United Kingdom

Many progressives are certain that the only hope for ending Tory rule is to replace first past the post. Polling expert PETER KELLNER is not so sure it is a good idea The case is made easily – and frequently: if we had a different method for electing our MPs, Britain would still be in […]

Dominic Cummings has explained why Tory officials prevented Boris Johnson from being interviewed by Andrew Neil during the 2019 general election. In the latest of his sustained war of words with his once long-standing ally, Cummings claimed the prime minister is a “gaffe machine” who is “clueless” on policy. During the 2019 December election campaign, […]

Concerns are quickly rising over the future of power-sharing in Northern Ireland after DUP leader Edwin Poots stepped down after just 21 days in the role. He becomes the shortest serving leader in the history of the party.  He resigned after an internal revolt against him began over a deal he agreed with Sinn Féin […]

We asked readers for their views on whether or not the Chesham and Amersham by-election demonstrated the need for a progressive alliance to stop the Tories.

The Queen had a brutal put down for Boris Johnson, reports Tim Walker.

Five years after the EU referendum, readers have their say on the Brexit vote.

Just who the hell are the British? After five years of Brexit, 18 months of a pandemic and a year of Black Lives Matter, the country – and the world – still doesn’t know My life in the United Kingdom started in 1972 at the age of eight with a black eye. My brother, who is two years older, and […]

Readers add to the list of best European shows to stream I was very pleased you recommended some very top favourites of mine in your “Best 40 European shows to stream”. Some other excellent series are: I Know Who You Are (Spanish); Vanished by the Lake, Killer by the Lake, Fear by the Lake (French); […]

The UK exported more food and drink to outside the EU than into it in the first few months after Brexit as exports to the bloc nosedived. Sales to non-EU countries made up 55% of all UK food and drink exports in the first three months of 2021 compared to less than 40% a year […]

Boris Johnson’s Tories suffered a humiliating by-election defeat as the Liberal Democrats scored a historic win in Chesham and Amersham. Lib Dem Sarah Green is the country’s newest MP after winning the seat, which had been a Conservative stronghold since its creation in 1974. Sir Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said the result sent […]

Pledges from wealthier nations to help vaccinate other countries are no more than token gestures It had all been going so well. The UK’s four-stage reopening – at a slower and more cautious pace than previous liftings of restrictions – had successfully completed its first three stages, and had done so without too much in […]

The champions of Brexit have gone particularly quiet since the UK left the EU - but are Remainers guilty of doing the same too?

Baroness Dido Harding has applied to become the next head of the NHS. The Tory peer has stood aside from her position as chair of NHS Improvement, which she took up in October 2017, while recruitment is underway, according to a biography on the NHS England website. She served as executive chair of the government’s […]

The trade deal between the UK and Australia should be subject to a vote in the House of Commons and Holyrood, Nicola Sturgeon has said. Scotland’s first minister has repeatedly raised concerns over the deal, which she says will hurt Scottish farmers and food producers as cheaper imports undercut them. The agreement was announced following […]

The environment secretary is reportedly one of the cabinet ministers who could be demoted by Boris Johnson in the next reshuffle. George Eustice is said to be among those “due for the chop” after a disagreement over the post-Brexit trade deal with Australia, with the minister expressing concerns over the impact on farmers. MPs have heard […]

Boris Johnson is a “massive supporter” of health secretary Matt Hancock despite criticising him as “f**king hopeless” in messages revealed by Dominic Cummings, a minister has claimed. Financial secretary to the Treasury Jesse Norman said the prime minister is “firmly behind” Hancock following the extraordinary revelation of private WhatsApps from his former chief aide. No […]

When Brexit redefined the UK’s place in the world, migrants were left out in the cold. But, disabled migrants fell through the cracks entirely.  “Can you spell your last name?” they ask. I’m used to it by now. In France, it’s an easy question: I just answer “Castres, like the city.” But there’s no Castres […]

The Liberal Democrats have claimed the Chesham and Amersham by-election is “neck and neck” as voters go to the polls in a by-election for the historically Conservative safe seat. The constituency in Buckinghamshire has been held by the Tories since its creation in 1974, but the Liberal Democrats have insisted it could “go down to […]

Boris Johnson’s faults and failings are blindingly obvious, but the media don’t seem interested in that story It was a great question. “When the history books are written, will Boris Johnson still get away with it?” It was asked by a woman in the Q and A when I spoke at the Wimbledon Book Festival, […]

A reader points out how Brexit red tape is impacting Amazon order This is the amazing journey of a tiny cheap item of a pair of Creative Earbuds ordered from Amazon UK costing just £6.99 and the time this small package took as it travelled from Rome, Italy to Oxford UK. I have ordered these […]

Ian Blackford has kicked off parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s post-Brexit trade deal with Australia by asking the prime minister multiple questions on the subject at PMQs. The leader of the SNP used his questions to ask for more “details of the disastrous trade deal with Australia”. He said these details were “busy being celebrated in Canberra, but […]

The trade deal with Australia will act as a “stepping stone” to a wider trans-Pacific accord, Liz Truss said as she rejected farmers’ concerns about the agreement. The international trade secretary said the UK is looking at parts of the world where growth is expected in future as she defended the deal, which is forecast […]

Boris Johnson described health secretary Matt Hancock as “hopeless” early in the coronavirus pandemic, according to a message published by former aide Dominic Cummings. Cummings, who has blamed Hancock for failings during the Covid response, published a screenshot apparently showing a WhatsApp exchange between himself and the prime minister. On March 3 last year, the […]

Andrew Neil has launched a new channel, GB News. Now, comedian Mitch Benn is starting his own network for middle-aged, straight, balding white men… MB NEWS IS HERE! Hello, good evening/morning/afternoon and welcome to the exciting launch of my very own news channel, MB NEWS! Yes, like 52% of the GREAT BRITISH PUBLIC (give or […]

Boris Johnson has said that a path through the “thicket of burdensome and restrictive regulation” must be cleared to fulfil the potentials of Brexit. A report from Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) led by Iain Duncan Smith has described Brexit as a “one-off opportunity” to reduce red tape and set out a new […]

Boris Johnson faces the prospect of a Tory rebellion when MPs are asked to approve the extension of coronavirus restrictions in England until July 19. The House of Commons will vote on Wednesday evening on the four-week delay to the end of lockdown measures, aimed at buying more time for the vaccine programme. Labour has […]

Boris Johnson’s government risks another tragedy like the hate-fuelled killings of Jo Cox or Stephen Lawrence by stoking a “culture war”, a former race adviser has said. Samuel Kasumu, in his first interview since quitting as the prime minister’s most senior black adviser, said some Conservatives believe the path to victory includes exploiting division. “There […]

Calls to immediately scrap the amber travel list and move the countries to the banned red list have been rejected by the government. MPs voted 363 to 256, a majority of 107, to defeat a Labour motion that called for action to create a “clear, simply understood and proper” hotel quarantine scheme at the UK […]

MPs have written to Liz Truss demanding parliamentary scrutiny of the government’s post-Brexit trade deal with Australia. A series of MPs, representing all four nations, have written to the international trade secretary amid concerns that the deal could negatively affect the country’s farmers and put them out of business. In the letter, which was coordinated […]

Boris Johnson is set for showdown talks with the Commons speaker following stinging criticism of the government’s handling of the road map delay announcement. Hoyle initially accused Downing Steet of “running roughshod” over MPs by opting to release details of the unlocking delay to July 19 via a press conference at 6pm on Monday rather […]

The Kominsky Method is surprisingly thoughtful in the way it grapples with the fundamental fragility of friendship and getting old – if you can ignore the unnecessary swipes against the young When I first watched The Kominsky Method I did so with the full expectation that it would melt into the indistinguishable coterie of bland, almost […]

Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the house, has rebuked Boris Johnson’s decision to hold a televised news conference about changes to the Covid roadmap timetable without informing MPs in the House of Commons first. Hoyle angrily called the actions “totally unacceptable” and accused the government of “running roughshod” over MPs. The prime minister held a press conference at […]