News and Opinion

Richard Porritt, Steve Anglesey and Geri Scott return to review another wild week in post-common sense Britain Richard and Steve tackle hard man David Davis and ponder ‘exactly what is the point of Jeremy Corbyn?’ … answers on a postcard. And, as usual, another bonkers Brexiteer of the Week is crowned.

Brussels will not be “intimidated” by Britons who try to blame the EU for their inability to secure the Brexit deal they want, chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said. Mr Barnier was speaking as he said that Theresa May’s proposals for a backstop customs arrangement in Northern Ireland raise a series of “difficult” questions. Speaking […]

Since suffering a burglary, EMMA JONES has turned detective to get her belongings back. But when she receives a WhatsApp message things take a dark turn. ‘Women are coming, it’s a sea change, a tipping point, a paradigm shift.’ Eric ‘always-look-on-the-bright-side-of-life’ Idle rejoices. But I’m confused. Astoundingly, the Monty Python hero is not talking about […]

Boris Johnson has stoked the Brexit fire within the cabinet delivering an extraordinary attack on the chancellor. The foreign secretary told a gathering of Conservative supporters Philip Hammond’s department was ‘the heart of Remain’ and said the UK could end up ‘in the customs union and to a large extent still in the single market’. […]

JO SWINSON guides you through seven steps you can take to help fight Brexit. It’s easy to wax lyrical about everything that is going wrong with Brexit. The Conservatives are stumbling their way through the negotiations and the Labour leadership is standing idly by. In the meantime, the rest of us are left to ponder […]

Negotiating a smooth exit from a fragmented EU is even more challenging, writes JAMES BALL. Once again the EU is reportedly in crisis and this time it hasn’t been caused by us. Italy’s new populist government almost collapsed before it had begun after its president rejected the appointment of a finance minister who wished to […]

Anti-Brexit campaign group Best for Britain today set out its road map for a People’s Vote on the final deal. The group is calling on MPs to force a referendum on the deal secured by prime minister Theresa May, with an option on the ballot paper of keeping the UK in the European Union. It […]

A Hard Brexit would wipe £5bn off the Welsh economy, says Plaid Cymru MP JONATHAN EDWARDS. Wales can’t afford this stormy outcome The bad weather in the first quarter of 2018 has certainly had a dampening effect on the UK economy, but boiling it all down to the weather ignores the red, white and blue […]

Tim Walker tells all about Daniel Hannan’s Twitter block, Boris Johnson’s latest vanity project and Sir Vince Cable’s hopes for Seabiscuit in by-election It says a lot about the Brextremists that few, if any, of the people who’ve worked with them recall the experience fondly. The researcher Dr Richard North, who laboured alongside the MEP […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on why now is the moment to fight for a People’s Vote. Two years. That is half an Olympiad. The time needed to take the winning bid and turn it into foundations built, stadia emerging, infrastructure growing, ready to stage the greatest show on earth. Sticking with sport, two years was sufficient time […]

MICHAEL WHITE is on the hunt for solutions as Europe prepares for its showdown summit. Looking at all the problems crowding in on Brussels, Ed Conway, savvy economics pundit for Sky News and the Times, suggested that what the EU really needs now is its own Donald Trump, a disruptive force strong enough to dislodge […]

Theresa May and David Davis have been accused of a fudge after agreeing any “backstop” arrangement to prevent the return of a hard border in Ireland after Brexit should not continue for more than a year after the end of the transition period. A government technical note said the UK expected permanent customs arrangements to […]

TIM WALKER sees the Lib Dems put up a spirited fight in a Labour stronghold The Lib Dems may be starting a long way behind in Lewisham East – 4.4% of the vote against Labour’s 67% in last year’s general election – but the party is taking the race extremely seriously. Sir Vince Cable’s frequent […]

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown looks at the vocal Brexiteers campaigning from afar. Some of the most ardent of Brexiteers choose to live abroad and direct common folk on what to do and think about their sovereign nation – Great Britain. The most vocal include Nigel Lawson, previously chairman of the Vote Leave campaign, Louise Mensch, an ex-Tory […]

Brexit secretary David Davis has been urged to quit as Theresa May battles for government unity on her backstop proposals for the Irish border. The prime minister is facing a tough response from Brexiteers over plans to allow a time-limited deal which would see the UK stay within parts of the EU customs union as […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Reading’s Concert Hall, which later this year hosts An Evening With Sir Michael Parkinson. He was attacked by Emu – but how likely are tonight’s panel to attack the EU? […]

The Labour leader’s moves on the Lords amendments show he has no interest in halting Brexit Jeremy Corbyn attracted positive reviews for his prime minister’s questions performance yesterday, although it is telling that, against an opponent as unthinking on her feet as Theresa May it is considered a triumph if he takes to his despatch […]

The New European Editor MATT KELLY explains why now is the time to get behind a People’s Vote on the future of UK-EU relations We are, demonstrably, already a vassal state. Not a state held in thrall to the European project, but held in thrall to the politics of the weakest government since Henry VI. […]

The UK government must withdraw a contentious part of key Brexit legislation after the Scottish Parliament refused to grant consent, Scotland’s Brexit minister has said. Michael Russell said if UK ministers failed to remove the clause, regarding the issue of Scottish Parliament consent over devolved powers returning to the UK following Brexit, against the wishes […]

Next Tuesday there will be an almighty Brexit showdown in the House of Commons. During a marathon 12-hour session the government hopes to fend off the amendments to the Brexit Bill that have been sent back from the House of Lords. Following the unveiling of Labour’s new position on UK-EU relations after Brexit, what are […]

Keir Starmer has warned Theresa May Labour will vote against her final deal in October if his six tests are not met. https://twitter.com/BBCr4today/status/1004262697125457926 Significantly the shadow Brexit secretary had only previously said his party would ‘not support’ the government in the event they believed the prime minister had struck a bad deal. This prompted accusations […]

They call it ‘prime minister’s question time’ – which suggests the premier really should answer some. Prime minister Theresa May Photo: PA – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images But, alas, not today. It was a brave move for Jeremy Corbyn to dedicate all six of his questions to Brexit – especially with failing Chris Grayling wobbling […]

Brexiteers often claim trade will boom after the UK quits the EU. Here RICHARD ANGELL, director of Progress, explains why that is nonsense Some people talk about ‘stopping Brexit’ as though it is a binary: you either stop it or you do not. But part of the danger of this is that it includes an […]

Britain will ‘cripple’ its reputation as a free-trading nation if it quits Europe’s economic area and customs union. That is the stark verdict of a trio of senior politicians who are urging MPs to help stop a hard Brexit when the EU (Withdrawl) Bill returns to the Commons. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, Tory […]

Labour have launched a bid to strike a ‘new single market’ with the EU in an apparent lurch towards a softer Brexit. Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench has tabled amendments to the Brexit Bill which would call on Theresa May to make maintaining ‘full access’ to the EU ‘internal market’ an objective of the negotiations with Brussels. […]

Quitting the European Union without a deal would cost Britain £20bn, the head of HM Revenue and Customs has warned. Jon Thompson had faced criticism over claims in May the customs plan favoured by Brexiteers would hit businesses by the same amount if it is implemented. But the customs boss defended the figure when he […]

One of Britain’s largest private sector unions today overwhelmingly backed a ‘people’s vote’ on the final terms of Brexit. An emergency motion was passed at the union’s national conference in Birmingham calling for democratic oversight of the Brexit process. The vote makes Prospect one of the largest trade unions to officially support a vote on […]

Theresa May has been accused of “holding the country hostage” as it emerged she has abandoned plans to publish a detailed blueprint of her government’s Brexit plans. Downing Street announced last month that the government was producing a white paper on its proposed future relationship with the EU, expected to be published ahead of a […]

Disagreement with Britain’s decision to quit the European Union has reached its highest point since the 2016 Brexit referendum, according to a new poll. The YouGov survey found 47% of voters thought the decision to leave was wrong, against just 40% who said it was the right thing to do – the widest margin since […]

It’s time for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour to show true leadership, put people first and back remaining in the single market, says JOHN LEHAL Considering the overriding imperative to maintain legal continuity post-Brexit, and with less than 10 months to go until Brexit day, it is staggering the government has lost yet another four weeks waiting […]

TIM WALKER gives The Chalk Garden at the Chichester Festival Theatre four stars The Chalk Garden Chichester, until June 16 **** (Four stars) When Penelope Keith was awarded a DBE, she was quick to point out that the honour was for her charitable work, rather than her acting. The star of To the Manor Born […]

Cramming in the debate and votes on the peers’ amendments is shameful. Theresa May’s shambolic government has ignored widely-accepted parliamentary protocols before – but this is a new low. There are 15 amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill and the government has signalled it is unhappy with some of them and will be seeking to […]