News and Opinion

Here is Prime Minister Theresa May’s statement announcing that a General Election is to be held on June 8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIlWw0xLGco ‘I have just chaired a meeting of the Cabinet, where we agreed that the Government should call a general election, to be held on June 8. ‘I want to explain the reasons for that decision, […]

Reactions to the snap general election called by Theresa May for 8 June PA – Credit: PA Theresa May has shocked the nation by declaring a General Election. .

The Prime Minister has shocked the nation by announcing a snap General Election. The poll will be held on June 8. The news comes after repeated denials by Number 10 that the PM would call a snap election but also just days after some polls showed Labour at an historic low. As a stunned Westminster […]

Theresa May has announced her intention to hold a snap general election to strengthen her hand going into the Brexit negotiations. • What happens now? The Prime Minister will table a Commons motion calling for an election to be held on Thursday June 8. Under the terms of the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, she needs […]

After a damaging Brexit, would the EU have us back? We take the temperature in the continent’s capitals, to gauge how different countries might respond to a British U-turn on Brexit Most, if not all, readers of this newspaper would like to see Brexit reversed. But, in one sense, even Remain supporters have been infected […]

The Brexit brigade is still going on about bendy bananas and the return of imperial measures. But it is a strategy born of ignorance or – worse – panic For many of its advocates, Brexit seems mostly an exercise in nostalgia – hence preoccupations with things like blue passports, a new royal yacht and war […]

Theresa May used her traditional Easter message to talk of people ‘coming together’ ignoring growing fears over Hard Brexit Theresa May has again claimed the whole country is backing Brexit. Seemingly ignoring the fact that 48% of Britons – including the PM herself – voted to remain inside the European Union May used her Easter […]

Filming has started on a movie which aims to persuade Leave voters to change their minds on Brexit. Experienced film-maker and distributor David Wilkinson launched Postcards From the 48% in response to the rush towards the EU exit door in a bid to not only give a voice to the resistance but educate the opposition. […]

There are plenty of ways to change the world, and sometimes the simplest ideas are the best Another day, another speech, another audience going broadly the same way as all the others – a majority pessimistic about Brexit, hugely pessimistic about Trump (just two out of 450 raised their hands for ‘optimistic’) and just one […]

Brexit has raised some existential questions about national identity, with many Britons feeling their faith in Britishness eroding Citizens of the world, or citizens of nowhere? Thousands of Britons appear to have answered the confrontational question asked by Prime Minister Theresa May by applying to other EU countries for citizenship before the Brexit deadline falls. […]

The European debate is in the grip of a stultifying herd mentality; but there are some maverick voices out there In a world with too many opinionated columnists like me, but not enough boring old facts {‘comment is free, but facts are expensive,’ as CP Scott meant to say), one of the grandees of Fleet […]

Oh I do like a Brexit by the seaside … Quintessentially British seaside town Skegness voted in droves to quit the EU. We went for a stroll along the pier and found ourself wondering whether the locals might be in for a shock After spending most of the morning being battered by brutal North Sea […]

Be very wary when people invoke the will of the people. The fate of Jesus shows us why ‘The public have spoken. It’s the will of the people.’ It is a familiar refrain we’ve heard a lot of, of late. It is also one that was heard, twice, in the account of the first Easter, […]

Truth and lies dance circles round each other – and part of us even admires the con men Aaron Banks; Nigel Farage; Katie Hopkins; Milo Yiannopoulos; Ann Coulter, among others, have all suffered a grave shock recently. Donald Trump has betrayed them. ‘Who stole my President? #Syriahoax’ Hopkins lamented on Twitter after Trump sent Tomahawk […]

Many of these places, like Blackpool, Great Yarmouth and Scarborough, voted for Brexit more emphatically than most in last year’s referendum. Yet it is precisely these communities that stand to lose the most from the process that result unleashed. The reasons for those high Leave turnouts have been well analysed already. Years of neglect produced […]

A fixation with the demand that NATO members spend 2% of their GDP on defence obscures a wider issue for the Alliance European leaders have pushed back at Donald Trump’s threat that they increase defence spending by the end of the year or risk American rethinking its commitment to transatlantic partnership in defence and security. […]

A former MI6 chief has called the allegations of contact between Trump’s team and Moscow ‘unprecedented’ A top British spook has suggested Donald Trump has deep financial links back to Russia which could return to haunt the US President. Ex-MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove claimed the President borrowed money from Russian lenders to keep his […]

Impulse, calculation and an ever-deepening blood bath Motivation, motivation, motivation. Words to keep repeating as questions in search of an educated answer to the new cold war crisis triggered by the Khan Sheikhoun sarin gas horror and President Trump’s retaliatory Tomahawk cruise missile blitz. Let’s start by being fair to Donald Trump. Those of us […]

We sort the chaff from the chaff to bring you eight of the worst Leavers of the week Nigel Farage and Paul Nuttall Like a comedian who has long lost his audience but has been booked in for the whole season Farage continues to make misjudged forays from his bar stool at the Dog & […]

It seems barely a month goes by without a European city celebrating cinema in a big way. We consider the essential film festivals for 2017 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 17-28 May Aka: The Big One Easily the best-known film festival on the planet, this gargantuan, red-carpeted affair on the Cote d’Azur has long been an indispensable […]

A group of MPs have called on the Government to ensure Brexit does not impact science MPs have urged the Government not to slam the door on scientists and experts from overseas after Brexit. The Commons Science and Technology Committee also said the Government should fully commit to making up any shortfall in research funding […]

MPs have expressed their fears that hackers attacked the voter registration website in the weeks before the EU referendum A voter registration website that crashed in the run-up to the Brexit vote may have been brought down by foreign hackers. The Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) said it was deeply concerned about […]

It is a tiny country, known for its opaque financial affairs and low tax rates but Luxembourg has become an unlikely contender in the space race When it comes to European countries it hardly enjoys the highest of profiles. But Luxembourg does at least have a reputation for historic buildings and a thriving financial sector. […]

Nowhere does Easter quite like Seville. But could the city’s incredible spectacle begin to fade? SIPA USA/PA Images – Credit: SIPA USA/PA Images Three years ago, almost to the day, I arrived in Seville during Semana Santa (Holy Week). I was going to live with a friend for two months, and he’d suggested it wouldn’t […]

French dislike of the EU is more widespread that you might think. But it has taken on a different form to that seen in the UK Claude doesn’t quite fit the clichéd view of eurosceptics: mild in manner with a mordant sense of humour and an ability to speak two languages, neither dispossessed, nor rich, […]

‘Deep in the psyche of Irish Republicanism is the Holy Grail of an all island republic, and of the right of republicans to take up arms to achieve it’ The events of one day in March encapsulated the contradictions that riddle much official British, Irish, American and media responses to the Northern Ireland problem. On […]

Lies, fibs, untruths… in the end the truth about quitting the EU will be revealed Ever told a lie? Yeah, me too. Not for quite a while, though. Because I’ll tell you what I haven’t done; while I’ve told a few lies in my time, something I’ve never done is got away with telling a […]

Google and Facebook pushed back the frontiers of cyberspace as champions of freedom and transparency. Now, they are the villains My libertarian instincts are under attack. By whom? Er, me. Or, to be more precise, my conscience is struggling with Big Tech. The battle involves considerable agonised soul-searching for someone who has long championed the […]

Be brave, Britain. And don’t devalue grief with ostentatious displays As Burnley and Spurs lined up before kick-off last Saturday, I turned to my neighbour and said ‘who’s died?’ Both teams, not just the players but managers and coaches too, were wearing black armbands. Then, once the teams were announced and the stadium announcer fell […]

The French far right, through the generations, has mutated and adapted to the mood of the age. And already, the next generation is moving it in new directions Jean-Marie Le Pen (born in 1928), French politician and president of the National Front political party, with his first wife Pierrette Lalanne and their three children: Marie-Caroline, […]

Having won a great victory, Brexiteers seem thoroughly bored by the prize. But the ennui around Brexit plays into the hands of the zealots PA Wire/PA Images – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images ‘I want to see a truly global Britain that is really outward-looking with good trade deals around the world’. That’s Theresa May’s most […]

The referendum result was clear but not well-founded. If it was a court case it would be considered an unsafe conviction That’s it then, is it?‎ Acquiesce. Knuckle down. Suck it up and get on with it. The message from some (former) Remainers seems to be that it is time to make the best of […]