beside a display box of Wrigley’s chewing gum and the yellow disc punters touch their Oyster cards to once […]

Caroline Lucas has launched a foul-mouthed denunciation of the Liberal Democrats for their policy of stopping Brexit without a second referendum, in a sign of tensions in the Remain alliance. The former leader of the Green Party criticised the Lib Dems’ policy of revoking Article 50, saying: “If you wanted to send a message to […]

Hillary Clinton has called Boris Johnson’s government’s delay in releasing a report into potential Russian interference in UK elections ‘damaging, inexplicable and shaming’. The 2016 US presidential candidate and ex-secretary of state told the Guardian that it was “incredibly surprising and unacceptable that in your country there is a government report sitting there about Russian […]

Brexit could mean that the environment is the biggest loser of the forthcoming general election. KIERRA BOX from Friends of the Earth urges parties to prioritise environmental safeguards over a speedy exit from the EU. Contests have winners and losers but in an election contest, losing affects a great many people. Despite the recent ambitious […]

The main feature of the Brexit Party’s official website shows a ten-point explainer demolishing the Boris Johnson Brexit deal which the party now backs. I'm just wondering if anybody at the Brexit Party HQ is regretting their decision to make the main feature of their website a 10 point demolition of the Boris Johnson deal […]

An ex-Brexit Party candidate who was dropped from his position said he is considering requesting back his £100 entry fee paid to be considered as a candidate. Calling into James O’Brien’s morning show shortly after Nigel Farage announced that the Brexit Party would not be standing candidates in constituencies currently held by Conservatives, a former […]

Nigel Farage has denied that an offer of a peerage 48 hours before he dropped candidates in every Conservative seat was an influential factor in his decision. “Lord Farage” started to trend on Twitter after the Brexit Party leader confirmed that he had been offered an honour by the Tories. Speaking to the Mirror on […]

Boris Johnson has broken his booze ban for a second time on the election trail. As previously reported, the prime minister had claimed he would not drink until Brexit is sorted – with the first phase of the UK’s withdrawal set for January 31. But he failed to show restraint and maintain his “do or […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY looks back at the life of Russian poet and journalist Olga Bergholz, a figure who faced tragedy and imprisonment but remained a voice of hope. There’s an eternal flame at the gates of St Petersburg’s vast Piskaryovskoye memorial cemetery, where almost all the dead of the 900-day Siege of Leningrad are buried. Around […]

UKIP has claimed it will not field a full list of candidates in the general election – not because of claims it is low on support – but because it now backs Boris Johnson’s deal. UKIP’s Richard Braine. Photo: ISABEL INFANTES/AFP via Getty Images) – Credit: AFP via Getty Images In a tweet from the […]

A YouGov pollster has said Nigel Farage’s decision not to stand in 317 Conservative seats will only hurt the Conservative party. Hate to burst everybody's bubble, but I'm not sure this makes much difference at all. On current polling, the most important seats are the Labour held marginals, which aren't affected by this announcement. https://t.co/wF3nIUQQDQ— […]

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi is encouraging Muslim voters to vote Conservative, despite admitting there is a ‘serious, substantial and widespread’ issue with Islamophobia in the Conservative party. Baroness Warsi: Islamophobia is an issue in the Conservative PartyEmma Barnett: Should Muslims still vote Conservative?Baroness Warsi: Labour have issues tooAnother example of why the car crash that is […]

A video of Boris Johnson attempting to use a mop – and failing miserably – has been branded the perfect metaphor for his handling of Brexit. Boris Johnson “helps” with the clean up at an opticians as he visits Matlock, Derbyshire to view the flooding. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA. – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images Johnson was […]

The BBC has apologised after using old footage of Boris Johnson laying a wreath on Remembrance Sunday rather than the most recent footage of him laying one upside down. Slide One is Boris Johnson, yesterday, laying a wreath upside down on the CenotaphSlide Two is the footage BBC News are rolling with this morning - […]

The People’s Vote campaign is to target 100 seats that can deliver a final say referendum with a pledge to spend £100,000 on pro-People’s Vote candidates. On their new website launched on Saturday, the campaign advises users on tactical voting in key seats across the country recommending which candidate to vote for to avoid a […]

A Brexiteer has used a radio phone-in show to claim that we are a ‘dictatorship’ – and tactical voting guides is evidence of this. Keith was branded an “idiot” by LBC Radio host Iain Dale when he called into his programme to make the claims to Gina Miller, who has just launched a tactical voting […]

Two broadcasters have been criticised for their ‘desperate’ and ‘needless’ questioning of Jeremy Corbyn’s nuclear weapons policy on Armistice Day. 'Would you press the button to kill millions?' is the is trite question usually obsessed over by people who have spent too much time playing call of duty. If a nuclear war starts, all of […]

A former Tory minister has said David Cameron has ‘a lot to answer for’ when it comes to calling the EU referendum. David Mellor, who was pro-European during his time in office but voted for Brexit, appeared on LBC Radio to address remarks made by former speaker John Bercow. The former national heritage secretary said […]

A former chair of the Conservative Party in a key marginal constituency has urged people to vote Labour to stop Boris Johnson gaining a majority for Brexit. Dr Jason Aldiss resigned from his post as chair of the Pudsey Conservative Association shortly after Boris Johnson was elected as prime minister in July. He said that […]