News and Opinion

Newly-released polling has put the Liberal Democrats ahead in a key marginal seat for the Labour Party. Survation polling shows that the Lib Dems are ahead in the seat of Portsmouth South – a seat that Labour narrowly secured in the general election in 2017. In the poll the Lib Dems are leading with 30% […]

MPs have demanded that Jacob Rees-Mogg apologise after making ‘insensitive’, ‘appalling’ comments about the 72 people killed in the Grenfell Tower fire. Speaking last night to LBC’s Nick Ferarri, the Tory MP said the poor cladding was the cause of the fire but was not necessarily the cause of the tragedy. The MP for North […]

The BBC has issued a statement surrounding Question Time host Fiona Bruce wrongly clearing Vote Leave of wrongdoing during the EU referendum campaign. After reports initially claimed that the BBC would not be commenting, it has since issued comment on the misleading claims, which it blamed on the “noise” in the auditorium. In last week’s […]

Financial gurus are telling Britain’s 1.8 million émigrés in the EU to ensure they have a vote, as the consequences of a no-deal Brexit could be disastrous for their finances. With a no-deal Brexit still as the legal default at the end of 2020, UK citizens abroad in the EU could see their finances hit […]

The government is pressing ahead with its plans for a ‘festival of Brexit’, despite calls for the plan to be shelved, in fear it will alienate Remain supporters. The proposal is said to have been inspired by the 1851 Great Exhibition during Queen Victoria’s reign, and also the post-war festival of Britain in 1951. It […]

Jo Swinson has said her party will stop Brexit and ‘build a brighter future’ as she set out her plan to become the next prime minister. The leader of the Liberal Democrats said she will “never stop fighting” for the United Kingdom, declaring: “I will not let people wreck it “Our country needs us to […]

The Liberal Democrats have said staying in the European Union will bring a £50 billion ‘Remain bonus’, which the party has vowed to put back into public services if they win the general election. The party said scrapping Brexit will generate billions for public finances because they say remaining in the European Union will mean […]

Labour MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle has won the ballot of MPs to succeed John Bercow as speaker of the House of Commons. Hoyle, 62, was previously deputy speaker of the house after being elected in a secret ballot back in 2010. The MP for Chorley has been a popular and experienced figure in the house, […]

A former general election candidate for the Brexit Party has stood down after it emerged that she believes she comes from the star Sirius and that aliens are already working with world governments. Jill Hughes, who was the party’s prospective candidate for Batley and Spen, also believes in “elves/fairies/mermaids/unicorns and all things elemental and otherworldly”, […]

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson has been invited to debate the Tory and Labour leaders in a new Sky News debate, after she threatened legal action against ITV for excluding her. The party has already complained to ITV about Swinson’s exclusion from an election debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn. Swinson said debates about […]

A Brexit Party candidate has outlined a series of bizarre conspiracy theories about the EU, including that it was founded in a temple and is based on the exploitation of women. Timothy Vince, the Brexit Party’s candidate for South Thanet, told BBC’s Sunday Politics South East show about his beliefs in how the organisation was […]

A report into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum is unlikely to be published until after the general election, it has emerged. The 50-page document, produced by the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), considers allegations that Russian-backed activity was behind the result of the 2016 referendum, among other concerns. The committee’s chair […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a book which perfectly captures the allure of the remote One of my favourite radio stations is called Arctic Outpost Radio and broadcasts from Longyearbyen, the main town on the remote Svalbard archipelago roughly halfway between the northern tip of Norway and the North Pole. It plays mainly vintage jazz and old […]

Senior Tories say they are standing by a candidate in a key marginal seat who wrote on Facebook that people on Benefits Street need ‘putting down’. Welsh Conservative Party chairman Byron Davies said Francesca O’Brien had made her comments in the “heat of the moment”, while work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey said the incident […]

The Belgian Brexit coordinator for European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt has thrown a tongue in cheek jab at Nigel Farage for not standing in the upcoming election. Quite ironical that European affairs are more important to Nigel Farage than the politics of Great Britain. A pity, his departure would have been an enormous saving of European […]

Ken Clarke has refused to rule out voting against the Conservatives in the general election, warning he may not vote for the party if they pursue a Brexit Party agenda. Clarke, a long-standing Tory MP, was pressed on whether he would vote Conservative this time, despite being ejected by the party shortly before the poll […]

You can now play your own game of Tory bingo after the party’s suggested general election Q&A answers were leaked to the press. The scripted answers help candidates sing from the same hymn sheet on a wide range of topics, including potentially awkward ones such as party donations and whether the NHS will be part […]

Brexiteers have been mistakenly criticising a Labour council’s decision to erect ‘pro-EU banners’, which actually offer advice for EU citizens on applying for settled status. Just saw this sign from @LBHF and at the same time remembered @MrRichardGadd talking last night about the importance of kindness and how, after everything, he'd still give Martha a […]

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price has said talks with pro-Remain parties continue to go ‘positively’ with expectation of an announcement shortly. At the party’s election launch in Anglesey, Price said there had been discussions with the Liberal Democrats and the Greens about reaching agreements to boost the number of anti-Brexit MPs elected in the general […]

Argos has warned prices in its new Christmas catalogue could quickly change due to the Brexit uncertainty. The new Argos catalogue warns about Brexit’s impact on catalogue prices. Photograph: Retail Week/Twitter. – Credit: Archant The retailer’s latest Bible of products this time comes with a warning printed on page one that it expects prices to […]

A threat of ‘mass demonstrations’ from Brexiteers after October 31st has turned out to be a damp squib – after organisers cancelled a number of events due to a lack of support. https://twitter.com/DarrenBurkeSYN/status/1190590587432517633 More than a hundred thousand people had shared a now deleted story from pro-Brexit website Politicalite, which claimed that Brexiteers were planning […]

The Conservative MP and Brexiter Mark Francois has said Nigel Farage has ‘lost the plot’ after calling for a second referendum on electoral reform. The Conservative MP and Brexiter Mark Francois has said Nigel Farage has “lost the plot” after calling for a second referendum on electoral reform. Speaking to LBC Radio’s Matt Frei, Mark […]

Charlie Connelly delves into the life of Alexey Stakhanov, Stalin’s superstar miner. The evening of August 30, 1935, was a warm and muggy one in eastern Ukraine when Alexey Stakhanov left his small flat in Kadievka and headed for the night shift at the Tsentralnaya-Irmino mine. The mine had been working round the clock since […]

Nigel Farage is doing ‘the really brave thing’ by not standing in the upcoming general election, according to the Brexit Party’s chairman. The party leader has ruled out trying for the eighth time to be voted into an MP’s seat, claiming he planned to focus on campaigning for the party as a whole. Speaking on […]

His thunderous cries of ‘ORDERRRRR’ have been a feature of debate over Brexit for three years. Now John Bercow has had his catchphrase sampled in a Belgian dance music song. His thunderous cries of “ORDERRRRR” have been a feature of debate over Brexit for three years. Now John Bercow has had his catchphrase sampled in […]

Television presenter Lorraine Kelly has hit out at Britain’s politicians chasing Brexit, arguing that no MP appears to have ‘a genuine desire to make life better’. In an interview with The Times, the ITV breakfast television presenter shared her views on politics today, branding the situation “toxic”. She explained: “It’s completely mad. It’s toxic. How […]

The SDLP is to stand aside in the Westminster seat in North Belfast for the first time in history to help the pro-Remain cause. It is one of three constituencies it will not fight – alongside East Belfast and North Down. Defending its decision, SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon said the ambition “must be to […]

Located at the edge of Europe, the Caucasus country is determined to work its way to the heart of the continent. Suna Erdem visits to find out how it is faring on that path “One thing we do not understand is what Great Britain is doing (on Brexit),” said the president of Georgia earlier this […]