News and Opinion

Bonnie Greer has warned Boris Johnson that a trade deal with Donald Trump will be difficult to get without acknowledging a special relationship between the USA and Ireland. The commentator and The New European columnist has been wildly popular in Ireland since she spoke out about anglo-Irish relations on Question Time. She warned that the […]

Sky News has announced plans for a new television station that will be free from Brexit news. The new pop-up channel will go live from Wednesday 16th October and will air between 5pm and 10pm between Monday and Friday. The station is in response to a study that claimed a third of people are avoiding […]

The leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed he is ‘absolutely certain’ the UK will leave the EU by October 31st. Despite previously being uncertain whether or not the UK would Brexit by Boris Johnson’s intended date, Jacob Rees-Mogg this time appeared determined his government would leave by October 31st. Appearing on […]

New police figures show that recorded hate crime in England and Wales leapt by 10% in the last year, continuing a consistent annual upward trend that saw a major spike after the 2016 referendum. A Home Office report shows that in 2018/19, 103,379 hate crimes were recorded, compared with 2017/18, 9,258 more than the year […]

There is more evidence that Nigel Farage could still leave the UK after Brexit, after hints he wanted to break America next. In a video posted to The Sun newspaper’s Twitter feed, Farage read out some of the meanest tweets submitted to the newspaper to show the Brexit Party leader. In one comment correspondent Mark […]

A Second World War veteran celebrating his 100th birthday on breakfast television made an unexpected speech on live TV condemning Brexit, which he said was breaking his heart. Victor Gregg was on BBC Breakfast, where he regaled presenters with stories from his long life and military service, which are recounted in a recently-reissued memoir. But […]

Boris Johnson will be looking for European leaders to ‘sympathise’ with him and veto the request for a Brexit extension, a cabinet minister has claimed. Scottish minister Alister Jack said that if the prime minister was facing a choice between breaking his promise to leave by Halloween and breaking the law over asking for an […]

British citizens from 160 grassroots groups across the country have co-signed a letter asking EU leaders for a two-year extension to Article 50. Calling themselves “a network of citizens’ groups from all over the United Kingdom”, the writers appealed to the leaders to agree to the extension if current Brexit negotiations break down and no […]

Piers Morgan has criticised the use of ‘breaking news’ alerts to give pointless updates on the Brexit negotiations. Charlotte Hawkins updates Good Morning Britain viewers on breaking news. Photograph: ITV. – Credit: Archant The Good Morning Britain presenter was interrupted by co-presenter Charlotte Hawkins who wanted to deliver some “breaking news” on Brexit, as the […]

A minister has claimed the government will ignore any vote for a second referendum if it pushes ahead with plans for a confirmatory vote on Saturday. MPs are hoping to revive the Kyle amendment to attach to a confirmatory vote on any Brexit deal Boris Johnson brings back from Brussels to allow the public to […]

There were rowdy scenes in the House of Commons as the SNP warned that Boris Johnson is an ‘egotist’ who will not make the UK ‘great again’. SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the prime minister’s language is “straight out of the Trump playbook”. He said he is “frightened” of the potential impact of a […]

Proposals to require voters to show ID before voting have been criticised by campaigners who believe it will give an advantage to the Tories. At a constituency level there is a strong linear relationship between estimated Leave vote and not having a passport. pic.twitter.com/VxRTv6zCuS— Joe Twyman (@JoeTwyman) October 13, 2019 Labour had argued that the […]

Former minister Amber Rudd has condemned a ‘whiff of sexism’ around the ERG’s treatment of Theresa May and said that it is ‘difficult not to share’ the view that she was treated differently to Boris Johnson because she is a woman. Speaking of the pressure the ERG put on Theresa May to resign, she said: […]

AC GRAYLING argues when the Brexit issue is resolved, as well as addressing serious inequalities and injustices in our economy and society, there is a huge clean-up operation required in our political and constitutional order. Whatever the outcome of the Brexit debacle – whether the UK leaves the EU or remains in it, or soon […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has suggested that the government would use EU law to circumvent the Benn Act and push through a no-deal Brexit if there is no deal agreed with the bloc by October 19. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, the arch-Brexiteer would not admit that Boris Johnson has to request an extension to […]

The politicians have floundered on climate change, says Green Party MEP Alexandra Phillips. It’s time to listen to the young Faced with fatal inaction on the part of politicians and parliamentarians, children and young people across Europe are taking matters into their own hands. The waves of youth climate strikes and direct action in recent […]

The BBC has dismissed nearly 600 complaints about Brendan O’Neill’s comments about riots during a Politics Live broadcast. Brendan O’Neill appears on Politics Live. Photograph: BBC. – Credit: Archant O’Neill was criticised for the remarks on and off-air at the end of September when he said that ordinary people should take action for politicians failing […]

A court has ruled that those born in Northern Ireland are automatically identified as British, in a case which could have ramifications for EU citizens after Brexit. The Home Office won an appeal against an immigration tribunal case that had originally upheld Emma DeSouza’s right to declare herself as Irish, without first renouncing British citizenship. […]

Newspaper reports have claimed that Buckingham Palace chiefs demanded to see the Queen’s Speech earlier than expected as trust in Number 10 hit ‘rock bottom’. According to The Sun, the Queen’s senior aides insisted that the speech was delivered early to avoid any last minute changes being made by Boris Johnson that could have embarrassed […]

In an act of enormous personal honesty, a Brexiteer who changed his mind decided to revisit his old tweets and reply to them from his new Remain perspective. Thread alert. This has probably been done before but basically, I'm a #RemainerNow and I thought I would have a look through my old tweets out of […]

With the government majority significantly in minus numbers, it was not what the Queen said in her speech that mattered to social media users, but what happened before and after. In response to the speech Labour MP Jim McMahon tweeted: “Really admire the Queen. Not sure I could have read that without swearing out loud.” […]

The leader of the Brexit Party attempted to get his followers to ‘wind a Remainer up’ by posting a picture of British flags to Twitter, but had a disappointing response. Nigel Farage has attempted to get Remainers wound up on Twitter. Picture: Rob Stothard/Getty Images) – Credit: Getty Images “Share this photo to wind a […]

Labour backbencher Jess Phillips has said she is considering running for the party leadership if Jeremy Corbyn resigns. Phillips was commenting after shadow chancellor John McDonnell suggested he and Corbyn would have to step down if Labour does not win the next general election. The critic of Corbyn said she “might” then make a bid […]

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has hit out at a Leave voter who now says he will back the Liberal Democrats – but the caller had the perfect response to claims he was now backing an ‘undemocratic’ party. Despite claiming people had not changed their minds on Brexit, Eyo from Hackney called up Nigel Farage’s […]

The Led By Donkeys campaigners have revealed the winners of a competition to find the best parodies of the government’s ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ adverts. 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 winners, picked by The Thick […]

SNP MPs have prepared a vote of no confidence in the prime minister – with the party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford calling on Labour and the Liberal Democrats to work with them to oust Boris Johnson. He challenged Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson to “step out of the sandpit and step up to the job” […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has been told off for ‘laughing’ during a discussion about businesses Brexit fears. Patel was appearing on Andrew Marr’s BBC television show as he put forward business concerns about the government’s approach to leaving the European Union. As he explained issues from representatives of key sectors including the pharmaceutical, motoring, aerospace […]

The singer Sam Smith’s desire to be referred to as ‘they/them’ throws up language challenges, says linguistics expert PETER TRUDGILL. Sam Smith has expressed the wish to be referred to as they rather than he or she. Many people already operate this pronoun system when requested to do so, and are happy to use it. […]