Clár Ní Chonghaile
29 August 2022
Will Truss act to help the Leeds student jailed for 34 years for tweeting in repressive Saudi Arabia?
Salma al-Shehab signalled her support for women’s rights activists. Her sentence offers a glimpse into the reality of life under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Read the full article26 August 2022
Boris Johnson’s farewell note will delight fans of his greatest fibs
The outgoing prime minister has penned a letter to supporters who wrote to him after his resignation - and it’s every bit as detached from reality as you’d expect
Read the full article25 August 2022
Is clean energy the silver lining of these clouds?
Renewables aren’t just about saving the planet any more – they’re a means of helping to loosen Russia’s grip on the continent and preventing future fuel price hikes
Read the full article19 August 2022
His Brexit has failed – now Jacob Rees-Mogg wants a go at ‘fixing’ the British state
The government’s chief illusionist waves his bureaucracy-busting wand at the British state and suggests some services may be surplus to requirements
Read the full article18 August 2022
Brexit is putting endangered animals at more risk as red tape hits UK zoos
Hundreds of animals have been grounded by new rules governing breeding programmes with European zoos
Read the full article18 July 2022
Sunak sparks up the trusty Brexit bonfire and promises the undeliverable. Again
Ahead of another vote in the Tory leadership race, former chancellor Rishi Sunak pledges to get rid of those pesky EU regulations and unleash Britain’s potential. Where have we heard that before?
Read the full article13 July 2022
True Blue: ERG casts heavy shadow over Tory leadership race
The European Research Group may be divided on who to back in the Tory leadership race but, in a way, this division matters less than the fact that this amorphous faction has already decided the rules of the game
Read the full article11 July 2022
Greek Tragedy: The battle to cool Athens
As the mercury climbs in the Greek capital and forest fires spark into life again, Athens’ chief heat officer worries about what summer will bring but tempers her fear with dreams of change in one of the world’s oldest named cities
Read the full article09 July 2022
Johnson’s legacy: The UK loses critical science funding because of Brexit row
Boris Johnson’s days as prime minister may be finally numbered but the damage his government has done will live on, not least in the scientific community where over 100 prestigious EU grants have been withdrawn as the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol poisons relations
Read the full article07 July 2022
Zelensky, don’t worry: You don’t need Johnson, you just need Britain
Boris Johnson liked to portray himself as the champion of Ukraine but beyond the photo-ops he used to boost his personal ratings at home, there is a deeper UK commitment that will endure
Read the full article06 July 2022
A sordid spectacle of unrepentant narcissism: PMQs drag UK politics to new nadir
Brutally unedifying and genuinely upsetting – Wednesday’s PMQs might have been just one more sally-forth for the UK’s shameless leader but it marked a new low for a political system now indelibly marked by Boris Johnson’s narcissistic, principle-less time in office. But will enough really be enough?
Read the full article04 July 2022
‘Make Brexit work’: Starmer’s three little words won’t convince anyone
The Labour leader’s agonisingly slow creep towards the right Brexit policy goes on - and his latest move will infuriate Remainers
Read the full article02 July 2022
Who leads Europe now?
Emmanuel Macron’s failure at parliamentary polls in June will limit his role on the international stage. Is there anyone out there who could replace him as Europe’s leading political visionary?
Read the full article01 July 2022
Sex, lies and red tape: More misery as Johnson returns
After strutting the international stage for nine days, the PM is back to an economy bludgeoned by Brexit and a political class rocked by the most sordid of scandals
Read the full article24 June 2022
Whatever happened to the other European Brexits?
Six years after the referendum, predictions of a mass exodus from the EU have proved – like so many other things they claimed – wide of the mark
Read the full article23 June 2022
Found: The one person in Britain who thinks Brexit is working
It’s Lord David Frost, but not surprisingly his sixth anniversary speech is long on blather and short on evidence
Read the full article23 June 2022
After six years it’s clear to all. Brexit was a very bad idea
How leaving the European Union devastated UK trade and industry and made a mockery of Leave’s pledges
Read the full article20 June 2022
The Slap: France’s Macron punished as voters turn to populists on the right and left
Sunday’s parliamentary elections reshaped France’s political landscape, with big wins for the far left and right
Read the full article16 June 2022
How to get rid of lousy leaders… a practical guide
Dislodging leaders who have lost the confidence of the electorate is never easy.. but it is possible. Here’s how it’s been done in major European nations in recent history
Read the full article13 June 2022
Breach of Protocol: The MPs, EU leaders and lawyers accusing the government of breaking international law with new NI bill
Boris Johnson says his plan to gut the Northern Ireland protocol is “relatively trivial”. It’s just another lie
Read the full article11 June 2022
The report that shows Brexit is costing billions in lost growth and tax revenues
A study by the Centre for European Reform reveals the “troubling” cost of Brexit and says the losses are now too big to ignore
Read the full article10 June 2022
Another Brexit nightmare: Regions facing a 30% cut from ‘prosperity’ fund
A new government scheme was meant to replace EU structural funds lost after Britain left. But critics say it delivers less money and will do little to bolster the Tories’ levelling up agenda
Read the full article02 June 2022
Earth’s last rays of hope?
Emissions and temperatures continue to rise, leading to increasingly radical research into limiting climate change. But are they safe?
Read the full article20 May 2022
Endurance test: The incredible journeys of Ireland’s polar hero
In County Kerry, the recent rediscovery of the long-lost ship excited relatives of local hero Tom Crean
Read the full article06 May 2022
Will Britain’s replacement for an EU student scheme make the grade?
The jury is out on Britain’s scheme to help students study overseas
Read the full article01 May 2022
Cruel Britannia: A three-act tragedy about the death of democracy
After weeks of criticism over her department’s multiple failures, Priti Patel is brandishing her trademark smirk again after the passage of a series of laws that threaten basic freedoms at home and abroad
Read the full article30 April 2022
How Brexit threatens the UK’s role as a global research leader
Rows with Brussels over the Northern Ireland protocol are holding up UK associate membership of the Horizon Europe funding programme - and now scientists fear Britain could lose some of its brightest minds as well as its place as a global leader
Read the full article27 April 2022
Shakespeare’s isle is hoist by its own Brexit petard as language students turn away
Brought to its knees by Covid, the UK’s travel and tourism industry is now beginning to feel the full force of Brexit as border restrictions and the end of the VAT reclaim scheme look set to deter thousands of Europeans and others
Read the full article25 April 2022
Slovenian vote is a win for liberals but too early to call time on Europe’s populists
On the same day that France rejected Marine Le Pen’s, Slovenians dealt another blow to populism, casting out Trump-admiring PM Janez Janša in favour of former energy executive Robert Golob
Read the full article16 April 2022
Our tense twenties: how living in an age of anxiety is affecting us
From climate change to Covid and now the Ukraine war. Everyone is feeling anxious – can we cope with any more?
Read the full article13 April 2022
Ireland’s maverick MEP finds friends in all the wrong places
The left wing politician Clare Daly is no stranger to controversy, but this time her anti-war rhetoric is being used as ammunition by Russian media
Read the full article07 April 2022
Less is more: the future of work is a four-day week
A global campaign seeking shorter hours for the same wage could benefit people, the economy and the planet
Read the full article