United Kingdom

The spread of English as a narrative language now includes the Asian island nation. Singapore, the large island off the southern end of the Malay Peninsula, is separated from the mainland by the Johor strait which is less than a nautical mile wide at its narrowest point. A number of fascinatingly different mother tongues have […]

Celebrating a dreamlike cult British take on the American road movie… with German influences We begin in a flat in London. We end on a train to nowhere somewhere in the south west. In between times, a man half-heartedly investigates his brother’s suicide, listens to some very good music, takes a detour with a nice […]

Its 10-year anniversary has just passed unheralded, so what did we learn from another divisive single-issue poll? When the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum rolls around in 2026, it’s a fair bet it will pass amid much clamour. The celebrations – and the criticism – are likely to be loud. Yet the ten year anniversary of another […]

Leading pollster PETER KELLNER offers his analysis of why so many centre-left parties are floundering, and where their best hopes now lie Are the glory days over for social democracy? Do voters now take for granted the great progressive reforms of the post-war era – pensions, education, healthcare, social insurance etc – and see no […]

WILL SELF on the V&A’s new show: Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser The front of my face felt heavy and swollen while a screed hovered in the mid-distance. “Grab a hedgehog and aim it towards one of the hoops.” It read: “Don’t throw the hedgehog, just open your hand.” I tried doing this, but the hedgehog went high. […]

A serving government official writes anonymously about how the administration’s mounting scandals, and its response to them, is creating a crisis for Whitehall. The civil service is in deep, deep trouble. Not because the knives are now out for the tiny numbers of senior civil servants who are discovered taking second jobs. Not because prime ministerial […]

Prince William’s angry condemnation of the BBC following the revelations about the way Martin Bashir secured his interview with Princess Diana has underlined just how much the future monarch has been shaped by his mother’s death There was a cold, dignified anger in Prince William’s response to the investigation into the BBC’s handling of Martin […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock committed a “minor” but undeliberate breach of the ministerial code, the prime minister’s ethics adviser has concluded. Lord Geidt, an independent adviser on ministerial standards, said that by failing to declare that a family firm he held shares in won an NHS contract there had been a “technical” breach. Hancock declared […]

This all-English Champions League final between Man City and Chelsea is no guarantee of success at the Euros Beware the siren song telling us England will rule the playing fields of Europe in the coming weeks.  It is true that the Premier League is where the money is, and that two English clubs contest the […]

Boris Johnson “unwisely” allowed the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat to go ahead without “more rigorous regard for how this would be funded”, his new adviser on ministerial standards has said. Lord Geidt, the new adviser on ministerial standards, released his first report on ministers’ interests on Friday, after months of delay. He found […]

Mitch Benn rounds up the worst of another week in politics, including Priti Patel, Grant Shapps and Ivanka Trump

Former MP and veteran campaigner George Galloway has announced he is running in the forthcoming Batley and Spen by-election with the explicit aim of ousting Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party. Galloway, who was expelled from Labour in 2003, said he is standing as a candidate for his Workers Party of Britain in […]

Don't expect a political earthquake, but the Green Party is already re-shaping the left of British politics

It's not a case of simply wanting to gerrymander the left, says Labour historian FRANCIS BECKETT, just that the traditional arrangement no longer suits either group

Michael Gove has insisted people will “make their own judgment” on Dominic Cummings’ evidence, as he sidestepped questions over the credibility of his former aide. The Cabinet Office minister was challenged by Labour to give his personal opinion on allegations levelled against the Government by Boris Johnson’s former senior adviser. Speaking in the Commons, Labour […]

Philip Hammond‘s association with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may be controversial, but it’s proving to be highly remunerative for the former chancellor all the same. Mandrake hears “Spreadsheet Phil” has just pocketed £320,000 from Matrix Partners – the consultancy firm he set up after leaving the Treasury – with a further £40,000 due to […]

Dominic Cummings didn't sound so pro-Brexit when he faced a committee of MPs to discuss the coronavirus pandemic

Voters in Batley and Spen will go to the polls on July 1, with the sister of murdered MP Jo Cox hoping to retain the seat for Labour. Kim Leadbeater has been selected as the Labour candidate for the by-election in the West Yorkshire constituency previously represented by her sister. The by-election was triggered after […]

Millionaire Brexit-backing businessman Arron Banks has claimed a six-figure inheritance tax bill on his donations to UKIP is discriminatory at the Court of Appeal. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) previously assessed Banks – one of the self-styled “Bad Boys of Brexit” – as owing just over £160,000 on almost £1 million in donations to UKIP […]

The Corporation's current woes are being exploited for political gain by the government

Residents next to a large Brexit lorry park in Ashford say it is as bright as Wembley Stadium and has ruined the dark night sky for miles around. Located next to Junction 10a of the M20, the facility operates 24/7 and the government says floodlights are required to ensure the site runs safely. But frustrated neighbours […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock will face MPs and the media to respond to claims from Dominic Cummings that he lied to colleagues and should have been fired for his disastrous performance in the coronavirus pandemic. Hancock did not comment on former No 10 aide Cummings’ explosive claims ahead of his Commons appearance and Downing Street press […]

Plans are in place for US president Joe Biden to meet with the Queen when he visits the UK for the G7 summit next month, according to reports. It had been suggested, following the monarch’s private message to Biden following his inauguration in January, that a face-to-face meeting between the heads of state could be […]

Revelations about the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, as recalled by aide Dominic Cummings, feature on the front of many Thursday papers. His marathon seven-hour session of evidence to MPs gave the press plenty to write about, some calling it a “rain of fire”, others a “Domshell”. They included suggestions government failings lead to […]

Yvette Cooper is one of Labour’s most effective politicians, so could she one day replace Keir Starmer?

It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain as our willingness to roll over for a trade deal with Australia confirms that the government does not give a XXXX about its own farmers. Despite complaints from that flaming galah George Eustice, trade secretary Liz ‘one stubbie short of a six-pack’ Truss […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has rejected the allegations levelled at him by Dominic Cummings. Cummings accused the health secretary of performing “disastrously” below the standards expected and the cabinet secretary – the country’s top civil servant – had recommended he be sacked. “I think the secretary of state for health should’ve been fired for at least […]

Campaigners have won a Court of Appeal challenge over an “unlawful” exemption to data protection rules in immigration cases. The Open Rights Group and the3million said the “immigration exemption” introduced in the Data Protection Act (DPA), which came into force in May 2018, denies people access to their personal records in immigration cases. The exemption […]

New exhibition 2 Tone: Lives & Legacies features incredible photos of fans of the Coventry music phenomenon In early 1980, The Specials were still basking in the glory of putting Too Much Too Young, and the sound of their 2 Tone label, at No. 1. Along with other ska-revival bands The Beat, The Bodysnatchers, The […]

Boris Johnson has been ‘rattled’ by the evidence given by Dominic Cummings into his handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, Sir Keir Starmer has told MPs. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir pointed out that Johnson denied the cabinet secretary told him to fire the health secretary for lying but had not denied the other claims put forward […]

Dominic Cummings has described chaos in Downing Street in the days leading up to the first Covid lockdown, with a “scene from Independence Day” and the prime minister’s fiancee Carrie Symonds going “completely crackers” over press coverage of her dog Dilyn. Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser told MPs the country should have locked down the […]

Transport minister Grant Shapps has suggested the government is considering whether to build a 50-mile tunnel to connect Ireland and Wales. In an interview with the Financial Times, Shapps said the tunnel would be an alternative to the prime minister’s plan to link Scotland with Northern Ireland. When questioned on the idea of linking Northern […]