News and Opinion

A man was told to remove a woolly hat with ‘bollocks to Brexit’ on it before he could take his seat on a flight because another passenger reportedly found it offensive. Derek said it was a ‘ritual’ of his to share selfies in his hat when he flew. Picture: Derek Knowles – Credit: Derek Knowles […]

A customs union deal would not ‘break the spell’ that Nigel Farage has cast on British politics, an MP has warned. It comes at the launch of a new report which claims that there would be an £80 billion hit to national income and a £13 billion cut to money for public services, even if […]

A senior peer has warned of attempts to ‘distort’ the EU elections as ‘shadowy’ pro-Brexit organisations outspend all political parties on Facebook. Lord Tyler, the Liberal Democrats’ spokesman on constitutional and political reform, said foreign interference in elections and referendums was an “emergency”. “Shadowy campaign organisations are already spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on […]

A Brexiteer MP has complained that the noise from Brexit protesters outside parliament is distracting MPs and the police, saying ‘it needs to be stopped’. Conservative MP Dr Julian Lewis said in the House of Commons that he was concerned by the “incessant loud noise” at all times of day, which he said causes distraction […]

Jeremy Corbyn used the launch of Labour’s European election campaign to call for voters to stop using ‘Remain’ and ‘Leave’ labels, fearing the debate will be stuck in an ‘endless loop.’ Corbyn said that there needs to be more “understanding” of the issues that led to the Brexit vote, said Labour was the party to […]

MICHAEL WHITE takes a look at the past week’s events as the main parties took a beating at the local elections and Nigel Farage blustered on. Trying to predict the outcome of the Brexit stalemate these past many months, let alone to pick Theresa May’s eventual successor, has been even more futile than trying to […]

ANDREA VENZON on why now, more than ever, it is important to mark Europe Day and all that it stands for. This same day, 69 years ago, the French foreign minister Robert Schuman delivered a speech in which he imagined the creation of a European coal and steel community, to make war between European nations […]

JAMES BALL believes both the Conservatives and Labour are playing for a draw when it comes to Brexit, meaning we all lose out. Once again, the Labour and Conservative front benches are meeting up through the week to discuss a possible Brexit compromise. So far, so much groundhog-Brexit-as-usual. But unlike before, there are murmurings – […]

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has defended adopting the ‘Bollocks to Brexit’ message for the European elections as the party’s pro-Remain agenda becomes a talking point in the news. The message, which has been used by anti-Brexit campaigners including The New European, has been used to tap into the anger of those that want […]

ANDREW ADONIS explains why the Labour Party would lose out in a coalition with the Conservatives. ‘England does not love coalitions’ is one of the most famous aphorisms of British politics. Jeremy Corbyn doesn’t need to take Benjamin Disraeli’s word for it. He just needs to have a quick word with Nick Clegg when the […]

Ahead of Nigel Farage’s 33rd appearance on Question Time, STEVE ANGLESEY wonders why the Brexit Party leader is still complaining about the BBC. “I must say it’s jolly nice of the BBC to be here today. I’ve been up and down the country attending rallies with thousands of people and the BBC haven’t bothered to […]

There would be an £80 billion hit to national income and a £13 billion cut to money for public services even if we leave the EU with a customs union deal, a report has claimed. The report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) says that a customs union deal with the […]

Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party has announced its candidate for the forthcoming Peterborough by-election – and it’s a former businessman who has appeared on The Secret Millionaire. Mike Green will stand for Nigel Farage’s new party in its first shot at a seat in Westminster after the leader claimed he was “too busy” to stand for […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Northampton, hometown of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. But who on the panel will offer no surprises – and who will be left high and dry? Here’s who’s on the panel and […]

Change UK’s Gavin Esler has taken to task one of the Brexit Party candidates in a fiery television exchange over social media claims, the party’s mysterious donor, and its lack of manifesto. Martin Daubney was left squirming as Esler tried to hold him to account for what he called a “lie” over who the former […]

The Women’s Equality Party has launched its European election campaign, dismissing claims it would split the Remain vote as ‘nonsense on toast’. The party is standing a slate of eight candidates in London and supporting like-minded candidates elsewhere in the country. At an event in Bethnal Green, East London, today it unveiled its manifesto under […]

It shunts back and forth but never gets anywhere: a model train store seems to have found the perfect metaphor for the Brexit debate with its new window display. The Brexit-themed window display at the Great Eastern Model Railways shop. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY – Credit: Copyright: Archant 2019 In the window of Great Eastern Models […]

His musical talent and passion might have been overshadowed by other elements of his reign, but Henry VIII deserves his reputation as a king with an ear for a tune, says SOPHIA DEBOICK Henry VIII is known as a musician monarch, but it is a characterisation based on a song he almost certainly didn’t write. […]

A session in which the beautiful game took centre stage, Ian Blackford made a right royal gaffe and everyone ignored Brexit again. You could imagine identical scenes in both Theresa May’s and Jeremy Corbyn’s PMQs plotting rooms this morning as their respective advisors explained there was a big football match last night and it would […]

Over 130,000 voter registration applications have been handed on the deadline for voting in the EU elections, with over half of them from young voters. The rush was more than four times the daily average for the previous week. More than half the applications – 57% – came from people aged 34 and under, while […]

Staying silent in the face of ‘lies’ of the Brexit referendum is one of the biggest regrets of Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Commission presidency. At a press conference, the outgoing president said the EU “would have been the only ones to destroy the lies which were circulated”. But during the 2016 EU referendum campaigns, he said, […]

Voters at the European elections should ignore the Liberal Democrats and Change UK and back the the Green Party to be ‘tough on Brexit and the causes of Brexit’, the party’s co-leader has declared. After a sensational set of results in last week’s English local elections, when Greens gained 185 council seats, the party is […]

Musicians are calling for the government to preserve their freedom of movement in a post-Brexit Europe, after it was revealed around half of performers in the UK industry have been negatively impacted by Brexit. A professional body claimed that UK bands, singers and orchestras depend for their livelihoods on European travel for gigs and festivals. […]

New figures show that the number of registered nurses and midwives from the European Economic Area registered in the UK highlight the massive fall since the Brexit vote. According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the number of nurses and midwives decreased by 5.9% between March 2018 and March 2019, from 35,115 to 33,035. The […]

Both party leaders have tried to make Brexit political capital out of Liverpool’s victory over Barcelona while conveniently forgetting that the team’s boss supports a People’s Vote. Jeremy Corbyn: "Perhaps the PM could take some tips from Jurgen Klopp on how to get a good result in Europe?"Theresa May: "Look at Liverpool's win over Barcelona, […]

It has been claimed there will be a Remain unity candidate at the Peterborough by-election to tackle the Brexit Party at the ballot box. Remain campaigners had criticised the likes of Change UK, Lib Dems and Greens for rejecting an electoral pact at the ballot box during the European election campaign after the idea was […]

Almost by chance, CHARLIE CONNELLY finds himself engrossed in a timely novel set in a Paris beset by rising floods. Most of the books featured in these pages I buy myself. I hear about them, I buy them, I write about them. I’m also sent review copies of forthcoming books and if the right book […]

Two different police forces are investigating whether UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin has committed crimes on social media. EXCLUSIVE: 'I cried in the street in Birmingham city centre,' says @jessphillips.Police investigate UKIP candidate's rape comments directed to the Labour MP.https://t.co/wbWgGujPB3 pic.twitter.com/YF4ydBV4bC— Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) May 7, 2019 Wiltshire Police revealed last week that they are investigating […]