News and Opinion

There has been a surge in support for the anti-Brexit Lib Dems in outspoken Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg’s seat. A new Survation poll carried out by telephone found a drop in support for the Conservatives in Rees-Mogg’s constituency of North East Somerset. While 44% of his constituents still appear to back the MP, that is down […]

Culture secretary Nicky Morgan is the latest high profile MP to declare she will not stand in the looming December general election. Morgan, who previously served as education secretary under David Cameron, has represented Loughborough for the Conservatives since 2010. Her departure from the political frontline mirrors that of a slew of prominent Conservative figures […]

The Brexit Party could support the Conservatives by fighting as few as 20 seats in the general election. Nigel Farage’s organisation could withdraw hundreds of seats to help Boris Johnson’s ambitions to “get Brexit done”. According to the Telegraph there are splits in the pro-Brexit party over its election strategy – with some figures backing […]

Twitter is banning all political advertising from its service, saying social media companies give advertisers an unfair advantage in proliferating highly targeted, misleading messages. In a series of tweets announcing the new worldwide policy, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said: “While internet advertising is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings […]

Jeremy Corbyn has claimed that the Liberal Democrats are seeking to ‘divide us further’ with an unequivocal Remain position of cancelling Brexit altogether. He said that their proposals to revoke Article 50 would lead to “a parliamentary stitch-up” as he officially kicked off his winter general election campaign. Jeremy Corbyn instead pledged to “get Brexit […]

For weeks Remain has felt like the underdogs – but now the election provides a big opportunity. Readers believe it can win. We are the underdogs but with a series of big ifs this general election is winnable for Remain. If… Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP agree not to campaign in seats where […]

Plaid Cymru’s leader ADAM PRICE says his party has helped to turn the country from a Leave to a Remain country, and will continue to fight for a Final Say referendum. We find ourselves on the cusp of a general election which has little promise of solving the Brexit crisis. For precisely that reason, Plaid […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL argues it’s been a week of own goals for the Remain camp… but says we’re still in the game. Campaigns, I said to a People’s Vote rally last month, are like sporting events – ups and downs, opportunities and setbacks, new stars emerge, existing stars disappoint, but while you’re in the game, it […]

Jo Swinson has suggested the Liberal Democrats could reach ‘arrangements’ with other pro-Remain parties to ensure one candidate has a clear run. The Lib Dem leader said negotiations were taking place in relation to a “small number” of constituencies in the forthcoming general election. Speaking outside the Houses of Parliament she highlighted their success in […]

Tory MPs have been criticised for jeering Jeremy Corbyn over his green tie, which he wore as a sign of respect to those who died in the Grenfell Tower fire. The Labour leader wore the accessory for a debate after report into the disaster that killed 72 people was published. As relatives of those killed […]

Western artistic depictions of the East come freighted with colonial baggage. But they also show a powerful, inquisitive passion for another world as RICHARD HOLLEDGE reports A group of men are gathered around a coffee shop in the ancient city of Jaffa. They sit, they stand, they gossip. The convivial moment was captured in a […]

Sinn Fein is hoping to unseat Brexit ‘architect’ and DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds as it aims to increase its number of MPs from seven to eight. Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill said the December 12 general election will be about maximising the return of pro-Remain candidates. “We will stand in our seven constituencies […]

Best selling author Sir Philip Pullman has claimed the Tories are a ‘bunch of crooks’ after he suggested they could put the NHS up ‘for sale’ after Brexit. Pullman made the remarks after Channel 4’s Dispatches programme looked at the risks to the health service should the UK government seek a post-Brexit trade deal with […]

Today’s PMQs looked very much like the next six weeks in microcosm. It’s going to be a long campaign 71 minutes. 71 minutes, this week’s prime minister’s questions lasted. That’s seven minutes longer than the previous record. Why did speaker John Bercow let it drag on so long? Well, it was his last one, and […]

Plaid Cymru have offered to work with other parties in the forthcoming general election to try and stop Brexit, leader Adam Price has said. The party’s leader confirmed it had already opened talks with other pro-Remain parties in an attempt to “secure our European future”. Plaid Cymru previously decided not to field a candidate in […]

Only 30% of pro-Remain voters need to use their vote tactically to swing the election and deny Boris Johnson a majority, a huge new poll has shown. Labour MP for Cardiff North Anna McMorrin, former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable and Naomi Smith, CEO of Best for Britain (pic: Matt Withers) – Credit: Archant […]

Richard Braine, UKIP’s leader, has resigned after less than three months in the role and just hours after a general election was agreed. A party spokesperson confirmed that Braine would be stepping down, leaving the party seeking its seventh permanent leader since Nigel Farage resigned in 2016. It is claimed the party could be ‘on […]

Football commentator CLIVE TYLDESLEY on the challenges facing Remainers at the ballot box as we head to the polls once again. We are dashing headlong towards a general election in which millions of Britons will have nobody to vote for. I feel like I’m about to be handed a selection box in which only the […]

Facebook has agreed to pay a fine of £500,000 following an investigation into the misuse of personal data in political campaigns. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that the tech giant had withdrawn its appeal against the “monetary penalty notice” and would accept the fine without admitting any liability with the fine paid to the […]

A Brexit Party candidate has complained after bags of dog excrement was repeatedly left on his doorstep. Graham Cushway turned to his local newspaper the Argus after the Brighton Kempton politician complained he had become a “victim of intimidation” after announcing his plans to stand in the local area. The Brexiteer told the newspaper: “About […]

An economic think tank has claimed Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal would deliver a £70 billion blow to the UK. Compared with staying in the EU, the economy would be 3.5% lower in 10 years’ time under the prime minister’s newly-brokered agreement, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) study. Opposition parties […]

There are warnings that web giants including Google, Facebook and Twitter must take ‘serious further steps’ to tackle disinformation on their platforms before a general election. The European Commission has previously made the call for change to tackle their attitudes to elections by the end of the year, but now campaigners are calling for platforms […]

Polling expert Sir John Curtice has predicted that the 2019 general election will lead to a ‘record number’ of non-Conservative and non-Labour MPs in parliament. Appearing on LBC, Curtice said the election will benefit the SNP, the Lib Dems and Greens – all anti-Brexit parties. He explained: “I think the safest prediction is that we […]

Jo Swinson has reitterated her stance that neither the Labour leader nor the Conservative leader are fit to be in 10 Downing Street. Asked if she was ruling out supporting either of the leaders after the election, the Lib Dem leader told the Today programme: “I can’t be clearer. Neither Boris Johnson nor Corbyn is […]

The first December election in Britain for 96 years has led to much discussion of whether or not the weather will impede polling – while climate change and rugby league also matter this time around. The front page of the Daily Mail. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant The Daily Mail, which is calling it “the […]

For centuries the French capital has been a centre for freedom of expression, a status that has produced legendary artists and venues. SOPHIA DEBOICK reports Paris is where legends are made. Or rather where they make themselves. The icons of French music have routinely spun mythical backstories for themselves, and the very streets of the […]

With a general election around the corner, the last thing a Remain household want is to have a knock on the door from a Brexiteer. The New European’s handy poster to keep Brexiteers away during elections. – Credit: Archant Whether it is an activist from UKIP and the Brexit Party, or a pro-Brexit candidate from […]

Nicola Stugeon has insisted the only way to vote tactically in Scotland to stop a Tory Brexit is to vote SNP. Sturgeon made the claims on Twitter as she hit the campaign trail the day after MPs voted for a December 12 poll. “Seeing lots of chat this morning about tactical voting to maximise Remain […]