All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
It’s half-way through Emmanuel Macron’s five-year mandate and French voters are glancing over the menu, bored of the president’s promises. Everything they’ve come to dislike about Emmanuel Macron is being confirmed and contrasted by the taller man on his right. Yes, the most serious threat to Macron right now isn’t Marine Le Pen but the
The chaotic handling of Brexit and the despair of the chattering classes over the Trump presidency has undermined our faith in liberal democracy. Francis Fukuyama has now recanted his 1992 claim that the fall of the Soviet Union brought about the end of history, and free and fair elections are increasingly being seen as society’s
The era of John Bercow as Speaker is no more. This evening MPs voted for Sir Lindsay Hoyle to succeed Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons. Elected by secret ballot through a series of knockout rounds, Hoyle was triumphant with 325 votes, following four rounds of voting. Chris Bryant came second with 213 votes.
When Tory MPs look for reasons to be optimistic about the incoming election, one thing they point to is the fact that this time around Nick Timothy is not involved. Theresa May’s former aide is widely blamed within the Conservative party for the 2017 manifesto which saw the Tories shed popularity over the so-called dementia
Jean-Claude Juncker has got some front. Today, to the glee of Boris-bashers and hardcore Remainers, he has accused Boris of having told lies during the EU referendum campaign. Is he serious? This is a man who has publicly defended and even advocated lying. This is a man who has insisted that untruths are an essential
One wonders what Tom Watson would have left in his vocabulary if the Conservatives announced a policy of kicking away the crutches of the elderly – given, that is, that this morning he described the ‘Tory’ policy of abolishing free TV licences for the over 75s as ‘utterly callous’. Ending universal free licences for the
“Was Red Wedge pro-Labour, or did we just hate Tories?” asked musician Billy Bragg, when he launched his tactical vote site ‘Vote Dorset’ in 2001. He was trying to solve a problem British progressives have faced at every election since the re-emergence of the Liberals as a political force in the 1960s: while conservatives were
Jacob Rees-Mogg looks like he is in a fight to retain his seat at the snap election. Or so you might think from the Lib Dems’ campaign literature, which appears to give the Tory MP a slender six per cent cushion against the Lib Dems. But if you read the small print, the actual question
Are MPs really fleeing parliament in their droves, having decided that it’s just too mean and dysfunctional a place to stay? There have been so many resignations over the past couple of weeks that you might be forgiven for wondering if there will be any MPs, let alone women MPs, in Westminster at all after
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, but to be young was strictly optional. Most of the heroes of 1989 were middle-aged. The leaders of the velvet revolutions, the Vaclav Havels and Lech Walesas, had been through prison, tough times and many a defeat before this incredible victory. Sure, there were often students
Boris Johnson – I’m ‘sorry’ we did not meet our Halloween deadline Sophy Ridge began her show with a pre-recorded interview with Boris Johnson. With the intended Brexit date of 31st October now receding into history, Ridge challenged the Prime Minister over his repeated promises to meet that deadline, and asked if he would apologise
Every one of the last five years has involved a major electoral event. As a Councillor in my home borough of Wandsworth in London, I’d forgive myself for feeling jaded at the thought of knocking on even more doors as the days get shorter and colder. But when the starting pistol was fired for the
Jeremy Corbyn’s election launch was a declaration of class war. He was ‘going after’ some named individuals who he portrayed as tax dodgers, bad bosses, dodgy landlords and big polluters. He may not have realised how much he sounded like the party leader in Orwell’s 1984, denouncing ‘enemies of the state’, and singling out ‘Emmanuel
Philip Hammond told the Today programme on Tuesday that he was ‘agonising’ over whether he should advocate a Conservative vote at the coming election. ‘It really doesn’t matter how many times my party kicks me, abuses me, reviles me,’ he went on, sounding like Jesus, ‘they’re not going to stop me feeling like a Conservative.’ Obviously Mr
Whatever else is true of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, they have communicated a fairly clear idea of what they think about economics. The same cannot be said of the Conservatives – and that is unlikely to change. What with Brexit, Corbyn-bashing and low-level culture wars, I suspect the 2019 general election campaign will be
The latest challenge, a mournful nod to the recently defunct 178-year-old travel company, called for poems about Thomas Cook. The firm may have hit the buffers, but many entries featured its eponymous founder’s original offering — railway travel and Temperance tours — which would be just the job in our clean-living, climate change-challenged times. In
For once, Jeremy Corbyn is right. The government’s announcement of a moratorium in fracking is an election stunt – and attempt to snatch a few leave-voting seats in the North at the expense of damaging Britain’s energy policy for the next couple of decades, as well as causing higher carbon emissions. Announcing the block on
So is it good news that Citizens’ Assemblies are to sit to decide on how best to address the issue of climate change, one of the most contentious on the political agenda? The BBC observed this morning that this was something that Extinction Rebellion had been calling for. And that this had already been used
Normally wrangles about TV debates go on for weeks before one is agreed. Yet, before the election campaign has even formally started, ITV have announced a TV debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson on November 19th. This’ll be the first election head to heard this country has had. Agreement on this debate has been
The only person ever elected for the Brexit party’s predecessor, Ukip, at a General Election, I really can’t see the point in voting for them now. Why? If you want Brexit done, Boris needs to be returned as Prime Minister on 12 December with a working majority. Backing him is the only way to beat the
Little Britain is a sketch-show whose cast of grotesque characters give audiences permission to laugh at obesity, disability, cross-dressing and a host of other human frailties. The creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams on Thursday night delivered a one-off special about Brexit for Radio 4. ‘Little Brexit’ opened with the show’s narrator, Tom Baker, using
I found I spent most of the second half of the Rugby World Cup final thinking about an acquaintance. I had lunch with him last week. Three children in and 36 years old, he’d recently acceded to his wife’s request to have a vasectomy. As a reward – a kind of final hurrah for his
New Zealanders can teach the world a lot about sportsmanship. Steve Hansen after last Saturday’s All Blacks defeat by England in the World Cup semi-final showed the uncomplaining loser can be just as impressive as the triumphant winner. As he put it: ‘Winning’s easy…[but] when you lose… you have to show humility, do it gracefully
What exactly is the role of a bishop – Catholic or Anglican – in the modern West? They spend a certain amount of time in church, of course, but what they love best is a committee meeting. And ‘dialogue’ with various groups. Sometimes they combine the two and have ‘mutually enriching dialogue’ at committee meetings.
As president Sarkozy’s finance minister, Christine Lagarde ran up one of France’s largest ever budget deficits and moved so slowly on reforms it cost him re-election. As managing director of the International Monetary Fund, she collaborated in a ruthless deflation that created the worst recession in recorded history in Greece. She then led the IMF
Democrats are eager for the 2020 election to be defined by something other than the issues. The impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998 is well remembered as a partisan fiasco. Yet the attempted impeachment of President Trump is off to an even more partisan beginning: Republicans in 1998 succeeded in winning over many House Democrats
Ilhan Omar will come up a lot in the 2020 US election. She’s part of the ‘Democratic Squad’ of congresswomen that Republicans hate, along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib — but she outshines them all by being a foreign-born hijabi who supports boycotting Israel and is accused of immigration fraud. If Donald
Almost 60 MPs have announced their intention to stand down at the general election. It has been claimed the turnover of parliamentarians is a worrying reflection of the state of British politics. This is partly true. But it’s also a sign that our democracy is working well. Here’s why. Yes, dozens of MPs are now
This week, an election has officially been called – so what do the major parties need to do to win? Katy Balls speaks to Stephen Bush and Will Tanner about ‘Workington Man’ and Labour’s electoral strategy. Plus, after America’s much-publicised withdrawal from Syria, it looks like Trump is back in, this time to protect valuable oilfields
There’s been much speculation this week about how the Brexit party will approach the incoming general election. Varying reports suggested Nigel Farage’s party could choose to target anything from 20 to 100 seats. However, speaking in Westminster this morning, Farage made clear that he had bigger ambitions. The Brexit party leader said that unless Boris
Until this morning, Nigel Farage’s creation of the Brexit Party stood as an object lesson in how to found a new political party in a two party system. Many have tried this of course, from David Owen to Chuka Umunna, and all have floundered – some quicker than others. The Brexit party, by contrast, went
Never knowingly undersold. The slogan of one of our best-loved retailers could equally be applied to Nigel Farage. Despite poll ratings softer than a collapsing souffle, the Brexit party leader had Britain’s political media exactly where he wanted them today: in a state of feverish excitement about his general election plans. With the kudos of
Indian Fine Dining Restaurant with British Flair in the Heart of Mayfair. Benares Restaurant and Bar since its opening in 2003 has been considered one of the finest Indian Restaurants in the city. Guests enter an elegant lounge with hand-crafted India inspired furniture and is complemented by a beautiful pond decorated with fresh flowers, creating