British Politics

A former Tory leader has led the calls for the government to “think again” over its controversial Brexit legislation as the peers plan to strip out powers that enable ministers to break international law. Brexiteer Lord Howard of Lympne is one of the rebels planning to remove the contentious parts of the UK Internal Market Bill, […]

The MP husband of NHS Test and Trace chief Baroness Harding has been told to self-isolate over coronavirus, sparking concerns the chief could have to do so too. Tory MP John Penrose was alerted by the NHS Covid-19 app, part of the operation overseen by his wife. The Weston-super-Mare MP said on Twitter: “It never […]

Opposition peers have accepted government assurances over post-Brexit food standards after MPs continued to overturn their amendments to the Agriculture Bill. Ministers have pledged to offer increased parliamentary scrutiny of free trade agreements to ensure consistency of standards on human health, animal welfare and the environment. The Trade and Agriculture Commission, which represents UK farmers, retailers and consumers, […]

Donald Trump is “vulnerable to prosecution” after he leaves the White House, when his presidential “cloak of immunity” will go away. Legal experts have warned that a number of lawsuits and investigations face Trump once he returns to private life. At present, the American justice department has a policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted […]

Lord Kilclooney has been criticised for describing US vice president-elect Kamala Harris solely as “the Indian”. The former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) deputy leader was ordered to apologise and retract his tweet about Harris, who is the first black and Asian-American person to be elected to the role. The crossbench peer, who previously deleted a tweet […]

Brexiteer Tory MPs are hatching a plan to topple Boris Johnson if he does not resign in the spring before local elections. Opponents of Johnson, including Iain Duncan Smith, John Redwood and Esther McVey, have created a Whatsapp group entitled “Lockdown Loons” and are plotting against the government, the Mirror reports. At least one is […]

Under-fire vaccines tsar Kate Bingham is expected to leave her post at the end of the year after amassing a £670,000 bill over a contract for public relations support. Downing Street insisted Boris Johnson had full confidence in Bingham, a venture capitalist married to the Conservative minister Jesse Norman, and praised her work in securing […]

A Brexiteer MP has penned what pro-Brexit newspapers have described as a ‘warning letter’ to president-elect Joe Biden over Brexit. John Redwood said he accepted that Biden now has a “clear mandate” in America, but he also claimed there was a “larger percentage mandate” for the EU referendum result, despite both equating to around 52% of […]

Boris Johnson is to hold a press conference at Downing Street this evening, following news on a successful coronavirus vaccine. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer has revealed its coronavirus vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing the disease. But with Johnson looking to seize upon the news, it is likely that the prime minister will face […]

Joe Biden could force Boris Johnson to sign up to a Brexit deal with the EU in his first contact with the British prime minister. British diplomats have conceded that the PM is likely to be far down the list on people the president-elect telephones after his election win, but when he does the dialogue […]

Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry has backed Keir Starmer to be the next prime minister over Boris Johnson. Soubry, who quit the party to lead Change UK in 2019, was comparing two tweets between the Labour and Tory leaders over Joe Biden’s win. While Johnson went for an impersonal approach commenting on the “special relationship” […]

Joe Biden is expected to call European leaders Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron early on as he speaks with politicians across the world in the coming days. Johnson is hoping to build bridges with Biden after a Democratic source claimed that there was “no special relationship with Boris Johnson” following the election win. But sources close […]

A charity has challenged Nigel Farage over proposals to rebrand his Brexit Party as a new anti-lockdown organisation. The Reform think tank has written to the Electoral Commission to complain about the proposed name change, arguing it could lead to “voter confusion”. The think tank, which argues for public service reform, has also written to […]

Boris Johnson will not back down over the Internal Market Bill, despite it threatening to create early tensions with US president-elect Joe Biden, a cabinet minister has claimed. Environment secretary George Eustice said the government would reinstate controversial clauses that enable ministers to break international laws if Lords try to strip them out. Biden warned […]

Keir Starmer has reflected on Joe Biden’s win in America by warning the Labour Party that only a “broad coalition” can help recreate the win in Britain in 2024. Starmer used a Guardian article to point out a series of observations from Biden’s win in America, and his success in denying Donald Trump a second win. In […]

Environment secretary George Eustice has admitted that post-Brexit trade talks with America may have to start again following Joe Biden’s win, before claiming a deal is no longer “critical” to the economy. Eustice said it could be possible to pick up on US trade negotiations with Biden’s administration where they were left with Donald Trump, […]

A television news presenter has rolled her eyes after foreign secretary Dominic Raab gave an “astonishing” defence of Donald Trump’s approach to the US election result. The minister said that “in principle, yes, of course” all votes should be counted in a democratic election, having failed to make such a statement when Trump had been […]

England footballer Marcus Rashford has hailed the power of “kindness and compassion” after reporting that Boris Johnson had U-turned over providing free meals to disadvantaged children during the Christmas holidays. The prime minister personally phoned the Manchester United star on Saturday to alert him to the decision to lay on £170 million of extra funding for […]

Nigel Farage has been mocked after complaining about the result of the US election, which saw his good friend Donald Trump voted out of the White House. Farage’s wager came in response to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, who had staked $10,000 on his former boss not winning a second term. Farage said he had […]

Boris Johnson has yet to get in touch with US president-elect Joe Biden after laying out the case for a close UK alliance with the new administration. “The United States is our closest and most important ally, and that has been the case president after president, prime minister after prime minister – it won’t change,” […]

US comedian Stephen Colbert has given a passionate speech denouncing Donald Trump and urged Americans to “stay cool” amid rising tensions over voter fraud. In an eight-minute-long monologue posted on Twitter, Colbert said the president had been acting like a “sad, frightened fraud” after alleging the US election had been rigged. On Thursday, major US networks stopped broadcasting […]

The latest voter intention polling by YouGov shows that Labour has jumped five points ahead of the Conservative Party. A survey by YouGov over November 4 and 5 shows Labour holding 40% of the vote compared to the Tory Party’s 35%. Latest Westminster voting intention (fieldwork 4-5 Nov) Lab – 40%Con – 35%Lib Dem – 7%Brexit […]

A Tory minister has been ridiculed after getting the population size of Liverpool wrong during an interview on a new pilot testing programme for coronavirus. Business minister Nadhim Zahawi said 2,000 troops would deliver thousands of coronavirus tests to people living in Liverpool city as part of a pilot programme to map the spread of […]

So what have we learnt this week in the dystopian Covid Brexit land that the UK seems to have become? That forecasts are just that and even a “reasonable worst-case scenario” might start looking optimistic. That you can only disregard the advice of experts, be they scientists or economists, for so long – the facts […]

Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has been permanently banned from Twitter for suggesting the beheading of Anthony Fauci, America’s top public health adviser. Bannon said he wanted to “pike” Fauci and FBI director Christopher Wray’s heads as a “warning” to bureaucrats. Fauci, who Trump publicly slandered and suggested firing, has been assigned extra government […]

Boris Johnson has refused to answer questions over Dominic Cummings’ unpaid council tax bill during Prime Minister’s Questions. The prime minister sidestepped a question by City of Durham’s Mary Foy over allegations that Cummings had dodged a £50,000 council tax bill on buildings he failed to register with the local authority. The Labour MP said […]

Nadhim Zahawi has become the second Tory minister to repeatedly refuse to condemn Donald Trump’s election fraud comments. The minister for business joins foreign office secretary Dominic Raab in shirking away from criticising Trump’s allegations that the US election has been ‘rigged’. Speaking with the BBC on Wednesday, Raab said it was ‘common practice’ for the British government not […]

A Brexiteer has claimed that more British politicians should be like Donald Trump after the US election result showed the president performing better than expected in the polls. Simon Wolfson, the pro-Brexit boss of Next, said Trump’s success should be a “wake-up call” to politicians here. He told Question Time: “It does amaze me that Trump […]

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab is isolating after coming into contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. Raab will work remotely during 14 days of isolation after being told of a recent close contact’s positive test on Thursday, a spokesman for the cabinet minister said. It follows Brandon Lewis last week having to self-isolate […]

Nicola Sturgeon is planning to ignore Westminster’s veto on holding a second independence referendum, a leaked party memo has suggested. The National is reporting that SNP MPs Angus MacNeil and Chris McEleny will have their motion debate alternative legal routes to independence during this year’s party conference approved. Dubbed “Plan B”, the motion suggests Holyrood should take the UK government […]

Robert Buckland has blamed the public for a second national lockdown after suggesting a lack of ‘compliance’ was the reason for harsher coronavirus measures. The justice secretary said a “tiny group of people” had been breaking Covid-19 regulations and that there was a “huge challenge” to get the public to follow the rules this time around. Speaking with the BBC, Buckland: “Sadly, it’s been […]

Andrew Neil has said he is enjoying his “new-found freedom” since leaving the BBC and used his final appearance on the news channel to criticise the SNP. Neil made the most of his presence on Politics Live to blast the SNP on the issue of poverty in Scotland. The now ex-BBC broadcaster claimed that people being “left behind” in parts […]