News and Opinion

The government has admitted that it won’t get Theresa May’s Brexit deal in time to avoid holding EU elections on May 23. De facto deputy prime minister David Lidington confirmed the elections but said the government was “redoubling” efforts to get a withdrawal agreement through by July, so that elected MEPs don’t need to take […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on the cycling great whose Tour win helped unite a fracturing nation. There was nothing like finding that rhythm, that moment where everything came together, the body, the mind, the bicycle, the road, and it felt like flying. It was the autumn of 1943, the summer heat still in the tarmac but a […]

Vince Cable has said that the government is quietly discussing a People’s Vote behind closed doors. Speaking at a launch event for the Liberal Democrats’ EU election posters, the leader said that after maximising the Remain vote in the EU elections, he wants to secure a second referendum. “I think we are quite close to […]

Nigel Farage said the Brexit Party is in talks with Conservative donors for potential backing in a general election campaign. He told a press conference in London that the party is beginning the process of recruiting 650 general election candidates. ‘There are now a few much bigger donors – traditionally to the Conservative party – […]

Post-Brexit trade deals could be slowed by a ‘fragmented and polarised’ EU parliament after the UK’s EU elections, a report has warned. Turnout will be key. If biggest jumps in voter turnout between 2014 and 2019 are in areas that voted disproportionately Remain, that would suggest relative enthusiasm among Remain voters. (9)— Anand Menon (@anandMenon1) […]

Still life may lack the drama and passion of other forms of art. But, as CLAUDIA PRITCHARD discovers at an exhibition of one of its great proponents, it is no less intense Battle scenes, expansive nudes, eye-popping abstracts and ravishing views compete in the art gallery to catch the eye, with their scale of ambition, […]

The date has been set for a court case which will attempt to hold Boris Johnson to account for the £350 million claim told during the EU referendum campaign – and was plastered all over the big red battle bus. The crowdfunded private prosecution was brought against the MP and former Vote Leave co-chair by […]

It may have been set on a tropical island with a limited cast, but Robinson Crusoe tells the story of the birth of the modern age. On its tercentenary, IAN WALKER explains how Inspired by Crusoe: Matt Damon in The Martian, 2015. Photo: IMBD – Credit: Archant There has always been a bit of a […]

Nigel Farage has challenged Jeremy Corbyn to a debate ahead of the European Parliament elections, warning a deal between Labour and the Conservatives would be ‘the final betrayal’. Farage, who leads the Brexit Party, challenged the Labour leader to discuss Brexit with him. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky News, Farage said: ‘There are five […]

The chances of some kind of harmonious coming together to secure a Brexit deal between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn seems less and less likely, says DENIS MACSHANE. The chances of a Brexit deal between the two leaders are becoming less likely by the day. There are three principal reasons for this. First, the main […]

A Conservative cabinet minister has warned that the party could lose four million Remain voters if the Tories try to ‘outdo’ Nigel Farage. "If the Conservative Party were to make the mistake of trying to out do Nigel Farage then we'd lose four million remain voters" says Rory Stewart MP. Follow live reaction to Sunday […]

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he no longer trusts Theresa May after media reports appeared of confidential cross-party Brexit talks. #Marr: 'Do you trust the prime minister?' Labour's Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell: 'No… she's blown the confidentiality… she's jeopardised the negotiations' #Brexit https://t.co/v2NrEb2YJB pic.twitter.com/I6RI2nyQro— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 5, 2019 Speaking on BBC’s Andrew Marr […]

Labour MP Bridget Phillipson has said that Labour’s lack of clarity on Brexit is to blame to Labour’s losses in the council elections. "Our hesitation and uncertainty on #Brexit has really cost us" says Labour MP Bridget Phillipson on disappointing local election results. #Ridge Follow live reaction to Sunday politics here: https://t.co/0sH2jHtVXQ pic.twitter.com/qVvSST1cnH— Ridge on […]

The desire to vote against something or someone you oppose will only get you so far, says MITCH BENN, at some point you have to vote for something. I’ve got a lot of time for Tom Watson. I’ve met him a couple of times and he’s always been personable and sincere. He turned up to […]

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage has said that the name of his party’s £100,000 donor is ‘irrelevant’. and would not be named until after the EU elections. Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge politics show, Farage started out sarcastically in response to Ridge’s line of questioning. ‘Oh yes, I’m really going to tell you his […]

Time is running out to register to vote for the European elections. COLOMBE CAHEN-SALVADOR explains what you need to do ensure you can have a say. Ahead of the European elections, I keep on being asked by EU27 citizens living in the UK where they should vote: in the UK or where they come from? […]

Government inaction is endangering people’s right to vote, campaigners have claimed, as they called for an extension to the date for registering to vote. More than three million EU citizens living in the UK are eligible to vote in the European elections – but hundreds of thousands are still unregistered. EU nationals, who have previously […]

Former Brexit secretary David Davis has said he will not run to replace Theresa May, declaring his support for his successor Dominic Raab in the upcoming contest for Conservative leader. The 70-year-old Brexiteer – who came second to David Cameron in the 2005 leadership contest, but did not put himself forward in 2016 – said […]

Brexiteers in the Conservative Party are partially to blame for the Tories’ drubbing in the local elections, Jeremy Hunt has said as he warned against holding a general election before Brexit happens. The foreign secretary said the government could have done things differently in the Brexit negotiations, but also took aim at his own colleagues […]

The BBC has been accused of snubbing the Liberal Democrats after their stunning wins at the local elections, which saw the party gaining more than 700 seats. It was a terrible set of election results for the Conservatives, who lost more than 1,300 councillors, while Labour laso lost 82 seats in the local results. Only […]

BONNIE GREER says it is Notre Dame de Paris’ historic obligation to take the benefice offered to it and to share it with the poor, the sick, the homeless, the elderly and children. The question as to why billionaires would prefer giving money to an historic monument rather than to the poor is a question, […]

As Britain drifts towards a possible ‘Norway Brexit’ LARA SPIRIT travels to the Scandinavian country to discover why this would be the worst destination of all. As Liam Fox put it in a letter to Tory MPs earlier this month, if the UK was to end up in a customs union, ‘we would ourselves be […]

Thirty years after its release – and with the Profumo affair about to get a new screen treatment – RICHARD LUCK looks into the story behind the incendiary film Scandal Now Stephen’s in the dock for spending money that was earned By Christine, and the prosecution says that money burned A hole in Stephen’s pocket, […]

Many Remain voters have expressed frustration at the lack of an electoral pact between pro-EU parties. Barnaby Towns argues they need not worry. As we prepare for European elections the government said would never happen, support for the UK’s EU membership is at record highs. Remain is backed by 58% of voters compared to 42% […]

Michael Gove he claimed MPs must now back Theresa May’s deal after voters turned away from pro-Brexit parties to support anti-Brexit parties, arguing it was because they had ‘not yet delivered Brexit’. The environment secretary argued that ‘democracy demands’ that MPs vote for the prime minister’s Brexit deal and urged politicians from all parties to […]

Results from the local elections in England show a surge in support for independent councillors. By Friday evening, with seven councils still to declare, 1,009 candidates who stood as an independent or for minor parties had been elected, 236 more than before polling day. Many of these ‘other’ candidates represent so-called ‘hyperlocal’ parties, which operate […]

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A UKIP candidate for European elections has been criticised after releasing a video suggesting he might rape Labour MP Jess Phillips. Carl Benjamin, who had previously come under fire for a social media message in which he said he ‘wouldn’t even rape’ the Birmingham Yardley MP, posted a video online suggesting that ‘with enough pressure […]