News and Opinion

MEGAN NOLAN on how the show has moved from frivolous, enjoyable time-waste to water-cooler emblem of national interest ITV’s reality dating show behemoth Love Island is back again, improbably, having weathered multiple genuine tragedies, a smattering of controversy, and the interruption of a plague year in which kissing was illegal. Our contestants have quarantined and are […]

Herbrand Sackville, the 9th Earl of de la Warr, was ahead of his time in his belief that art could breathe new life into a town. A century on, RICHARD HOLLEDGE looks at the must-see art of the east coast

It might have had five years to sink in, but for those with deep roots on the continent, the pain of Brexit still feels raw – particularly at this time of year Before the apocalypse, this was the time of year when thoughts turned to the great migration from northern Europe south for the summer. A feeling […]

The arrangement comes with many advantages, even for Unionists who hate it the most.  Northern Ireland’s Unionists are extremely angry right now, with some reason. A Conservative government and indeed movement with which many sympathised – just trying to ‘get Brexit done’ – has ended up building a trade barrier down the Irish Sea. That […]

Michael Horovitz, poet, born April 4th, 1935, died July 7th, 2021 The euphoria that accompanied England’s victory against Denmark to reach the Euro final was deadened by the news the following morning that Michael Horovitz, one of the greats of British poetry, had succumbed to brief illness after a fall. A devoted Arsenal fan and a […]

The 1946 British Lions’ rugby league tour of Australia was one of the most unusual chapters in sporting history The officer of the watch heard the splash and the shouts. A man had gone overboard into the shark-infested waters off Port Said. It’s no mean feat to stop and bring about a 23,000-ton aircraft carrier […]

The city is seriously considering proposals to seize apartments from landlords to resolve its housing crisis. Is it an extreme throwback to its communist days, or a bold move that could offer a solution to other European cities? Sunset on a summer’s day in Tempelhofer Feld, the former central Berlin airport that’s been turned into a sprawling […]

Nowhere are the tensions between tolerance and intolerance felt more acutely than in Poland, where some areas have tried to introduce 'LGBT-free' zones

In a special report, JOHN KAMPFNER explores the failure of the US, Europe, China and Russia to work together on global vaccine provision, and how the developing world can exploit their rivalry Relations between the major powers are at their worst for decades with cooperation thin on the ground, and Covid-19 having deepened suspicions further. In April, […]

England’s success at the Euros tournament has stirred emotions Boris Johnson can only wish he could achieve

TIM WALKER on how the Sun and Mail on Sunday struggled with reporting an open secret The press statement Michael Gove and Sarah Vine put out to an unstartled nation last week announcing that they were splitting up included a request for privacy. Most of the major news organisations had, however, kept scrupulously to the press […]

The former health secretary’s other misdeeds may have attracted more headlines, but the use of private email and WhatsApp for government business is a serious concern

This was meant to be its moment but across the continent, populism has peaked. So what is replacing it?

Denis MacShane on the late Dick Leonard, former Labour MP and dedicated campaigner to the European cause

Established a pop-up paper in 2016 due to last only four issues, The New European turns five this week. Former editor of the Financial Times LIONEL BARBER explains why it has found a niche and how it can help shape European debate

Bonnie Greer reflects on living in central London during Covid protests and explains what lies behind the manhandling of chief medical officer Chris Whitty If you appear on TV, even from time to time as I do, one of the facts of life is this: people will come up to you on the street. Most […]

MITCH BENN wants an end to gossip about the divorce of Brexiteers Michael Gove and Sarah Vine HEARTRENDING HUMAN DRAMA OF THE WEEK The parallel universes of politics and newspapers were rocked  with the news that the UK’s leading “power couple”, journalist-turned-perennial political survivor Michael Gove and journalist-turned-Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine, have separated and are […]

Ireland’s former ambassador to the UK BOBBY McDONAGH says political tensions mean many of his compatriots have found it much tougher to lend their support this time When the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, made a state visit to the UK in 2014, he expressed the hope that the England football team would “go all the […]

England's footballers have brought joy to the nation. Nonetheless, ROB HUGHES explains how our opponents still have much to teach us

Scotland fan ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on his texts with Gareth Southgate, meeting Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling – and why he’s found England so easy to like this summer I wouldn’t overstate my England football credentials, but I have seen Harry Kane naked but for his underpants (more later); and Raheem Sterling has given me a guided tour of […]

An apartment that costs 180,000 euros (£155,000) per month to rent is available in Monte Carlo One, a luxury block overlooking Monaco’s famous Place du Casino.

The Faroe Islanders are in the process of connecting up their archipelago with a series of breathtaking tunnels. Could they be setting an example for the UK to follow?

Control of the UK’s borders helped drive the Brexit vote. Now, Priti Patel must hope for European co-operation for her immigration clampdown The desire to have control over the UK’s borders was one of the strongest arguments for the Leave side to win the EU referendum. Now, five years on, the British government is determined to […]

Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi’s EU workers disaster shows that the Brexit chickens are coming home to roost It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain, and for all the talk of football, one thing we can be certain of coming home are Brexit chickens to roost. As the consequences of […]

Six months after his role as chief Brexit negotiator for the European Union came to an end, Michel Barnier has told Euronews that he would “prefer not to say” what he thought of UK negotiators.  The interview coincides with the Frenchman releasing a book, My Secret Brexit Diary: A Glorious Illusion, documenting the arduous 1600 […]

In a macho world, Patricia Chin has blazed a trail for Caribbean music, and for women in the music industry. And at 83 she is still doing so

One reader has his doubts about Boris Johnson’s plan for unlocking England

A new book and exhibition focuses on the emperor’s appetite for the paintings and sculptures of the lands he conquered.