Opinion

SIOBHAN BENITA, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for London and the party’s candidate for mayor, encourages people to back the Lib Dems in the capital. Siobhan Benita, the Lib Dems’ spokesperson for London. Photograph: Lib Dems. – Credit: Archant It’s crunch time. After more than three years of persuading, petitioning and protesting, of parliamentary proceedings, prorogations and […]

CALLUM TENNANT campaigned to Leave in 2016 – but now backs remaining in the EU. In this election he’s fighting for Labour, but recognises tactical voting might be needed in this election, because of the imperfection of the voting system. For some, voting is a duty, for others, a chore. Come December 12th, for many […]

Seizing an opportunity to defeat Boris Johnson could instigate a new era of political free-thinking, according to Mitch Benn. Boris Johnson is a liar and a coward. Once more for the people in the back row: BORIS JOHNSON IS A LIAR AND A COWARD. Now, in previous eras this might have been thought sufficient reason […]

As she continues her state-by-state assessment of US politics, BONNIE GREER examines Rhode Island. There is a reason that the 1994 megahit Dumb and Dumber begins in Rhode Island. Many Americans know close to nothing about this state, nor its people. So it was OK to put two rude mechanicals there. That seemed to fit […]

During elections the electoral system tends to mean smaller parties get sidelined – but ANDREW TALBOT argues those like the VOLT party still have an important role to play. Until 2016 and the disastrous Brexit referendum result, I took two things completely for granted – peace in Ireland and my identity as a citizen of […]

Even the best-case scenarios following the impending general election could make for a bleak midwinter, says JAMES BALL. In (rare) moments of unguarded honesty, politicians and those campaigning for them are noting there are a large number of UK voters who seem to be wishing this was an election that everyone could lose. Voters might […]

In this election young people can swing the result – and this time it is more important than ever. The stereotype of young people being politically indifferent and ambivalent undeniably holds some truth. But this general election, there is no time for complacency: young people must do what they can to protect their futures. There […]

MITCH BENN on doing everything he can to make sure politicians don’t ruin his Christmas without a fight. I’m breaking one of my own cardinal rules this year. Generally I operate an absolute embargo on anything Christmas-related until December 1. Obviously one can’t entirely avoid any mention of Christmas during November, or indeed October (or, […]

All parties are guilty, but the prime minister has pioneered this new era of dishonesty, says JAMES BALL. Boris Johnson is interviewed by Andrew Neil. Photograph: BBC. – Credit: Archant The prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is currently a man who has been fired not once, but twice, […]

Readers express their concerns about the performance of Labour and Lib Dems during the election campaign so far. Labour are currently fighting what is being called ‘the Brexit election’ by trying their best not to mention Brexit. The only possible benefit of the inevitable large Tory majority which will soon follow is that the party […]

Readers note the prime minister no longer talks about spending £350 million on the NHS, despite Brexit not happening yet. Boris Johnson is going to postpone the cut in corporation tax to release £6 billion for the NHS and other ‘priorities’. But wait. Was the NHS not supposed to be being funded by the “£350 […]

Opposition parties appear to be in panic mode with just two weeks to go until election day. It revolves around YouGov’s MRP polling which suggests the Tories are on course for a majority of nearly 60 seats. Within hours we learn that Labour is now looking to move the focus away from winning over Remainers […]

Romney has never been one of Trump’s favourite people, until now, says BONNIE GREER. The state of Utah has several things about it that might be considered ‘trippy’, at least to other Americans. The state can even blindside you. Back in 1977, after the death penalty was upheld by the US Supreme Court, the first […]

Amid the impeachment drama, BONNIE GREER discusses another threat the to Trump presidency. The fact that the late, great Katharine Hepburn was born in Connecticut would have come as a surprise to no one in America. She was descended, after all, from a Mayflower Pilgrim. Connecticut is perceived as one of the more regal states, […]

TIM WALKER issues a challenge to prime minister Boris Johnson. As Boris Johnson tries to portray himself as the man to lead the whole of the United Kingdom, Mandrake challenges him to pay a campaign visit to Liverpool, which understandably feels it has no relationship whatsoever with him. When he became PM, Merseyside MP Maria […]

Sci-fi fan MITCH BENN on what his hero Douglas Adams would have to say about politics today Whoever came up with the expression “You must never meet your heroes; they’ll always disappoint you” had dreadful taste in heroes. I’ve been lucky enough to meet quite a few of my heroes over the years and by […]

Traditional party allegiances are not enough in the Brexit era, argues TIM WALKER. A tactical vote is the only way to thwart the prime minister’s plans Voters have been acting tactically since the dawn of democracy, but it’s unusual, of course, for a candidate to do it. In Canterbury, where I was until earlier this […]

The polls are too volatile and the consequences too unpredictable for people to tactically vote with any confidence, says JAMES BALL. And that’s before all the other objections are taken into account. Given the proximity and importance of Brexit – and the severity of the economic damage it could wreak – it is hardly surprising […]

The EU has agreed to triple funds for students participating in Erasmus+ over the next decade, just as the UK’s collaboration in the scheme looks less than certain. MEP JUDITH BUNTING says the injustice is both infuriating and heart-breaking. While Erasmus+ has traditionally been a platform through which university students can study abroad, until now […]

The prime minister’s decision to sit on the ‘Russian connection’ report could backfire on him, says JAMES BALL. At the start of the campaign, you would have been forgiven for thinking that if any party was going to have a Russian problem in the 2019 general election it would be Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. His long-standing, […]

JAMES DUNNE looks back on a brief moment in British history where the country was at the forefront of pro-European federalism Following the outbreak of the Second World War, a wave of pro-European, federalist sentiment swept the United Kingdom. While the popular movement of that period is now largely forgotten in 
Britain, its leaders’ writings […]

Trump’s reelection prospects are looking far from rosy judging by the travails of his allies, says BONNIE GREER Whenever we classic cinema buffs think of grapefruit we think of that iconic moment in The Public Enemy, the film that made the young James Cagney a star. In the scene, his petty gangster Tom Powers, pushes […]

With Donald Trump and Boris Johnson up for election, MITCH BENN looks at just how untouchable they are The word ‘mistake’ has two principal uses, related but definitely distinct. It can mean an involuntary error, a slip-up, a blooper, a typo… something you didn’t want to do or intend to do, but did anyway through […]

JAMES BALL on how the Brexit Party leader has become Remain’s secret weapon. As Tammy Wynette so nearly sang, sometimes it’s hard to be an attention-seeker. So we should all spare a thought for poor Nigel Farage, who if he were any normal entry-level attention-seeker would be on the horns of an absolutely intractable dilemma […]

As BONNIE GREER continues her look at each US state ahead of next years election she turns her attention to Colorado. There was a time when Colorado was a place where cowboys reigned, a fairyland where you lived on the Saturday afternoons of your childhood. This was way back at a time when it was […]

MITCH BENN on why there are no safe seats in this election and uses Richmond Park to defend tactical voting. It’s utterly absurd that while I’ve been writing this column for a little over three years now, not only is this the second general election I’ve had to cover in that time, but that previous […]

The welfare of the country should not be forgotten amid Brexit, writes MITCH BENN. Before I became active in the Remain campaign I was active for many years in the sceptical (and indeed Skeptical) community, which is a rather self-congratulatory way of saying that before I started wasting precious hours out of every day getting […]

JAMES BALL on how we can expect the party campaigns to play out. At long last, it’s finally over. Months after the rest of the country realised this current parliament couldn’t get anything done – other than deciding not to decide anything just yet, the message has sunk in with MPs and we are heading […]

Bonnie Greer on Tulsi Gabbard, the controversial senator, running for the Democratic presidential nomination. One of the best things about growing up in America in the 1960s was being able to watch the first run of the original Hawaii Five-O, the greatest police procedural, to this very day, that has ever existed. Everything about the […]

The group campaigning for a second referendum has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. JAMES BALL looks at the story behind the headlines. It seems particularly ominous that infighting at the People’s Vote group spilled into the public eye in the same week the country finally shifted towards a general election. The […]

Plaid Cymru’s leader ADAM PRICE says his party has helped to turn the country from a Leave to a Remain country, and will continue to fight for a Final Say referendum. We find ourselves on the cusp of a general election which has little promise of solving the Brexit crisis. For precisely that reason, Plaid […]

French citizen ÉMILIE ANCELIN has always dreamed of becoming a lawyer in Britain. In a devastating letter to Boris Johnson, she explains how he has wrecked her dreams by pursuing his Brexit vision. Émilie Ancelin on the People’s Vote March. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant Dear prime minister, I am writing this letter to you […]