John Connolly is News Editor of The Spectator
The other day, as I walked with my partner through Notting Hill, we came across a shop which deserves to be visited just as an experience, or perhaps an education, for people not yet aware how extremely silly the 21st century can be. We had heard strange and interesting things about Goop, an online store
On Friday, in an inconspicuous metal finishing factory on an industrial estate in Coventry, Nigel Farage officially launched his new Brexit Party, and set out its strategy ahead of the European Parliament elections on 23 May. The message of the day was clear: the people, especially Leave voters, have been let down by the Westminster
After MPs failed to reach a consensus on the kind of Brexit they wanted for a second time on Monday, the parliamentarians led by Oliver Letwin who are seeking to take control of the Brexit process have changed their strategy. Instead of having another series of indicative votes on Wednesday as originally planned, the backbenchers
The relationship between Tory MPs who want a softer Brexit and local Conservative members has been strained for some time. This morning things came to a head. The backbench MP Nick Boles, who has been campaigning to stop a no-deal Brexit, announced that he was resigning from his local Conservative association. Boles will still remain
When seven MPs announced yesterday that they were leaving Labour to form a new centrist faction called The Independent Group, talk soon turned to what impact it could have on the other parties’ electoral chances. Corbyn’s allies were quick to warn that it could lead to ten years of Tory rule, while Conservative MPs were rumoured
If you mention the word ‘Booths’ anywhere south of Knutsford, you will usually be met with a blank expression, followed by someone wondering if you are mispronouncing the name of a nearby pharmacy. But in the north-west the name is associated with a store native to Lancashire, which, uncharacteristically for a supermarket chain, holds a
On 14 January Theresa May will resume the uphill task of getting her Brexit agreement with the European Union through the House of Commons. So far, things are not looking good for the PM. Before the Christmas break, over one hundred Tory MPs publicly pledged to vote against her deal, and the ferocious backlash it
It’s the question that’s on everyone’s lips this week in Westminster: now that the Brexit negotiations have been finalised by the EU, will Theresa May be able to get her withdrawal agreement through the House of Commons? So far, the numbers are not in her favour. Labour have confirmed they will whip against her deal,
Theresa May heads to Brussels this weekend to finalise the Brexit negotiations – but is there any cause to celebrate, or has she left behind an irrevocably toxic legacy? Is Beto O’Rourke the saviour of the Democratic Party, or is he a sign that they are in a funk? And are middle-class parents too obsessed
Commentators on the left and right have been fiercely arguing for the past few weeks over which political party is more racist: Labour or the Conservatives. Conservatives have pointed out Jeremy Corbyn’s numerous links and associations with anti-Semites, Labour’s refusal to adopt the IHRA definition and Jewish conspiracy theorists on Twitter. In response, prominent left
