News and Opinion

MPs have voted for an early general election – with the date agreed as Thursday 12th December. The Commons voted by 438 to 20 at third reading to approve the one-page bill enabling the election. Earlier, MPs voted by 315 to 295 to reject a Labour amendment for the proposed polling day to be moved […]

Labour MP Jess Phillips has warned that our electoral laws are ‘not fit for purpose’ as she explained why she did not back a general election in 2019. During a debate on the second reading of the Early Parliamentary General Election Bill, Jess Phillips told MPs she wanted to build consensus in the House of […]

A Tory MP has claimed that allowing 16 and and 17-year-olds the vote in a December election would be wrong – and said one of his reasons to oppose it was it does not benefit his party. Speaking to Sky News ahead of a vote on amendments to Boris Johnson’s general election bill, Tobias Ellwood […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY looks back at the life of the French boxer, actor and first World War pilot Georges Carpentier, whose dogged determination took him from the slagheaps to the ring. For all the newsreel footage that exists of Georges Carpentier in action, the elegance of his movement and lethality of his right hand clear even […]

While the Royal Mint’s commemorative coins are able to be melted down after another Brexit delay, spare a thought for these eBay users. A search through the eBay listings finds Brexit memorabilia marking Boris Johnson’s “do or die” Brexit date of October 31st. Hundreds of “Independence Day” pin badges have been sold by the auction […]

John Bercow has hinted he could remain in role as speaker if a snap general election is called for December. Bercow said he does not have the “slightest ambition to serve any longer” in the role beyond October 31, but added if the Commons asks him to stay on until parliament is dissolved for an […]

Staunch Brexiteer Tory MP Mark Francois bid farewell to the speaker in his own characteristic way by making a jibe about his height. Speaker John Bercow intends to stand down on Thursday after more than 10 years of chairing proceedings. Francois is the deputy chairman of the European Research Group, a Tory pro-Brexit group of […]

The architect of a key People’s Vote amendment has insisted it had the numbers in the House of Commons. Appearing on the BBC’s Politics Live, Labour MP Peter Kyle disputed claims from Lib Dem MP Chuka Umunna that the numbers of supportive MPs did not exist for a second Brexit referendum. Umunna said the lack […]

Labour will support plans for a general election following pressure from the Lib Dems and SNP. Jeremy Corbyn announced at a shadow cabinet meeting that its conditions to back the move had been met. He told his shadow cabinet that Labour would launch the “most ambitious and radical campaign for real change our country has […]

A chairman at the People’s Vote campaign is facing demands to resign from staff who say they cannot allow ‘boardroom politics to overshadow the real politics’ of Brexit. Roland Rudd, the chair of Open Britain, one of five organisations that are part of the People’s Vote which is working towards a second Brexit referendum, has […]

With speculation that the Tories could finally get their December general election, we want to know how you would vote. Will you back the Lib Dems’ proposal to revoke Article 50 if they win an outright majority, the Labour Party with their proposals for a People’s Vote, or the Green Party where climate change is […]

Boris Johnson faces more resistance from MPs in his quest for a pre-Christmas election with the Liberal Democrats insisting they are not prepared to accept his preferred date. The prime minister has put his Brexit deal on hold in an anticipated bid to convince the Commons to vote on Tuesday for a December 12 election […]

A breakfast television presenter has laid the blame firmly at the door of the Conservatives for its problems – after a Brexiteer tried to claim otherwise. Iain Duncan-Smith, appearing on Good Morning Britain, tried to make the case for why the paralysis in politics was not the fault of the Conservatives or Boris Johnson. He […]

Limited edition Brexit 50p coins, dated October 31 2019, are set to be shredded and melted down after the UK’s departure from the EU was delayed to January 2020. The special coins were originally designed to be minted in time for Britain leaving the trading bloc by Friday. However, today the Treasury confirmed these coins […]

Literary gongs seldom court much controversy. But, as CHARLIE CONNELLY explains, this year is different Polish author Olga Tokarczuk arrives prior to a press conference and a lecture after she was awarded with the 2018 Nobel Literature Prize. (Photo by Sascha Schuermann / AFP) (Photo by SASCHA SCHUERMANN/AFP via Getty Images) – Credit: AFP via […]

Liberal Democrat MP Heidi Allen has said she will not stand in the next general election as she declared that Brexit has ‘broken our politics’. The former Tory said she is “exhausted by the invasion into my privacy and the nastiness and intimidation that has become commonplace”, adding that lines are too often crossed and […]

There’s less than a month to register for the general election on Thursday 12th December. When can I register? Assuming you are eligible, you can register any time but, be aware, there will be a deadline. The deadline to register for the last general election was 12 working days before people went to the polls. […]

A general election is needed to stop the prime minister forcing through a ‘bad Brexit deal’ if there is not enough support in parliament for a people’s vote, Jo Swinson has said. The Liberal Democrat leader told the Commons MPs must “find a path” to resolve the current impasse. She said while she would “dearly […]

MPs have once again denied Boris Johnson a general election on December 12th – but there is expected to be further attempts to force one in the next 24 hours. The government won the vote in the House of Commons by 299 votes to 70, but it did not achieve the two-thirds majority required in […]

The government has ‘paused’ its ‘get ready for Brexit’ advertising campaign after the EU granted an extension until January 31st. A new billboard from the Led By Donkeys campaign mocks the government’s ‘get ready for Brexit’ adverts. Photograph: Led By Donkeys. – Credit: Archant The campaign, said to cost at least £100 million, was launched […]

Nigel Farage has been left stunned after a Brexiteer called his radio show to claim the host was a Remainer. Calling Farage’s LBC Radio show, Tez said he did not believe that the Brexit Party wanted to take the UK out of the EU. He said: “Your party could make a real difference. But I […]

Multicultural man WILL SELF takes a trip to the seven hills of Brighton, and muses on how its two sides collide. “You have to understand,” my father was wont to say, sweeping his great bolster of an arm through the ozone-fresh air, “the crucial similarities between Brighton… and Rome.” And when I expressed incredulity – […]

The threat of Brexit is leading to shortage of pigs in blankets at Christmas, despite a poll finding a majority believe it is an integral part of a festive dinner. https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1188794919667802112 The British Meat Processors Association is concerned about the shortage of labour from the EU, meaning there could be a reduction in Christmas treats […]

Nearly two million people have applied to register to vote in the past eight weeks, according to new government figures. The figure is almost double the number for the previous eight weeks with, on average, a quarter of a million every week registering to vote since Boris Johnson first proposed a general election in early […]

The saga of the Hollywood giant’s sole attempt at fiction is at least as intriguing as the work itself. Forty years after it began, RICHARD LUCK pieces the chronicle together. Artist Donald Cammell and his wife, Greek cabaret star Maria Andipa, arriving for the Royal Academy Exhibition in London, circa 1965. (Photo by Ron Case/Keystone/Getty […]

A war of words has broken out between opposition parties and the Lib Dems after Jo Swinson signalled support for a general election rather than continuing to push for a second referendum. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell accused the Liberal Democrats of “giving up” on a second referendum, after its conference focused on revoking Article 50, […]

French citizen ÉMILIE ANCELIN has always dreamed of becoming a lawyer in Britain. In a devastating letter to Boris Johnson, she explains how he has wrecked her dreams by pursuing his Brexit vision. Émilie Ancelin on the People’s Vote March. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant Dear prime minister, I am writing this letter to you […]

The head of communications for the People’s Vote campaign has accused the chairman of putting a ‘wrecking ball’ through the campaign amid an apparent power struggle in the group working towards a second EU referendum. https://twitter.com/BBCr4today/status/1188747295120068608 Tom Baldwin said Roland Rudd, chairman of the campaign, is “making a mistake that I think a lot of […]