Tom Goodenough is online editor of The Spectator.
Is Brexit going in circles? With the resignations of David Davis and Boris Johnson – and widespread unhappiness at the Prime Minister’s Chequers plan – it is hard to pretend that things are going well. But is the drama only just getting started? In this week’s cover piece, James Forsyth says that a no-deal Brexit,
David Davis has broken his silence on his resignation. Unsurprisingly his comments on the Today programme are devastating for Theresa May’s Brexit strategy. The now-departed Brexit secretary said his position was no longer tenable because he simply didn’t believe in the PM’s approach. In his resignation letter last night, he had said that ‘that the
England’s Raheem Sterling has underwhelmed so far at the World Cup. Off the pitch, however, he is winning new fans. The Manchester City winger’s essay blog, ‘It was all a dream’, tells the story of his father’s murder and his mother’s subsequent struggles to make ends meet. It’s brilliantly written, tugs at the heart strings
England’s Raheem Sterling has underwhelmed so far at the World Cup. Off the pitch, however, he is winning new fans. The Manchester City winger’s essay blog, ‘It was all a dream’, tells the story of his father’s murder and his mother’s subsequent struggles to make ends meet. It’s brilliantly written, tugs at the heart strings
Could Brexit talks soon be heading for the ‘meltdown’ that Boris Johnson predicted? Michel Barnier’s press conference just now hardly inspires confidence that things are going to plan. The EU’s chief negotiator said that Britain was playing a ‘blame game’ in Brexit talks and that it had to accept the consequences of its decision to
Alexander Nix looks the part of a Bond villain: the sinister-sounding surname, the cut-glass accent and his position at the centre of a conspiracy theory involving Brexit, Trump and dodgy data. Even Steve Bannon – the man most people love to hate – thinks he is bad news. But have we all got the beleaguered
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Ken Livingstone’s resignation statement is that he finally managed to avoid saying the word that got him into so much trouble in the first place. The former mayor of London said that with ‘great sadness’ he was cutting up his party membership card because ‘the ongoing issues around my
The march of the Labour moderates away from Westminster continues, with Heidi Alexander the latest to quit parliament. The Labour MP announced this morning that she will stand down from her seat and take up a job working with Sadiq Khan at City Hall. Her departure is no real surprise: speculation has been rife for
The Tories are in for a torrid time in today’s local elections if the polls are anything to go on. Results are expected to be particularly bad for the party in the capital, with the Conservatives trailing Labour by 22 points in London, according to YouGov. But can the polls be trusted? Or could Tory
Another day, another Brexit defeat in the House of Lords for the Government. This time around, peers have voted to back an amendment to the Brexit bill which would hand Parliament, rather than ministers, the power to decide what to do if MPs reject the final deal agreed with Brussels. The margin in today’s vote
Donald Trump’s critics waste little time in condemning him. Whether it’s an ill-judged gaffe or a spelling mistake in a tweet, pointing the finger at a president some love to hate is a popular exercise in virtue signalling. But those who shout the loudest about Trump’s misdemeanours seem to be curiously quiet when The Donald does
For those Brexiteers worried the government may change its mind on leaving the customs union, David Davis’s appearance in front of a select committee gave reasons for reassurance – but also possibly some cause to worry. The Brexit secretary was clear that he is sticking firmly to his guns on the issue. But can he
Why can’t Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn be honest about Labour’s real stance on Syria? The shadow home secretary is demanding an ‘independent, UN-led investigation’ into what happened in Douma to determine whether chemical weapons were used in the attack this week. This is the line parroted by the Labour leader, who has said: “Britain
Donald Trump’s response to the alleged chemical attack in Syria which left dozens dead has so far been entirely typical: he has sent a series of angry tweets. But now that the president has finished typing will he go one further and press any red buttons? More than a day on since the bombing, the
That EU leaders have agreed to move to the next stage of Brexit talks and rubber stamp the transition period is no great surprise. It took just a matter of minutes this morning for them to wave through guidelines on the negotiations for a future trade deal between Britain and the EU. But while the
It wouldn’t be Brexit if everyone was happy, so it is no surprise that not everyone is pleased with the latest developments in negotiations. Britain’s Brexit transition deal has been called a betrayal, while Jacob Rees-Mogg said the government had given away too much in a ‘very unsatisfactory’ agreement. But the Sun says it won’t
Vladimir Putin’s re-election was never in doubt. And following last night’s result in which the Russian president won 76 per cent of the vote, Russia is now facing the prospect of six more years of Putin in charge – making Putin the longest serving Russian leader since Stalin. The Russian president’s ‘gangster state is an
Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the Salisbury poisoning has been widely criticised, with many of his own MPs siding with the PM rather than their leader. In spite of the backlash, Corbyn has doubled down on his refusal to point the finger at the Russian government, suggesting that the Russian mafia could be to blame. The
For a president who usually tweets first and asks questions later, Donald Trump’s initial reaction to the Salisbury attack has been curiously slow. Eleven days on from the poisoning of a former Russian agent, Trump’s Twitter account remains silent on the subject. But now that Theresa May is ramping up the rhetoric against Russia –
‘I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in this place, but as the house is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here,’ said speaker William Lenthall, the idea being that it was parliament’s views – not his own – that mattered. John Bercow has a message to his predecessor: bollocks
