News and Opinion

Yoko Ono was always a disruptor, a transgressor, an interloper. And we should all be thankful for that. Looking back now, I never thought that John Lennon would grow to be old. But I always knew that Yoko Ono would make it. The Beatles had been manufactured to give off a care-free air, a boyishness that […]

A new book by writer and broadcaster David Baddiel gets right to the heart of anti-Semitism, and why it has taken such a hold on the left. Smear. Bundled up in that single syllable are years of pain and anger felt by Jewish people who have failed to persuade the putative anti-racist movement that we know […]

Two out of five small businesses are not clear about new rules for posting goods to the EU since the start of the year, new research suggests. A survey of 500 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) found that one in six were not even aware of new EU posting requirements. Many of those questioned by […]

Boris Johnson has supported calls for a campaign to promote British seafood during a video conference with Conservative MPs from coastal areas. Johnson also promised to address concerns surrounding quotas and the ban on shellfish exports to the EU, following massive trade disruptions for British fishermen. MORE: George Eustice claims EU ‘unexpectedly’ changed its position on […]

Joe Biden’s nomination as trade representative has said she wants to “review” the progress and objectives of negotiations on a UK-US deal. In a confirmation hearing before the Senate finance committee, Katherine Tai said she would examine the situation in the light of the UK’s Brexit deal and against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. […]

The coronavirus crisis has made the UK look “dysfunctional” at times due to a lack of co-operation between administrations, Gordon Brown has said. In an article on devolution for the Scottish Fabians think tank, the former prime minister also said Boris Johnson risks becoming the “biggest recruiting sergeant for nationalism” due to his position on […]

Reports claim that chancellor Rishi Sunak will not include a pay boost for health workers in England’s forthcoming budget, despite warnings it could cause an exodus among frontline staff. Sunak will not make any decision on salaries for NHS staff until he receives the NHS Pay Review Body’s conclusions, which are due to be delivered […]

A new book by Peter Oborne chronicles Boris Johnson’s history of deceit and how his time in Downing Street has poisoned British political culture.  In an interview with the American television network CBS earlier this month Boris Johnson sought to reassure president Joe Biden that he would do nothing to harm the Good Friday agreement. Johnson tried […]

Warm words about climate action are one thing. But Brexit means it's likely all we will get is hot air. 

David Lammy talks to ALASTAIR CAMPBELL about how the Tories are exploiting the so-called ‘culture wars’, Labour’s performance under Keir Starmer, his lonely Christmas… and Jose Mourinho’s ego. Because of the big smile, the big personality, and one of the most infectious laughs in politics, you might assume David Lammy to be on the happier end of the […]

Nicola Sturgeon insisted she has no regrets about ensuring complaints against her predecessor Alex Salmond were investigated – despite the “difficulties” it has caused. The first minister spoke out as the row surrounding her government’s bungled handling of sexual harassment allegations against Salmond grew – with her political opponents claiming that the Scottish Parliament itself […]

Boris Johnson has launched a new union strategy committee which has been described as a “step up” from the government’s union unit that it replaces. The committee was set up after Oliver Lewis left his position as the head of Downing Street’s Union unit last week. Lewis, a veteran of the Vote Leave campaign, had been […]

Tory Brexiteers have called on Boris Johnson to scrap the arrangements for Northern Ireland which he agreed with Brussels. The European Research Group (ERG) has published a report which concluded the Northern Ireland Protocol had a “profound and negative effect”. The protocol was designed by the EU and UK to avoid a hard border on […]

Alex Salmond believes Nicola Sturgeon and her circle have been “stitching him up”, according to a friend. SNP MSP Alex Neil said anyone proven to be involved in a conspiracy against the former first minister would be “getting their jotters” (sacked). Neil, who represents the Airdrie and Shotts constituency, is not seeking re-election in May. […]

Downing Street has rejected claims that Boris Johnson is running a “populist” government and lacks the appetite to be unpopular by doing the right thing. Responding to remarks from former chancellor Philip Hammond, who said he was not being honest with the public about the budget, press secretary Allegra Stratton, said: “The prime minister has spoken […]

Brexit latest… Your weekly check on how Project Fear is becoming Project Reality. It has been another gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain, as a senior minister accused the EU of seeking “petty revenge” – and then hinted that the government might ban imports of European mineral water and seed potatoes. The grandstanding […]

Former chancellor Philip Hammond has urged Boris Johnson to tell the public “some difficult home truths” ahead of next week’s Budget. The ex-occupant of Number 11, who was a close ally of Theresa May, also said the government should ditch “very extravagant” promises from its manifesto. Lord Hammond of Runnymede told the BBC he broadly […]

TIM WALKER on Downing Street’s rival camps. Michael Gove may have put a brave face on Boris Johnson‘s decision to give his Brexit brief to Lord Frost, but I hear relations between the two old rivals are at their most strained since the 2016 Tory leadership contest. “The flashpoint was the PM’s disastrous trip to Scotland last month […]

The news you might have missed from around Europe, selected by Steve Anglesey. A group of hapless would-be thieves were arrested in Nancy, north-east France, after a disastrous attempt to rob a friend’s stash of several thousand euros. Two men, one armed with a hunting rifle, aborted their first raid when a woman they did […]

A brilliant new novel shows how the city’s traumatic past still has a powerful hold on Europe, three decades on. A few years ago I emerged from the mouth of a tunnel onto scrubby ground next to a house just outside Sarajevo airport. The sunshine after the darkness had me screwing up my eyes, my big […]

Calls for Matt Hancock to resign following the recent court ruling against him over PPE contracts simply underline the problem with bringing such cases.  This week, a lot of people are confused – and very reasonably so. A court has ruled that health secretary Matt Hancock broke the law over Covid-19 related contracts. The ruling seems to […]

A German newspaper has expressed “envy” at Britain’s roadmap out of lockdown and criticised Angela Merkel’s handling of the country’s vaccine programme. German daily Bild criticised chancellor Merkel on Tuesday over her failure to secure the same results for her citizens. The paper read: “Dear British, WE ENVY YOU! Simply HAPPY! This means: normal life is coming […]

Boris Johnson is “an unrepentant and inveterate liar” who is not subject to the same rules as others, a former French diplomat to the UK has said in her new book. Sylvie Bermann, the French ambassador to the UK during the Brexit vote, also claimed Brexiteers were consumed with a hatred for Germany and were […]

Our leaders are avoiding proper scrutiny due to the changes in the way politicians communicate during the pandemic. The social impact of COVID is self-evident. It has touched the everyday aspects of each of our lives, from simple tasks such as shopping, to meeting family members on Zoom, to (not) socialising with friends. Each of […]

MPs have called on Matt Hancock to apologise after he denied there was ever a national shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic. Shadow Cabinet Office minister Rachel Reeves urged the health secretary to say sorry to NHS and care staff who “had to make makeshift PPE” due to a lack of […]

Boris Johnson has sidestepped calls from Labour to rule out tax rises for families and businesses in next week’s Budget. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted “now is not the time” for tax increases given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. But instead, Johnson took aim at previous Labour Party policy and Labour-run councils. Speaking […]

There are good signs that coronavirus will not suddenly start escaping from the vaccine, MPs have heard. Professor Sarah Gilbert, of the University of Oxford, told the Science and Technology Committee: “Certainly what we’re seeing at the moment is a reduction in efficacy against variants rather than falling off a cliff edge. “We have to […]

Boris Johnson should “have a word” with Conservative MPs doubting the accuracy of data behind his road map out of lockdown, according to Sir Keir Starmer. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, the Labour leader said he backed the principles of the plan but warned Covid scepticism could risk it all. He explained: “One of the […]