United Kingdom

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell has put down rumours he would be willing to join Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench, but suggested Labour MPs who should be. McDonnell, who served on Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet until last year, told the LBC’s Iain Dale he backed Richard Burgon and Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was removed from Sir Keir’s top team after […]

Jeremy Corbyn has said it is a “bit rich” to blame him for Labour’s poor election performance as four of Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessors weighed in on the party’s woes. The former Labour leader said it was “a bit weak” to suggest he is responsible for the losses in last week’s by-election in Hartlepool and […]

Polling expert PETER KELLNER on the long term factors behind the party’s decline, and what might help reverse it Two rival theories have sought to explain Labour’s drubbing in this month’s elections. The left accuses Keir Starmer of deserting the party’s socialist principles. The leadership fears that the party has not changed enough: it needs to […]

The government will set up an independent public inquiry with statutory powers into the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister told MPs the inquiry would be able to take oral evidence under oath and will place “the state’s actions under the microscope”. Johnson told the Commons: “This inquiry must […]

Boris Johnson has been issued with a county court judgment for an unpaid debt of £535. A search of the official database shows the “unsatisfied record” registered to Johnson at “10 Downing Street”. The judgment is dated October 26 2020, a key period concerning questions over the prime minister’s controversial refurbishment to his flat in […]

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has said the UK must “draw a line” under Brexit and instead focus on keeping the Union together. Burnham – who won his mayoral race with 67% of the vote on Thursday – told The London Economic he thought voters had deserted the Labour Party because it was seen as the party […]

In an open letter, editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL – the man who helped mastermind Labour’s last spell in power – offers his constructive advice to Keir Starmer on how to revive his party’s fortunes Dear Keir, I hope you are bearing up despite all the brickbats. You are experiencing something every Labour leader has had to contend with… […]

Tony Blair has launched a scathing attack on the “woke left” and warned the Labour Party faced electoral oblivion if it did not start ‘cutting through’ to voters.   Blair, a former Labour prime minister, said May’s dismal election results showed the party needed a “total deconstruction and reconstruction. Nothing less will do.” Writing in the New Statesman, Blair […]

A cabinet minister has insisted plans to require photographic identification to vote has “nothing to do with party interests” after questions the move could limit votes for opposition parties. Civil liberties groups and senior MPs on both sides of the Commons have criticised the proposal, warning it could disenfranchise some voters. Newly-released research for the […]

Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband has said the Labour Party had a mountain to climb and a “collective responsibility” to show what it stood for. Appearing on Radio 4’s Today programme, the former Labour leader said that Keir Starmer needed to be “bolder” and back proposals similar to US president Joe Biden’s proposals. Asked about […]

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner has referred to her “very frank relationship” with Keir Starmer amid claims he tried to sack her from the shadow cabinet after the party’s damaging election losses. Rayner claimed she was appointed to her new roles because she wanted to be more “front-facing” in the reshuffled top team after she […]

A “full, proper” public inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic could be established within a year, Boris Johnson has said. The prime minister committed to setting up the inquiry within the new session of parliament which started on Tuesday. Although there is no fixed length for a parliamentary session, they typically run […]

Boris Johnson has mocked Angela Rayner for her new shadow cabinet job titles, claiming the deputy Labour leader will become “hungrier” for more power. Angela Rayner was given greater authority within the shadow cabinet following intense criticism of Keir Starmer’s initial move to strip her of key roles as party chairwoman and campaign co-ordinator following the elections. […]

Records of David Cameron’s intense lobbying efforts for Greensill Capital have been released to reveal text messages he sent chancellor Rishi Sunak and senior cabinet minister Michael Gove. The Conservative former prime minister also sent messages to vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi during the pandemic as he sought to gain access for Greensill to government-backed coronavirus […]

Keir Starmer’s closest parliamentary aide has resigned as the fallout from Labour’s poor performance in local elections continues. Carolyn Harris, the leader’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS), said: “It has been the proudest moment of my career to co-chair the campaign that saw Keir Starmer elected as Labour leader, and to serve as his PPS for […]

Long-promised proposals to reform social care will be set out later this year to ensure that every person “receives the dignity and security they deserve”, Boris Johnson has said. Measures to address the long-standing issue of social care funding and reform were not included in the Queen’s Speech on Tuesday. The Queen confirmed proposals will […]

The publishing industry has remained remarkably robust through the pandemic, but the coronavirus has exacerbated some alarming trends for the UK’s literary scene. I only realised this the other day while I was actually doing it, but of all the things I’ve missed during the pandemic – popping out for a pint, going to the […]

Labour has criticised the Tories for its plans to introduce voter ID – whilst failing to implement any of the recommendations of the Russia report. Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy has challenged the government to focus on preventing foreign interference in elections rather than its existing proposals to make it “so much more difficult” for […]

Former Commons speaker John Bercow has called Boris Johnson “a liar” and confirmed he no longer considers himself a Conservative. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB) ahead of the Queen’s Speech, Bercow said he would list “a number of examples” of the prime minister not telling the truth. The former speaker told the GMB […]

Labour must stop talking down to voters, deputy leader Angela Rayner has said in the wake of the party’s damaging election losses. Rayner set out on Monday how Labour must change to reconnect with working class voters after the crushing defeat in the Hartlepool by-election. Her comments came after she was given greater authority within […]

Scandal-hit financier Lex Greensill will be questioned by MPs over the collapse of his firm and the lobbying controversy centred on former prime minister David Cameron. MPs on the cross-party Treasury Committee will quiz the boss on Tuesday afternoon on the demise of Greensill Capital, which jeopardised 5,000 steelmaking jobs in the UK. The committee’s […]

The election for Wiltshire and Swindon police and crime commissioner may need to be re-run after the race was won by a candidate who withdrew over a historic driving conviction. Conservative Party candidate Jonathon Seed received 40% of the vote in the first round and was elected after it went to a second ballot, but […]

BONNIE GREER on why Boris Johnson’s success shows Britain is fatally addicted to toffs who get away with it One of the nicer things about being an adult when you move and settle in another country is that there is always a bit of you that never quite assimilates.  Your new country is like a […]

A constituency MP elected as leader of a county council has said he intends to “earn every penny” despite opposition MPs describing his new role as a “lucrative second job with potential conflicts of interest”. Conservative Mansfield MP Ben Bradley said his new position as leader of Nottinghamshire County Council required a “similar level of […]

TIM WALKER on Dame Maggie Smith, an actress able to make people laugh, on and off screen. When I went to see Dame Maggie Smith appearing in A German Life at the Bridge Theatre in London, I was invited backstage to see her after the curtain went down. It was a hot night in 2019 and the […]

The UN has warned Priti Patel that her plans to overhaul the UK’s asylum seeker system by cracking down on the rights of refugees “risk breaching international law”. Back in March, the home secretary announced plans to give asylum seeker who enter the UK through irregular channels – such as crossing the Channel by boat – fewer […]

Labour needs to learn from Boris Johnson that it’s personality, not policy, which is currently winning elections  With each election that sees Johnson’s party rise in the polls, win seats and be applauded by the mainstream media, my heart sinks a little deeper. I’m now convinced that policies don’t cut it – all you need […]

Civil liberties groups, electoral reformers and senior MPs on both sides of the Commons have condemned government plans to introduce a requirement for voters to prove their identity before casting their ballot. Downing Street said it was a “reasonable approach” and 99.6% of people in pilots requiring people to show photographic ID had managed to […]

How the best rugby union players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland come together to bring unity. It really shouldn’t work. Every four years, the best rugby union players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are brought together for a couple of months to take on one of the sport’s southern hemisphere giants. New Zealand, […]

The Green Party says its record-breaking local election result shows Britons are “fed up” with the two-party system after gaining 99 seats and polling highly in the London and Bristol mayoral races. The Greens won a total of 155 seats and gained representation on 18 new councils in this year’s local elections, bringing the total number of […]

It has not even been five months since the end of the Brexit transition period and there have been armed patrol vessels in the Channel. The sad thing is: this is only the latest stage in a development that began with the Brexit referendum and saw a significant decline in Britain’s role on the diplomatic […]

English football supporters are deluding themselves over fan power and the idea that the Bundesliga is more even than the Premier League. What do you imagine upset the Glazer Brothers more – their football team across the pond being prevented from playing on Sunday, or the Monday morning hit to the Manchester United share price […]