News and Opinion

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has claimed that the SNP’s ‘little local difficulties’ is a clear reason not to hold a fresh independence poll in Scotland. The leader of the Commons claimed it would be “reckless” to hold another vote as the UK seeks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic too. Speaking in the Commons, SNP […]

Labour has accused the chancellor of failing patients due to planned cuts to day-to-day spending in the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Written Budget documents revealed that there is a planned cut of £30 billion in day-to-day spending from April of this year, falling from £199.2 billion to £169.1 billion. NHS England will […]

Had enough of lockdown winter and are longing for the spring? RICHARD LUCK selects 10 films that reflect the optimism of the changing seasons. Movies – is there anything they can’t do? I mean, most of us have already had a gutful of winter and yet, with the season not officially over until the end […]

Labour’s shadow environment secretary has called on George Eustice to apologise for Brexit trade barriers which have left seafood companies on the verge of collapse. Luke Pollard said the deal had left the shellfish industry in a “mess” and that many fishermen felt “betrayed” by the government’s handling of their interests during the Brexit negotiations. The EU has […]

JAMES BALL on the mounting national debt, and what should be done about it. Think, for a moment, about your home. This should not be a difficult task for most of us, given we’ve all been spending a lot more time than usual stuck there. There’s probably a bed, a kitchen, hopefully a TV – […]

Rishi Sunak has handed 90% of a £1billion towns fund to Tory constituencies in the Budget yesterday. Of the 45 towns benefiting from the fund, 40 have at least one Tory MP with almost half of the towns in the so-called “Red Wall” northern seats taken from Labour in the 2019 election. Those towns will […]

Ireland’s foreign affairs minister has said the EU is negotiating with a partner it “simply cannot trust” after the UK’s latest Brexit move. Simon Coveney described the UK’s government’s unilateral decision to continue Irish Sea border grace periods until October as “very frustrating”. Speaking on RTE Radio 1, Coveney said Downing Street is breaking the […]

The Commons speaker has lashed out at Rishi Sunak’s pre-Budget PR drive, telling the chancellor policies should be announced to MPs first. Sir Lindsay Hoyle said it was important the chancellor follow “tradition” after it emerged journalists had been pre-briefed on the Budget by the Treasury. Sir Lindsay said that “at one time the Budget was never […]

The UK government has defended its unilateral decision to continue Irish Sea border grace periods until October as the minimum step necessary. The first of the light-touch regulation schemes on goods from the rest of the UK transiting to Northern Ireland had been due to expire at the end of March. Supermarkets would have had […]

Loyalist paramilitary organisations have told prime minister Boris Johnson they are withdrawing support for Northern Ireland’s historic peace agreement. The outlawed groups said they were temporarily withdrawing their backing of the Belfast/Good Friday accord amid mounting concerns about the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol governing Irish Sea trade post-Brexit. However, they stressed that unionist opposition to […]

MITCH BENN with his weekly look back at some of the highlights and lowlights of recent days… BLAME-DODGE OF THE WEEK So at last we know whose fault the spectacular and ongoing implosion of Brexit is. And it’s a bit of a jaw-dropper.  So who is to blame? The prime minister? The previous prime minister(s)? […]

Steve Anglesey brings you your weekly check on how Project Fear is becoming Project Reality. It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain, where the government accused the EU of being selfish over shellfish. Environment secretary George Eustice started the tussles by claiming Brussels was flexing its muscles on mussels, […]

The news you might have missed from around Europe, selected by Steve Anglesey. Cyprus’ Eurovision entry is at the centre of protests over its supposedly sacrilegious lyrics. El Diablo by Elena Tsagrinou has scandalised some in the island nation, dominated by the Greek Orthodox church, with lines like: “I gave my heart to El Diablo” […]

Barcelona pioneered a fusion of finance and football. Others are now playing the same game while the Catalan club itself is embroiled in a crisis. The jailing, even for one night, of the former president of Futbol Club Barcelona is not the first, and will not be the last, time it has happened in this club’s […]

The UK’s spending watchdog has said in its latest analysis to accompany Rishi Sunak’s budget that the prime minister’s Brexit deal will shrink the economy by 4%. The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) said there was very little in Johnson’s deal that would change the prediction of a long-term loss to productivity over 15 years. […]

Union leaders said the Rishi Sunak’s silence on pay for public sector workers was “deafening”. Officials of unions representing hundreds of thousands of public sector workers and civil servants described Rishi Sunak’s Budget as an “insult”. Many public sector workers face a pay freeze this year despite calls for an increase because of their efforts […]

Boris Johnson should “listen to his own MPs” before cutting the UK’s foreign aid contribution to Yemen, Sir Keir Starmer argued during Prime Minister’s Questions. Grilling Johnson over a proposed 0.2% cut to Britain’s foreign aid budget, Sir Keir said: “This week the government halved our international aid to Yemen. If the prime minister thinks this is […]

Reverend Nicholas Baines has called on the government to launch a public education campaign on notions of sovereignty following Britain’s exit from the EU. Speaking in House of Lords, Reverend Baines asked why “pooled sovereignty” with the EU was considered unworkable for the UK but not when it is pooled with the United States. “Notions of sovereignty […]

Nicola Sturgeon will make her long-awaited appearance before the Holyrood inquiry into her government’s unlawful investigation of Alex Salmond on Wednesday, amid calls for her to resign. The first minister has insisted there is not “a shred of evidence” to support her former mentor’s claim there was a “malicious and concerted” attempt to see him […]

Jackie Chan is too often dismissed as a mere action star and overlooked for his largely forgettable Hollywood films. But a re-release of one of his finest early works gives an opportunity to appreciate his amazing artistry.  You don’t hear too much about Jackie Chan these days. Indeed, it’s possible that name will mean nothing to […]

FLORENCE HALLETT reports on a new exhibition with a remarkably topical theme – the totemic importance of touch in art and the human condition. From the wall of the Cueva de Las Manos – a cave in Santa Cruz, southern Argentina – handprints reach out to us across the millennia. At 9,000-13,000 years old, they are by no means the oldest […]

Conservative MPs have demanded prime minister Boris Johnson gives them a Commons vote on moves to slash the UK’s aid contribution to war-torn Yemen. Former cabinet minister David Davis warned the policy “puts lives at risk” and must receive prior approval from MPs. The UK has pledged at least £87 million in aid, down from […]

Downing Street has refused to deny reports that Boris Johnson is considering setting up a charity to pay for the refurbishment of his official flat. The Daily Mail reported that the scheme – based on one used by the White House – could be funded by wealthy Tory benefactors. The move comes amid reported concerns […]

A union representing senior civil servants said it “cannot be right” that ministers do not face an independent complaints process in the wake of the home secretary bullying row. During an evidence session with MPs, the FDA was asked about the ministerial code following the prime minister’s decision to disregard the findings of Sir Alex […]

CHRISTINE JARDINE calls for the government to clean up the mess left behind by Brexit and its failed Covid support schemes. This week will be a pivotal moment for our economy and for all our futures. When the chancellor gets to his feet to deliver the budget, millions of people who have seen their lives, […]

The Labour left is arguing that Keir Starmer risks being “outflanked” by the Tories during this week’s budget if it does not go far enough. Socialist campaign group MPs Apsana Begum, John McDonnell and Richard Burgon are calling for a “People’s Budget” to reflect the “1945 moment” the country as it leaves lockdown. Burgon is expected […]

Boris Johnson has branded Nicola Sturgeon’s plans for a second Scottish independence referendum as “irrelevant”. Johnson said the Covid crisis was a reason to keep the UK together and pointed to the vaccine rollout as an example of the four nations working together. Sturgeon has hinted at holding a second vote early next year if […]

Boris Johnson is reportedly planning to set up a charity to bankroll Carrie Symonds’ make-over of their Downing Street flat. The fund would allow private donors to hand over cash for the upkeep of No 11 and other staterooms. Critics argue this sets up back-door access to the prime minister. According to reports in the […]