United Kingdom

Does what we know about its creators’ mental health overshadow the brilliance of The Goon Show? Can the all-too-familiar concept of the sad clown spoil the enduring charms of one of British comedy’s enduring monuments? It is a question worth asking this month, on the 70th anniversary of the first UK broadcast of radio comedy The Goon […]

PETER TRUDGILL on how English, having spread one way around the world, suddenly reversed direction During the 1600s and 1700s, the English language spread westwards from Britain across the Atlantic to Canada, the USA, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Central America. Then, suddenly, at the very end of the 18th century, it started spreading back […]

Labour have gained a county council seat from the Conservatives in Chipping Norton, in the affluent Cotswold area where former prime minister David Cameron lives. The seat was won by Geoff Saul, who also represented the area on West Oxfordshire District Council, taking the seat with 1,528 votes (42.6%) with Conservative Maz Holland getting 1,468 (40.9%). The […]

Politics has changed and one reader says Labour loyalists must stop looking to the past. The problem facing Keir Starmer is simple to state but immensely difficult to solve.  It is one that has been with us for a very long time. After two decades working in the coal industry, I became a writer and researcher. […]

Labour has dominated the mayoral elections, claiming 10 of the 13 posts being contested in cities and metropolitan regions across England. The Tories have won two of the contests so far, and West Yorkshire, which will be electing a mayor for the first time this year, is yet to return a result. Labour’s winners include […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will carry out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet team on Sunday as the fallout over the party’s dismal election performance continues. Sir Keir has come under fire after opting to sack his deputy Angela Rayner from her role as party chairman and national campaign co-ordinator on Saturday, with Greater […]

Jason Solomons has known Noel Clarke for 15 years and admired his refusal to be denied by the British film industry. But that was before the allegations that have left his career, and BAFTA’s reputation, in tatters… Whichever way you look at it, the Noel Clarke allegations are disastrous for British cinema.  It’s a story […]

Labour’s Sadiq Khan has been re-elected as mayor of London in a closer contest for the capital than many had predicted. Opinion polls had suggested his Conservative rival Shaun Bailey would be a distant second in the race for City Hall. Khan took 1,206,034 votes after second preferences were taken into account (55.2%), compared to […]

An honest referendum about the future of the UK and EU seems a long way off after the latest election results The results suggest that the UK is beyond redemption. How people can see past the lies, and continue to support the Tories is truly astonishing. It really doesn’t bode well for the years ahead. […]

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has been sacked as party chair and national campaign coordinator following poor local election results across England. Labour received a drubbing in the local elections in England, losing control of a host of councils and suffering defeat at the hands of Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in the Hartlepool by-election – the first time […]

When it comes to people who try to police our grammar, Winston Churchill (apparently) knew how to deal with them There is a grammar joke about Winston Churchill which is well known, even if it probably isn’t true. When a draft of an upcoming speech of his was circulated to aides, one of them, a […]

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has suggested he would entertain becoming leader of the Labour Party “in the distant future”. Burnham was speaking to the media after being re-elected to office with a landslide level of support. Asked on Sky News whether he wanted to lead the party following reports he would be a […]

Labour candidate Dan Norris has been elected West of England mayor, beating Conservative candidate Samuel Williams. Former government minister and Labour MP Dan Norris secured victory in a second preference vote run-off against his Tory rival. Norris secured 59.1% of the vote in the second round compared to Williams’ 40.9%.  The position has been held […]

Andy Burnham has been re-elected as the mayor of Greater Manchester. The Labour politician received 67% of the vote with his main opponent, the Conservative’s Laura Evans, receiving just 16.8%. The Greens came third on 4.5%, followed by the Liberal Democrats. Burnham added 4% on his vote share from four years before when he was first elected […]

The breakdown of talks with Norway over fisheries signifies another broken Brexit pledge.

An intriguing new exhibition allows the public to view paintings from the Golden Age of Dutch art while experiencing the smells associated with them.  A painting is a painting is a painting. You look at it. It might mesmerise you; Jackson Pollock. Make you smile ironically; Rene Magritte. Lift your soul to the heavens; Tiepolo or, a Damien […]

Financial scandals are never fatal for PMs, but they do lasting damage There is a familiar sequence. Another allegation about the misconduct of Boris Johnson erupts on the front pages. Those that despair of Johnson’s leadership say to themselves or aloud that “surely this one will get him”. A poll is published a day later […]

If a picture is worth a thousand words – and if you need that picture to assuage the feeling that football is being sold to the devil – study this photograph. The scene is Wembley Stadium last Sunday evening. Moments after the final whistle of this season’s first cup final, Tottenham’s defeated Son Heung-min is […]

Politicians are badly letting down the electorate, and more than ever we need a coherent opposition. UK politics has failed us badly and the people know it. But opposition politicians have swallowed the Brexit pill and say we are in a long game. Labour’s loss in Hartlepool shows that our political landscape needs restorative action […]

The results in Scotland and Wales shows voters turned their backs on Boris Johnson, so why not in England? Why can so many English people not see through Boris Johnson? The Scots and Welsh clearly can – it was as heartening to see the election results north and west of Little England as it was […]

It would be little surprise if Boris Johnson turned out to be the ‘chatty rat’ the leak inquiry has yet to identify. Anyone who knows me also knows that I have something of an addiction to my phone. Nor is this a new thing. As far back as 1997, journalist John Williams, who was with […]

The electorate may still view Boris Johnson favourably, but the prime minister may not get the same reception internationally. Current reporting would suggest that a large proportion of the electorate is not too concerned about Boris Johnson’s competence or character, as long as they believe that the country is being tolerably well run – vaccination […]

Boris Johnson met a 30ft inflatable version of himself during a victorious visit to Hartlepool after his party won a historic by-election. The PM said the £2,000 replica reminded him of Superintendent Ted Hastings from Line Of Duty, while a member of the press asked if he thought it looked like TV host Chris Tarrant. […]

Keir Starmer has said he will do “whatever is necessary” to rebuild trust in Labour following its “bitterly disappointing” defeat in the Hartlepool by-election. After seeing another pillar in its once impregnable “red wall” fall to the Tories, the Labour leader told his party to “stop quarrelling among ourselves” and address the needs of the […]

Liverpool has elected its first black female mayor as Labour held on to the role despite corruption allegations. Joanne Anderson was named as the successor to Joe Anderson, after the former mayor chose not to stand following his arrest as part of a Merseyside Police fraud investigation. After her victory, Anderson, no relation to her predecessor, […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that he will do “whatever it takes” to rebuild trust in the party following its “bitterly disappointing” by-election defeat in Hartlepool. Starmer has come under fire from all sides after Labour suffered a crushing defeat. In a stunning result, the Conservatives took the seat – which had been […]

Former prime minister David Cameron and financier Lex Greensill are due to appear before MPs next week, amid controversy over lobbying. Greensill will answer questions from the Treasury Committee next Tuesday, and Cameron will follow on Thursday, as part of the Lessons from Greensill Capital inquiry. Links between Greensill, which was founded by the financier, […]

Boris Johnson has described the early election results as “very encouraging” after hopes of a Labour revival were dealt a crushing blow when the Conservatives won the Hartlepool by-election. Speaking to reporters in Coventry, the prime minister said: “I know that the results have been coming in since this morning and there’s clearly a lot […]