News and Opinion

The man famed for telling Remainers ‘you lost, get over it!’ is still complaining about the result of the Peterborough by-election. Shortly after the result the Brexit Party leader tried to turn a second place result into a victory, as he dismissed suggestions his party lost. He said: “Did we? I don’t know, if you […]

Noel Gallagher has told Remainers to ‘move to North Korea’ if they do not agree with Brexit – despite admitting he believed it was a ‘nonsensical’ idea at the time of the vote. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the Oasis singer said that there was only “one thing worse than a fool who voted […]

In the first televised debate of the campaign, the five candidates taking part taunted Boris Johnson for failing to turn up. Channel 4, which staged the debate, put an empty podium for Johnson who refused to take part. Host Krishnan Guru-Murthy said Johnson had declined the invitation but was “welcome” to join at any point, […]

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson is to deliver a speech which will be seen as a renewed push for the party to wholeheartedly back a second EU referendum. In a keynote speech to the Centre for European Reform, Watson will say Labour’s members and its values had always been pro-European, and that “our hearts are […]

A news interview with Boris Johnson from 2013 has resurfaced in which the interviewer puts it to him: ‘You’re a nasty piece of work, aren’t you?’ The 2013 clip shows BBC’s Eddie Mair grilling Boris Johnson just before a TV documentary, Boris Johnson: The Irresistible Rise, was to be aired. It was recently re-shared on […]

There we have it: ‘When you’re dealing in trade,’ declared Donald Trump gleefully on his state visit, ‘everything’s on the table, so NHS or anything else or a lot more than that but everything will be on the table, absolutely.’ Surely this must be the real, decisive turning point. The moment when, finally, the harsh […]

Roger Domeneghetti looks back on a controversial movie that questioned Britain’s self-assured complacency and imagined a Nazi ascendency here. ‘It Happened Here’ (1965) contemplated what would have happened if the German Army crossed the English Channel. Picture: LMPC via Getty Images – Credit: Archant British exceptionalism is a concept that has long been at the […]

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s husband has admitted he ‘resented’ Boris Johnson’s handling of her case during his tenure as foreign secretary. Richard Ratcliffe has joined his wife in staging a hunger strike against her detention in Iran over spying allegations, which she denies. Speaking outside the Iranian embassy in London, where he is holding his demonstration, Ratcliffe […]

Rory Stewart called out Tory favourite Boris Johnson for not answering ‘brutal questions’ of how he plans to deliver Brexit. When BBC1’s Andrew Marr asked Rory Stewart whether he regretted referring to Boris Johnson as “a great prancing clown” and “Pinocchio”, the Conservative candidate for prime minister insisted that this was no longer a time […]

Tory leadership hopeful Dominc Raab has warned the party could be in trouble in the next election if it fails to deliver Brexit by the October 31 deadline. "The Tory party will be toast if we're not out by the end of October... the Conservatives cannot win an election unless we deliver Brexit" says Tory […]

Nigel Farage has warned Brexiteers he predicts Boris Johnson will, at best, only be able to deliver a ‘rehash’ of Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement if he makes it into Number 10. The Brexit Party leader said there appears to be “little chance” of the Tories delivering on Johnson’s pledge to take Britain out of the […]

The sister of Jo Cox said the calls for ‘calmer, kinder politics’ following the assassination of the Labour MP has been ‘forgotten’. Kim Leadbeater, whose sister was murdered in her Batley and Spen constituency by extreme right-wing terrorist Thomas Mair on June 16 2016, said the “language of politics has become even more brutal and […]

The idea that a new Conservative prime minister could suspend parliament to allow for a no-deal Brexit has been labelled as ‘scandalous’ by a senior Labour MP. 'It would be scandalous to prorogue parliament' - Hilary Benn says he doesn't think the Government will be able to 'shut the doors of the House of Commons'. […]

Jeremy Hunt has claimed it is still possible to negotiate a new deal with the European Union that would solve the issue of the Irish border backstop. When will #Brexit happen if Jeremy Hunt becomes prime minister? #Marr quizzes the Foreign Secretary and Conservative Party leadership candidate about his #Brexit timeline https://t.co/8DuXBymEx9 pic.twitter.com/4axWDa6izC— BBC Politics […]

SOPHIA DEBOICK on a year in which music was helping to forge state identities on both sides of the Atlantic. Capitalism, colonialism and immigration were transforming the world in 1850. The founding of shipment company American Express, by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo, and of the Lehman Brothers dry goods store, by Bavarian immigrants, […]

As a new blockbuster exhibition opens at the British Museum, FLORENCE HALLETT explores manga’s global appeal. Katsushika Hokusai’s ‘Kohada Koheji’ from ‘One Hundred Ghost Tales’, 1833. Picture: British Museum – Credit: Archant In our multi-platform, digital world images are everything, and manga – Japanese comics – are the lingua franca. In the west, a niche […]

Looking back at the astonishing career of a man who took US embroilment in the rest of the Americas to extraordinary lengths. General William Walker of Nicaragua pictured in 1856. Picture: Getty Images – Credit: Bettmann Archive Ask someone in Central America to name a figure from US history and there’s a good chance they’ll […]

Bold, challenging theatre which encapsulates the joy and misery of that crazy thing called love. Kiln Theatre, London, until July 6 “All you need to know about A Doll’s House is a woman walks,” says Suzannah, the bohemian actress played by Sirine Saba in Samuel Adamson’s new play, Wife. Ibsen’s classic hastened the march towards […]

The issue here isn’t drug use – it’s hypocrisy, says Mitch Benn. And they’re off. The hitherto ever-expanding field of candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party (and thereby the prime ministership of the country) has contracted somewhat, as they clear the first hurdle, and we’re now left with the ten ‘serious’ contenders. Perhaps […]

Plus STEVE ANGLESEY picks out his top Brexiteers of the week. Lance Forman, the Brexit Party’s new MEP for London. Picture: Isabel Infantes/PA Wire/PA Images – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images Of all Brexit’s conundrums – backstops and borders, deals and declarations – one question keeps recurring: Why is Barry Gardiner on my television again? Is […]

Three years after reminding us of his legacy as a liberal and unifying Conservative, 2019 Boris Johnson is relying on his hard-right influences. The last Conservative leadership contest feels like it was a lot longer than three years ago. In that race, one of the favoured candidates for the top post gave a speech speaking […]

Why Labour must use the Tory leadership to get their voice heard – before it’s too late. I shall begin where I ended last week… our new prime minister is being selected by 0.25% of the population, 81% of whom did not vote Tory in the European elections. This is a democratic obscenity, made more […]

Why knowing about these two African American women is key to understanding how the Democrats intend to defeat Donald. Symone Sanders, who joined Joe Biden’s campaign as a senior adviser earlier this year. Picture: JP Yim/Getty Images – Credit: Getty Images for Girlboss Rally The sight of two white male septuagenarians, Joe Biden and Bernie […]

Far from being a new fad, vegetarianism has long been a strand of left-wing politics, says Sky Duthie. The rise of the vegetarian and, more recently, the vegan diet is generally perceived to be a new phenomenon. So, too, is their association with contemporary progressive ideas, politics and lifestyles. But plant-based diets have deep historical […]

Police will take no further action against Jo Brand after she joked about throwing battery acid at politicians, Scotland Yard has said. The comedian was reported over an allegation of incitement to violence after comments made on Radio 4 programme Heresy after Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage criticised the joke. Brand apologised for the joke, […]

The V-2 was a mere footnote of the Second World War – despite the destructive power and terror it created. Yet, as Mick O’Hare shows, the lethal weapon was one of the most influential inventions of the 20th century “The thing was, you couldn’t hear them coming. they travelled faster than the speed of sound […]

Crossbench peer and businessman Alan Sugar has tweeted his support for Boris Johnson as prime minister – despite last month saying he should be in prison. The former Labour politician took to the social media network website to claim that only Johnson had the potential of winning a general election up against Jeremy Corbyn. He […]

TIM WALKER speaks to Michael Longhurst about the Donmar Theatre’s revival of Europe – and why he is keen that it sends a very political message. “This country has been sitting on a powderkeg for too long. A spark was bound to catch. He said he’d tighten up on immigration controls. After all… feelings were […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has withdrawn from the Tory leadership race as candidates seek a way to defeat front-runner Boris Johnson. Hancock, who secured 20 votes in the first ballot of the contest, said the party is looking for a candidate for the “unique circumstances that exist now”. He tweeted: “Thank you for all your […]

A Question Time audience member has made a simple but compelling point about the ‘absolutely rubbish’ standards to which politicians are held over drug use. During the episode, the discussion turned to the recent political confessions, most notably Michael Gove confirming he had used cocaine and Rory Stewart saying he had taken opium. A woman […]

International trade secretary Liam Fox has said that Nigel Farage does not speak for the UK on an international stage after the Brexit Party leader claimed he was going to start his own trade deal talks with Donald Trump. Farage claimed the UK was “behind the curve” on plans for a post-Brexit trade deal with […]

Boris Johnson’s own words on television debates being ‘essential’ have come back to haunt him as his team refuse to guarantee his participation. The former foreign secretary so far has only answered six questions from journalists during the whole Tory leadership election campaign. Now Johnson’s team say he is “in discussions” with broadcasters about his […]