News and Opinion

Michael Gove has denied that the government are gambling with the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. Michael Gove told MPs there has been ‘sadly no movement’ on key Brexit negotiation areas, including fisheries and the ‘level playing field’. Speaking about the most recent round of talks, he told MPs: ‘Both sides did engage constructively, there […]

Boris Johnson is one of the worst Covid leaders on the planet, says ALASTAIR CAMPBELL, Here ten ways the government has failed the country are laid bare. A reminder of the 10-point guide to crisis management that I set out, almost three months ago, when Boris Johnson was assuring us that we should trust him […]

The Liberal Democrat leadership election could decide who becomes PM, says ANDREW ADONIS. With front-runner Ed Davey’s support, Keir Starmer stands his best chance. “Unless the Lib Dems swing decisively behind Labour, both in ideology and electoral tactics, it is hard to see a winning strategy for Keir Starmers Labour party in the 2024 election.” […]

Boris Johnson is treating the UK ‘like a laboratory’ by ignoring what has worked in other parts of the world in his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Professor Ellis Cashmore from Aston University was left distinctly unimpressed by new announcements on the easing of the lockdown. He told LBC’s Nick Ferrari: ‘We have a prime […]

Matt Hancock’s rambling answer on the diversity in Boris Johnson’s cabinet in a television interview has been ripped apart by comedian Michael Spicer. Hancock’s appearance on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, where he struggled to show the government understands the needs of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) people, has become the feature of […]

A Tory minister has dismissed accusations that his government had mishandled the coronavirus outbreak, blaming the high death toll on the number of international travel visitors. Simon Clarke, who serves as a communities minister, defended the Tory administration against claims it had implemented lockdown too late and that quarantine rules should have been imposed much […]

At least in their rhetoric, the European Commission seems to have understood the significance of this crisis, but Quaker MARTIN LENG says a greater international effort is needed to save the world. When coronavirus struck Europe, the EU was mid-way through negotiating its Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF), a broad-strokes agreement between Europe’s leaders about how […]

Tory peer Matthew Ridley has called for a in-depth inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic. The Brexiteer said he feared MPs were covering their involvement in the debacle, urging the government to act. ‘[The] problem that we’ve got is that both politicians and scientists are frantically putting stuff out there to help […]

Council officials investigating the estate where Dominic Cummings’ lockdown cottage was based found ‘historic breaches of planning and building control regulations’ but said no further action would be taken. Durham County Council received a series of complaints about the properties on his parents’ farm, on the outskirts of Durham City, where the Downing Street adviser […]

A Tory politician has sparked a backlash after reigniting a disagreement over her party’s stance on gay marriage. https://twitter.com/Baroness_Nichol/status/1270703409931452416 Responding to a question over gay marriage on Twitter, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne – a life peer since 1997 – said she voted against the legislation put forward by the coalition government 2013 because she feared […]

Radio presenter James O’Brien says Boris Johnson’s praise for his approach to the coronavirus is the most remarkable thing he has ever heard in the Commons. Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer met for another round of PMQs on Wednesday where they debated the government’s coronavirus response and return-to-school plans. During the debate, Johnson […]

One of the scientists that convinced the government to eventually implement the coronavirus lockdown said if it had been done a week earlier the death toll would have been half. Neil Ferguson, professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, told the Science and Technology Committee that a quicker implementation of the restrictions could have […]

The EU’s chief negotiator has again warned the UK government it is attempting to ‘cherry pick’ the benefits of staying in the EU while wanting to leave the bloc. Michel Barnier explained: ‘Sometimes I hear people in the UK public debate say the EU has unreasonable positions but they’re only unreasonable for those who refuse […]

A customs expert has warned that Britain’s borders are unprepared to deal the impacts of leaving the Brexit transition period. Trade expert Dr Anna Jerzewska told MPs the UK faced serious challenges in securing its border when the Brexit transition period ends on December 31 and that customs officials ‘weren’t entirely sure’ on how to […]

A majority of European countries have now re-opened schools. SAJAD MAHMOOD, chief executive of Charity Right, says the UK must not lag behind on getting children back into education. The cordoned off play area and equipment of a primary school in London. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA Wire. – Credit: PA Many of us have a first-world […]

Boris Johnson has been challenged to explain why the UK has one of the highest death tolls from the coronavirus globally with the Labour leader calling it ‘haunting’ in the latest round of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Keir Starmer speak at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons. Photograph: Parliament TV. – Credit: Archant […]

Labour is pressing the housing minister, Robert Jenrick, to explain his involvement in granting a £1 billion property deal to an influential Tory donor. The cabinet minster approved a planning decision for a 1,500-home build by property developer Richard Desmond, a wealthy Tory donor who handed over £12,000 to the party weeks after his plans […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner have been photographed kneeling in solidarity with anti-racism protesters, as a Downing Street spokesperson admitted cabinet ignored a silence organised by MPs. Posting the image on Twitter, Sir Keir wrote: ‘We kneel with all those opposing anti-Black racism. #BlackLivesMatter.’ The mark of solidarity with the […]

Theresa May’s former chief of staff has warned that his party is not taking the new leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer, seriously enough. Gavin Barwell, now a Tory peer in the House of Lords, was responding to claims that the media were ‘overhyping’ Labour’s new leader, and that he has ‘massive problems with widespread […]

A government scientific adviser has said mass job losses and rising unemployment due to coronavirus, as well as concerns about racial and economic inequality, could result in riots in the summer. Professor Clifford Stott, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) sub-committee on behaviour, said there is a risk of disorder on […]

Tory MPs are starting to turn on the prime minister over the latest phase of the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, following a dip in the polls for their leader. The BBC’s Newsnight reports that there is discontent on the backbenches of the prime minister’s party for failing to reopen English schools, which a […]

Pushed to list Donald Trump’s good qualities, Boris Johnson could only confirm that he is the president of the USA First an apology. Last week’s PMQs review may have led the readership to believe that prime minister’s questions was now a water cooler must-watch – not that we’re ever likely to see water coolers again […]

Boris Johnson has been accused of lying over claims he sought Labour’s help to build a national taskforce aimed at reopening schools during Prime Minister’s Questions. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has challenged the allegations saying he was never consulted on the idea. Referring to a letter he sent to the prime minster over Labour’s […]

The independent press standards organisation (IPSO) will not investigate an article in the Spectator written by Dominic Cummings’ wife, which appears to contradict his own account of what happened when he contracted coronavirus. IPSO says it received a ‘number of complaints’ about Mary Wakefield’s column which people felt contradicted the Downing Street adviser’s statement to […]

Footage of Tory MPs laughing at a joke about Scottish slaves in the House of Commons has resurfaced and sparked a backlash, hours after Boris Johnson claimed that Britain was ‘not a racist country’. Twitter users were ‘appalled’ and ‘disgusted’ after a video of Tory MP Lucy Frazer joking that Scots be shipped to offshore […]

A radio presenter has questioned the ‘believability’ of Boris Johnson’s pre-recorded Black Lives Matter video message, accusing the prime minister of having a ‘track record’ of using racist language. LBC presenter James O’Brien said he doubted the prime minister truly understood the plight of minority communities taking part in Black Lives Matter protests. Johnson, who […]

Doctors and campaigners have launched a High Court challenge against the government over its refusal to hold an urgent public inquiry into PPE shortages. A claim for judicial review has been lodged with the court by the Doctors’ Association UK, Hourglass – a charity which works to prevent abuse and neglect of older people – […]

A cabinet minister has claimed that negotiations over the UK’s future relationship with Europe after Brexit can not go on ‘forever’. Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt told parliament that a deal must be reached soon. ‘We cannot keep negotiating forever, we have to allow our businesses, our farmers, our citizens time to implement the decisions […]

Keir Starmer’s approval ratings has now jumped well ahead of Boris Johnson’s after support for the prime minister plummeted. Almost half (48%) of the public has a favourable view on the leader of the opposition – according to new YouGov polling – compared to 43% that hold the same view of Boris Johnson. That is […]

A Tory councillor in Bristol has described slave trader Edward Colston a ‘hero’ and the toppling of the statue in his city as a ‘frenzied thug violence’. Councillor Richard Eddy resigned as deputy leader of Bristol council for using a golliwog as a mascot. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant Cllr Richard Eddy said that he […]

Former Brexit secretary wants MPs to be tested daily for coronavirus to put an end to social distancing measures in the House of Commons. Davis was one of the MPs to criticise the procedures brought in by Jacob Rees-Mogg and the government to keep the Commons running during the pandemic. He suggested that if Vienna […]

A Black Lives Matter supporter has told Nigel Farage he is ‘struggling to be relevant’ as he appeared on Good Morning Britain to criticise the toppling of a slave trader’s statue. Lawyer and woman’s rights activist Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu and historian Professor Kate Williams took on the Brexit Party leader in debating the Black Lives […]