Interview

The promise of a fresh start, followed by a stunning burst of creativity – and then the full stop of his final act.

The former Conservative MP, who left the party for Change UK, is swapping the Commons for the courtroom. Now, she tells TIM WALKER why she doesn't miss parliament, how Sir David Amess will be remembered and why she won't despair in democracy.

Arsène Wenger changed the Premier League forever. Now, he tells ALASTAIR CAMPBELL he’s creating radical ideas about how the sport itself should evolve while sharing a few thoughts on the present day

A stunning new exhibition at this month’s Photo London fair sees Iranian born photographer Shirin Neshat turn her lens on her adopted country.

Levelling up has become a government cliche. But that doesn’t mean we should dismiss the concept. SUNA ERDEM talks to enthusiast Lord Kerslake about the reality and necessity Does levelling up harm the south? Amid the soul-searching following the Tories’ shock by-election loss of leafy Chesham and Amersham, this issue was raised so much that […]

Berlin journalist Annette von Broecker’s life has spanned her city's division and reunification. Sixty years ago this summer, she was on the scene as the Wall went up. She talks to JOHN KAMPFNER about those momentous moments, with photographs from a dramatic month that gripped the world.

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

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary tells JOHN KAMPFNER, in characteristically forthright style, just what he thinks of the government’s Covid travel rules, the ‘hijacking’ of his aircraft by Belarus and the future of aviation The UK’s travel rules are in chaos. The European Union is starting to open up, but not to Brits. Is ‘delta’, the Indian variant, […]

Prince William’s angry condemnation of the BBC following the revelations about the way Martin Bashir secured his interview with Princess Diana has underlined just how much the future monarch has been shaped by his mother’s death There was a cold, dignified anger in Prince William’s response to the investigation into the BBC’s handling of Martin […]

Danny Huston’s grandfather, his dad and his sister all won Oscars, creating a Hollywood dynasty. No pressure, then.  Movie night when Danny Huston was a kid probably sounds a little different to the ones we’ve all held with our families in lockdown. “There was always a big palaver about getting the projector out,” he says […]

“The working class people I grew up with are voting Tory, and the trendy middle class professionals I work with in London are voting Labour. It’s all topsy-turvy.” I wish this was the warm-up to one of those long, rolling observational gags that have made Russell Kane one of the country’s most successful comedians. Sadly, […]

Son of pop royalty, Roman Kemp has turned tragedy and his own struggles into a window on mental health. There have been plenty of tough times in my life and career, but few quite as stressful – in truth, terrifying – as the fear that your own son is intent on drinking himself to an […]

Anthony Scaramucci, former Trump aide turned foe, tells ALASTAIR CAMPBELL why Joe Biden does not want his predecessor in jail, and why the US might need an entirely new political party to repair the damage done by his former boss. Working for Donald Trump in the first place almost cost Anthony Scaramucci his marriage. Turning on his […]

Former French ambassador to the UK Sylvie Bermann made recent headlines with her very undiplomatic comments about Boris Johnson. She talks to TIM WALKER about how the country changed in her time here, and what she sees for its future. Almost a month after the EU referendum, the newly-appointed foreign secretary Boris Johnson bounded into the opulent residence […]

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 […]

New French film Slalom creates a creepy atmosphere amid the beauty of the Alps and hothouse atmosphere of its resorts. JASON SOLOMONS talks to its director, and comes up with his favourite movies set in the mountains. Snow falls outside, settling softly on the cars and on the muddy green of a little park. It’s an […]

Editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL interviews novelist Kate Mosse about her campaigning for feminism, and now for carers, and why she won’t be writing a Brexit or Covid novel just yet. The thing about rights, says historical novelist Kate Mosse, is that it can take years, decades, centuries, to win them, but they can be lost all […]

Party leader Ed Davey talks to MATT WITHERS about this burning issue, why social care is his top priority and the Lib Dems’ controversial Brexit policy. Here’s a pretty non-scientific experiment into the current state of what was until very recently the third force in British politics. Try typing “What is the point of the […]

Former de facto deputy prime minister Sir David Lidington tells MATT WITHERS about how he will continue campaigning for the Conservatives to be a pro-European party. The night before I speak to former de facto deputy prime minister Sir David Lidington, the organisation he chairs changed its name. Goodbye Conservative Group for Europe, hello Conservative […]

Shola Mos-Shogbamimu is a lawyer, activist, political commentator and founder of the publication Women in Leadership. She’s also a mother-of-three (“my kids can’t wait to get back to school because they now prefer their teachers to me”, she tells me down the phone from her lockdowned South London home). And, naturally, a fervent Remainer. We’re […]

Matt Withers talks to the Poet Laureate of Brexit Britain about Europe, lockdown and cultural appropriation in music This time last year Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods, the Poet Laureate of Brexit Britain, was writing the first songs for the band’s sixth studio album. The themes would have been familiar for those who know the […]

As the deadline for Brexit trade talks looms, the man who co-founded a grassroots action group in Hertfordshire against leaving the EU has shared his thoughts on the last four rollercoaster years of politics. On the surface, 49-year-old Richard Scott from Harpenden is like any normal family man who “works hard to put food on the table.” He describes his upbringing […]

TIM WALKER talks to Lib Dem acting leader Ed Davey about the role of politics during the pandemic, and what Keir Starmer’s success could do for his own party’s prospects. Sir Ed Davey is working from home in his south London constituency, but, while his daily commute from his bed to his desk is shorter, […]

Actor and force of nature Frances Barber talks to TIM WALKER about Twitter battles, her tangled relationship with Labour and the hedonistic thought driving her through lockdown. At about this time, Frances Barber would have got back refreshed from a yoga retreat in Sri Lanka and be beginning rehearsals for a new play that Mark […]

Layla Moran talks to TIM WALKER about how parties and political opponents should find ways to work together to tackle the coronavirus. In this brave new world, politicians are gasping for relevance. Holed up in her constituency home in Oxfordshire, Layla Moran, a former teacher, is managing to keep us attentive. More than that, she’s […]

Leading pro-EU campaigner Lord Heseltine talks to TIM WALKER about where the battle was lost, the likely fate of Dominic Cummings and the press barons he holds responsible for Brexit. Few politicians have counted in – and counted out – quite as many prime ministers and their minions as Lord Heseltine, and, so far as […]

John Bercow speaks to TIM WALKER about Remain’s mistake in voting for an early general election, his view of Boris Johnson, and why he thinks it’s wrong to blame Jeremy Corbyn for Brexit. One had imagined John Bercow, the speaker of the House of Commons during the most bruising and brutal period of post-war political […]

TIM WALKER meets Lib Dem leadership candidate Jo Swinson to talk about the challenges facing liberalism, coalition mistakes and… Brexit Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson. Photograph: Andrew Milligan. – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images I ask Jo Swinson why she should lead the Liberal Democrats and she takes a deep breath and manages to get […]