News and Opinion

Boris Johnson’s father Stanley Johnson has said his son has not faced a lot of criticism over the coronavirus – and that the UK was on the ‘right track’ in tackling the pandemic. In a wide-ranging interview with Ta Nea, a Greek daily newspaper, claimed to have predicted nearly 40 years ago that there could […]

More people disapprove of the government’s handling of the coronavirus than approve for the first time. The survey by Opinium found 39% backed the government’s response, down from 48% a week ago. Those saying they disapproved have risen from 36% last week to 42%. It follows a week in which Boris Johnson faced criticism over […]

Jon Lansman, the founder of the left wing Momentum campaign group, has announced he is standing down as its leader. In an article for the Labour List website, Lansman said the time had come to hand over to a new generation of activists. ‘We are now a mass of dedicated activists fighting for a better […]

The brother of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was one of 19 protesters arrested during a protest against the coronavirus lockdown. About 50 people defied social distancing to gather close together at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park, west London, holding placards with slogans like ‘anti-vax deserves a voice’ and ‘freedom over fear’. Dozens of police […]

Amber Rudd, who served as home secretary until 2018 and later the minister for work and pensions insisted teachers ‘have to go back’ to school. Rudd discussed the big argument between current ministers, former education secretaries and teaching unions about when schools restart during The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One. She said: ‘Everybody is […]

PETER TRUDGILL on a fading linguistic practice for describing numbers For the first twenty or so years of my life, when I was telling the time I always said five-and-twenty past two rather than twenty-five past two, and I continued to use that type of formulation on at least some occasions for many years after […]

The Vengaboys are perhaps Rotterdam’s best known recent export, but the city also has its very own curious genre, SOPHIA DEBOICK reports Exterior view of the Rotterdam Ahoy, the official venue for the planned Eurovision Song Contest 2020 which has been cancelled due to coronavirus. (Photo by Robin Utrecht/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) – Credit: […]

Labour’s deputy leader said the government has let care homes down ‘incredibly badly’ and has called for an investigation into how it was all handled. Angela Rayner, who used to work in a care home before becoming an MP, discussed during The Andrew Marr Show the thousands of unexplained care home deaths that happened last […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on the Hungarian-Spanish escapee-turned-footballer, László Kubala. It was cold in the back of the truck and the ill-fitting uniform wasn’t providing much protection against the January chill. The engine whined and coughed as the old lorry wheezed its way towards the border, hitting every pothole and causing the men sitting in the back […]

The betting markets have reported an ‘influx’ in bets on Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer succeeding Boris Johnson as prime minister. After Starmer held his own televised address to the nation on the government’s coronavirus response and two impressive performances at Prime Minister’s Questions the betting markets have reported that 81% of all bets in […]

London is adorned with skycrapers, but WILL SELF asks whether their shiny vulgarity can survive the test of time For some years now my principal point of orientation has been Renzo Piano’s Shard – the tallest building in Western Europe at 309 metres. As I walk around the environs of my home, in south London, […]

Dora Bryan was a brilliant and unpretentious British actress. But TIM WALKER says it was life’s miseries which made her a comedy genius. Dora Bryan, visiting Norfolk in 2005. Photo: Bill Darnell – Credit: Archant � 2005 Dora Bryan was cheerful, unpretentious and as British as fish and chips. She ran a rambling hotel on […]

Bayern Munich now seem all-conquering. But for much of the bavarian giant’s history – particularly under the Nazis – it was a very different story. NEIL FREDRIK JENSEN reports Bayern legend Franz Beckenbaur boxes with teammate Werner Olk, 1996. (Photo by Horstm�ller/ullstein bild via Getty Images) – Credit: ullstein bild via Getty Images If ever […]

Slovenia has beaten other EU nations to become the first country in Europe to announce a ‘taming’ of the coronavirus epidemic. Schools, bars, and borders will gradually open over the weekend while a 14-day quarantine on EU citizens will also be removed. The quarantine, however, remains in place for non-EU citizens except for diplomats and […]

The Daily Mail has been fiercely criticised after using its latest front page to call on ‘militant’ unions to give teachers the green light to return to classrooms. https://twitter.com/TechnicallyRon/status/1261048952553693185 People have been fuming over the Tory-supporting newspaper’s front page calling it ‘disgraceful’ and ‘divisive’. The cover page reads: ‘Magnificent staff across the nation are desperate […]

Wales’ first minister Mark Drakeford has claimed Boris Johnson’s government had failed to hold regular meetings with the devolved administrations during the coronavirus outbreak. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales went separate ways to England at the start of the week after Boris Johnson announced he was easing the measures and changing the messaging. But Drakeford […]

Comedian Charlie Brooker has used satire to mock the government’s initial response to the coronavirus. Brooker’s new Antiviralwipe show took a sideways look at life under the lockdown, dissecting Boris Johnson’s handling of epidemic, as well as how the news reported the outbreak. Turning his attention to one of the first press conferences which Boris […]

A former vice-chairman of the Conservative Party once claimed that public sectors should quit if they don’t think they are paid well enough. Demonstrators attend a rally in central London, in support of the NHS. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA. – Credit: PA Ben Bradley MP, in an article published under the title ‘Public sector workers: they […]

A Brexiteer has been schooled by a public health expert after he branded the coronavirus lockdown ‘project fear’. Businessman Luke Johnson appeared on Question Time with transport union boss Mick Cash, Labour MP Bridget Phillipson, former Brexit minister Steve Barclay and Scottish public health expert Devi Sridhar when he caused controversy by labelling the government’s […]

Senior Tory MPs have reportedly admitted the call for MPs to return to the House of Commons is partly because they are concerned that Boris Johnson is appearing weak up against Labour’s new leader. A Downing Street official has told the FT that Boris Johnson has been ‘rattled’ over the past two sessions at Prime […]

A government minister has admitted just 1,500 of the government’s target of 18,000 contact tracers have been appointed. Contact tracers will have a key role in managing the spread of coronavirus when the lockdown is lifted – ensuring that those who are showing signs of infection are quickly isolated. The government had previously insisted that […]

Nigel Farage is no journalist, writes STEVE ANGLESEY, but a has-been whose migrant ‘invasion’ narrative is pure fiction. Confusion and ridicule may have greeted Boris Johnson’s botched easing of the lockdown, but for one man the new rules are manna from heaven. After a bumpy moment with the cops over whether he was an essential […]

In an epic and excoriating essay, editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL chronicles the events and decisions of four traumatic months in UK history. Mourners at the funeral of army veteran Eric Stonestreet, who died of Covid-19. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) – Credit: Getty Images I am starting to write this at the end of a warm, […]

Think you know Europe? Take our latest lockdown quiz As a New European reader, you probably reckon you know the continent inside out. Test yourself with our fiendish quiz…

The European Commission’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned that the UK government cannot have ‘the best of both worlds’ after Brexit. Speaking at the European Commission press conference, after the UK government admitted there had been little progress in talks, he said: ‘In parallel to these negotiations, both the UK and the EU have […]

Readers react to Boris Johnson’s easing of the lockdown. South Korea is experiencing a new spike in cases after easing lockdown restrictions. Germany’s R-rate has increased after reducing its own measures two weeks ago. So, although we have over four times the number of new infections as Germany and France, and although countries with much […]

A report has slammed prime minister Boris Johnson and his predecessor prime minister Theresa May for failing to defend the civil service from MPs and media scrutiny during Brexit negotiations. The Institute for Government, a governance think tank, revealed that both leaders put advisors and other civil service in difficult positions. The report stated that […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg has been branded a ‘Victorian mill owner’ for asking MPs to return to Westminster before the coronavirus pandemic is under control. Liberal Democrat chief whip Alistair Carmichael said the leader of the Commons was behaving in an ‘outrageous’ way and said his party would not be physically returning to parliament. Rees-Mogg said it […]

Communities minister Robert Jenrick said that if he is prepared to hop on a busy bus or train as lockdown eases then so should others. Jenrick told BBC Radio Five Live listeners that the government had given ‘very clear guidance’ on how to use public transport during the coronavirus outbreak, urging people to hop on […]

Piers Morgan has challenged a pro-Brexit MP to a £10k wager over claims he made about his Good Morning Britain (GMB) presenting job. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen claimed the GMB presenter would be sacked from the show by Christmas due to what he classed as ‘through the floor ratings’. Bridgen, who was grilled by Morgan […]

A rapper has been rebuked during a live television appearance after he suggested sending Boris Johnson to Wuhan to test the herd immunity theories surrounding coronavirus. Drillmister appeared on This Morning as presenters Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby discussed the new antibody test which can determine if people have had Covid-19. The rapper suggested the […]

Even before the coranavirus crisis struck, the right had started to appropriate a raft of radical ideas from the left, says JOHN KAMPFNER. Now, the process is accelerating Jeremy Corbyn? Sure, but that wouldn’t be interesting. Gordon Brown? Maybe in his young firebrand days, but he would have later denied it. Tony Blair? Get real. […]