Opinion

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 […]

Readers give their initial reaction to the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election result – and have plenty of raise for the Remain pact. Well done, so encouraging to see the numbers. HUGE thank you to the Remain candidates who stood down so as not to split the vote. This victory is a tribute to their belief […]

Neither Akiro Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai, nor the greatest remake ever made and not based on it, the Magnificent Seven, are about Wisconsin, says BONNIE GREER. Ivanka Trump joins the US president at the G20 meeting of world leaders. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/PA Images – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images The plot of both films is […]

Sometimes, when analysing the actions of politicians it’s worth taking them at their word, assuming they actually want to do what they says JAMES BALL. Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock arrives at 10 Downing Street in London. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire – Credit: PA Sometimes, when analysing the actions of politicians it’s worth […]

US politics tends to be a more colourful and kinetic affair than our own variety, although of course there are always parallels to be drawn says MITCH BENN. Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Home Secretary Priti Patel attending the first meeting of the National Policing Board at the Home Office in London. Picture: Kirsty Wigglewsorth/PA […]

Readers react both online and offline to Alastair Campbell’s letter to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. I don’t feel at all ashamed to say I’m sat here with tears in my eyes after reading your letter. You’re a man who has given his life to the Labour movement and your contribution has transformed lives. I was […]

A car-crash interview on the BBC’s Today programme has put the hapless Welsh secretary in the wider spotlight for perhaps the first time. Welsh secretary Alun Cairns (Pic: Government of UK) – Credit: Government of UK With one of the lowest-profile positions in the Cabinet, many will not have heard of Welsh secretary Alun Cairns […]

A re-elected Trump could be brought straight back down, says BONNIE GREER, and the New England state could lead the way. Maine is known as the Vacation State. That is what comes to mind for most Americans, maybe most people worldwide, when they think of that small New England state bordering on the Atlantic: Holiday. […]

Comedian and host of People’s Vote campaign rallies, MITCH BENN calls on remainers to reclaim the flag in the name of true patriotism. There’s just over a week to go before I head up to Edinburgh to perform my show Ten Songs To Save The World at the Festival Fringe (Underbelly, 3.45pm, in case you […]

Political itinerant and, latterly, Liberal Democrat member TIM WALKER on why the election of Jo Swinson to the party’s leadership fills him with optimism Jo Swinson was barely three minutes into her victory speech when I realised I’d already heard more conviction and good sense than Jeremy Corbyn had managed in the three long years […]

Nelsonian traditions are one thing, but some of our modern political practices need to go out with the tide, says MITCH BENN. A few weeks ago I was asked to perform a short set at a Naval Officers’ Mess Dinner at HMS Sherwood in Nottingham. Attentive readers with a smattering of British geography will already […]

BONNIE GREER looks at the two-horse race emerging in the state of Kentucky where a war veteran is taking on a Trump stooge. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking at a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Picture: Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images – Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images It is […]

Drop Project Fear and embrace a joyful, demanding, confident message about EU membership, say New European readers – that’s how we’ll reboot Remain and fight Brexit. At the top of the letters page in TNE #152 was a red bus with a doom-laden message (“UK regions face losing £8.4 billion …”). Do you really think […]

JAMES BALL recounts his own experience of hate crime and explains why politicians must do more than pay lip service on LGBT rights. On a summer’s night nine years ago, leaving a gay club night – annoyingly early, to catch the last tube and go into work the next day – I found myself suddenly […]