Opinion

MIKE BUONAIUTO is calling for urgent action against the light-touch approach Facebook takes towards political campaigning on its platform. Ever heard of the anonymised, political Facebook groups that gather data and then disappear within weeks of opening, with no obligation to declare any of their funding to the Electoral Commission? Or how it’s impossible to […]

JAMES BALL on the unwritten rules in politics that are damaging the system and why. It’s a common saying that the UK constitution is unwritten. It’s also a false saying. Much of the UK constitution is written, albeit across multiple laws, treaties, and parliamentary procedures – and in the last few weeks, a good few […]

BONNIE GREER on why the relatable average Joe from the quieter states of America, is the rival Trump should fear most. Joe Biden – Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images Delaware is one of those places where, when many Americans begin to talk about it, they start their sentence “with respect”. Quiet, boring old Delaware, some […]

MITCH BENN on Boris Johnson becoming the first prime minister since 1894 to lose his first commons vote and also reducing his from +1 to -43 in a week. So this time last week, you may or may not recall, I was bewailing the near-impossibility of submitting a regular current events-based (and specifically Brexit-related current […]

JAMES BALL warns a repeat of Labour’s 2017 election campaign will seal Britain’s fate Westminster voting intention. “If a general election was held tomorrow, which party would you vote for?’ Source: YouGov, 2-3 September 2019 – Credit: Source: YouGov, 2-3 September 2019 In a week of what feels like perpetual round-the-clock political turmoil, it is […]

BONNIE GREER on why the grassroots are not a good place for a black presidential candidate to be. A few stats about California, the Golden State… n Last year it emerged that its GDP had surpassed that of the United Kingdom. If California was a country it would be the fifth most productive in the […]

Readers have their say on the ‘stop the coup’ protests – and say that it is the perfect opportunity to win over Brexiteers. Last Saturday I protested at the ‘Stop The Coup’ march in Birmingham. However, unlike many I took the view that this wasn’t just about Brexit, it was about upholding the basic values […]

As a comedian, MITCH BENN knows how it feels to stand before a crowd that’s booing you. Here’s when it happened to Prime Minister. Of all the disparate elements in the jumble of intermittently remunerative hobbies which in my case passes for a ‘career’, writing this column is one of the most rewarding (and indeed […]

Clacton’s ruthlessly pro-Brexit Boomers are an inspiration. Brexit is expected to cause a long-term loss of some 10% of GDP, or around £200bn per year. Government revenues are around 35% of GDP, so a 10% drop means £70bn less for public spending. But state pensions cost £90bn a year, and 65% of voters over 65 […]

To win back Remainers from other anti-Brexit parties Labour must now commit to urgently revoking Article 50 regardless of a People’s Vote. Let me be clear: the best way out of the current Brexit impasse is to go back to the people in a final say referendum with an option to remain. I am one […]

ALEX NETTLE argues the best way to stop a no-deal Brexit is urgent reform to our constitution to give everyone a voice in parliament – and that means looking at proportional representation. Those of us opposing no deal are facing the fight of our lives this week. The unprecedented power grab of proroguing parliament at […]

Up until recently Jeremy Corbyn was accused of taking a leaf out of the Communist Party book, but now it is the ERG’s views on democracy that put the Tories in that territory. Boris Johnson, the man who lied during the 2016 referendum campaign and used dubious methods to become prime minister will, of course, […]

We are in a fight between a flawed and tainted semi-democracy and a proper democracy, writes AC GRAYLING. One of Boris Johnson’s cabinet colleagues has already confirmed unequivocally what we all know: that prorogation is a deliberate effort by Johnson to suppress parliament because he knows that he will not get a ‘No Deal’ Brexit […]

JAMES BALL on the Conservatives’ latest Facebook campaign targetting Remain MPs. If you’d believe some of the more excitable corners of the internet, if you want to see who will win the next election, you need look no further than who’s winning the battle of online advertising on Facebook. And with the government confirming suspicions […]

The Edinburgh Fringe is over for another year and Mitch Benn says it’s been a good one. So the Edinburgh Fringe is over for another year; I’m not going to start bandying figures about but suffice to say I’ve had a really good one, both in terms of audience numbers and response. This is gratifying […]

Following our article on the Eurotunnel in which a regular passenger called for a ‘quality rail experience’ some readers have lept to the defence. I enjoyed reading Victor Lewis-Smith’s article about his experiences with Eurotunnel (TNE #156), but it made me think that there must be two such services. The tunnel I use is nothing […]

Bonnie Greer looks at Donald Trump’s popularity in Tennessee My late mother was born in Nashville, the eldest of six. I always think that, somewhere in her, that fact haunted her after she moved away with her parents to the north. She would show me, sometimes, her Nashville baby picture. Then I would forget. But […]

Readers give their views on a the prospect of a trade deal with Donald Trump, and what it will bring to our food shelves. With no-deal getting closer and the necessity of a trade deal with America therefore growing, I detect a media push to persuade us that the infamous chlorinated chicken is not all […]

David Cameron declared sunshine would win the day. But the Scottish Tory leader’s resignation shows the party no longer has room for social liberals We must respect Ruth Davidson’s given reasons for quitting as Scottish Conservative leader. She has held the role for eight years – effectively a generation in today’s febrile politics – and […]

WILL DRY gives his reaction on Boris Johnson’s plan to suspend parliament ahead of the Brexit deadline date, and calls for everyone to work together to block the coup. Today, Boris Johnson announced that he’s planning to undermine democracy in the UK. It’s a coup. There is no other way to say this. I will […]

A reader suggests that the Remain movement is lacking someone who can control the news agenda in the same way Dominic Cummings does for the Brexit side. Benedict Cumberbatch as Dominic Cummings (centre) in Brexit: The Uncivil War. Picture: Channel 4/House Productions – Credit: Archant The Remain camp needs its own version of Dominic Cummings […]

Readers are distinctly unimpressed with Boris Johnson’s knowledge of history. Any attempt to impose a no-deal Brexit challenges the very legitimacy of government. Britain does not, of course, have a written constitution; but, as John Locke, the English philosopher and ‘father of liberalism’ pointed out: if a government acts in ways that are contrary to […]

Readers have their say on Jeremy Corbyn’s appeal to opposition parties to allow him to become a caretaker prime minister. A government of national unity to stop a no-deal Brexit will never happen if Jeremy Corbyn will not cede authority to the other parties, as well as his own Labour moderates. What’s needed as its […]

JAMES BALL looks at the revelations from the Operation Yellowhammer leaks, and it confirms a no-deal Brexit would be absolute chaos. The Yellowhammer is a songbird found in the UK and right across Eurasia, named for the distinctive bright yellow feathers on its head. It has been the subject of poems by Robbie Burns and […]

ANDREW ADONIS wasn’t convinced by Boris Johnson’s letter to Donald Tusk. Here he rewrites the letter with what he imagines the prime minister wanted to say. Boris Johnson’s letter to Donald Tusk is so vacuous and unconvincing – ‘don’t worry about a hard border in Ireland, we’ll make something up’ – it must be a […]

Priti Patel would be reneging on a government promise made just three weeks ago if she decides to end freedom of movement overnight – and risks disenfranchising thousands of people, argues campaign group THE 3 MILLION. From automatic status and no change during the referendum campaign, to stripping over two million EU citizens of their […]

It was the week that was meant to show a united Remain alliance that could topple Boris Johnson and stop Brexit. But far from uniting the anti-Brexit movement, the divisions between each fraction have blown open up again. Caroline Lucas’ initial proposal for an emergency cabinet saw the Green MP on the back foot after […]

Readers react to the latest electioneering from Boris Johnson – and the lies to come from his cabinet. There is talk of Boris Johnson and his Brexiteer cabinet planning an enormously expensive advertising campaign to promote their choice of Brexit. I suggest that we preempt them with our own campaign, placing full-page advertisements in all […]

Readers give their opinions on Dominic Cummings, who has taken charge at 10 Downing Street. I should love Dominic Cummings. By winning the 2016 referendum for Vote Leave, he has greatly advanced the cause of an independent Scotland. Even better, by advocating no-deal if the other 27 EU countries remain defiant to the demands of […]

Even the legendary patience of the Scots is being exhausted as the country is dragged out of the EU against its will, says Mitch Benn. I’ve returned to my adopted hometown of Edinburgh to partake in the annual month-long ritual of comedy industry chiselling which is the Festival Fringe (my show is called Ten Songs […]

How to stop the ‘raging vandals’ who will tear down everything they value to accomplish Brexit. If you believe Dominic Cummings, the battle over Brexit is already over – and he’s won. But if you still believe everything Dominic Cummings says after the 2016 referendum campaign, then there’s probably no hope for you. It’s certainly […]

Bonnie Greer’s state-by-state examination of US politics continues with The Peach State. If it is possible to imagine Donald Trump taking the time to listen to music, then the guess would be that he would have the popular taste of the typical Baby Boomer. His choices would be solidly formed in the 1970s when he […]