Remember David Cameron’s renegotiation with Brussels in the run-up to the referendum? There’s a good chance you’ve probably forgotten; after all, even the Prime Minister wasn’t keen to talk up his paltry deal. Yet there’s a danger of history repeating itself if peers have their wicked way, warns the Sun. ‘Peers and rebel Tory MPs’
It’s an increasingly familiar scenario: grown-up children moving out of rented accommodation and back into the family home as they save for their first property. For some, the idea of coming together under one roof again conjures the return of family movie nights and getting to know your loved ones afresh. For others, it will
As part of John McDonnell’s recent ‘tea offensive‘ to reach out and offer an olive branch to politicians on all sides of the Labour party, the shadow chancellor has invited both Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair for a cuppa. Alas, extending the hand of friendship to New Labour grandees is proving costly when it comes
There was a good programme last week on Channel 4 about Muslims looking for love, or at least marriage. It was called ‘Extremely British Muslims’, and it did indeed show us some young Muslims who were very much like anyone else. But it was also a reminder that many Muslims have a deep-seated assumption about religion
Marine Le Pen must be struggling to contain her glee at the implosion of the centre-right Républicains party. An extraordinary 24 hours began on Sunday when François Fillon assembled his supporters in the torrential Parisian rain to reaffirm his intention to stand as their candidate in next month’s election. The former Prime Minister then appeared on TV yesterday evening to
As a Newcastle United fan, fretting whether my team will make it to the Champions League isn’t something I am burdened with on a regular basis. If it was, I might be tempted to pay for BT Sport. If that was the case, however, I’d be among the 10 million people who, from April 2, will
You don’t earn a nickname like ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ for being a showman. But is Philip Hammond’s powder-dry demeanour and unwavering focus on the numbers actually his strong point? Yes, says the Sun, which suggests the chancellor’s cautious approach is exactly what Britain needs right now. The paper says that whereas Hammond’s predecessors would use their Budget announcements
Last week Dawn Butler used an appearance on Question Time to reveal that she hadn’t actually gone up to campaign in Copeland ahead of the party’s disastrous by-election result, as she suffers from… car sickness: DB: I didn’t go to Copeland as I suffer from car sickness and I heard the roads are really bad.
As Budget day approaches, the opposition are attempting to pile pressure on the Tories. As part of these efforts, Jeremy Corbyn has published details of his tax return in an effort to force Philip Hammond to do the same. However, if the stunt was meant to put the focus on the Chancellor, it has backfired spectacularly this
Ahead of his budget announcement this week, Philip Hammond has told Andrew Marr that the UK may continue to face EU contributions after Brexit, though he dismissed claims of a £60bn divorce fee as ‘a piece of negotiating strategy’. The Chancellor looked relaxed as he shrugged off the potential failure of a trade deal with the EU,
It’s not been a great week for Ukip. Following Paul Nuttall’s by-election loss in Stoke-on-Trent Central, the Ukip leader went on holiday while his party went into free fall. As Nigel Farage mounted a coup against Douglas Carswell over reports that Ukip’s only MP had scuppered Farage’s chances of being awarded a knighthood, Arron Banks labelled Nuttall’s leadership ‘weak’ and
‘They will hate you because of who I am,’ Jesus says in the Gospels. He forgot to add: ‘And the ones who don’t have a clue will point and laugh.’ It’s a lesson Carol Monaghan has learned abruptly. Monaghan is MP for Glasgow North West and a member of the Scottish National Party. A former
The call for lessons in the art of seduction in the style of an author of your choice drew a large and stellar field. Henry James — whose labyrinthine sentences would surely bore the objects of his affection into submission — was a popular choice. Here he is, as expertly imagined by John Maddicott: ‘If
Sir John Major does political intervention just right, doesn’t he? Never mind what he actually says. Once a year, twice max. Lob in a perfectly prepared hand grenade, wave and get the hell out. None of that terrible neediness of Tony Blair, still so stricken that he’s not in office. No children will cry, nor
I’m eager to order a Nokia 3310, the classic mobile phone of the millennium that was relaunched this week. The original was famed for its simple functions, unbreakable casing and ultra-long battery life; my earlier 3210 was just as good. I lost it on a coach trip 15 years ago and haven’t been truly happy since,
Lord Heseltine has been denounced because he says he will vote against the government over Brexit in the House of Lords. It seems terrifically unfair. Has there ever been an occasion, in his long political career, when he has not been in favour of British membership of the EU (or EEC)? Why should he change
Here’s the bad news. One day you or someone like you will be shopping in a mall or enjoying a concert or about to catch a train when the first sudden, sharp crack will rend the air and your world will change forever. Around you, people will start to crumple and as the panic and
They were the elections you didn’t hear about, because the UK press mainly instead covered Bruce Forsyth’s chest infection. But Northern Ireland just woke up to a world where the Unionists’ vote share is a princely 45.7%. It was the highest turnout since 1998 (64.8%), the year of the Good Friday Agreement, that buoyed Sinn Féin
If the British establishment really wants to troll Ukip, then I suppose it ought to give Douglas Carswell a knighthood for blocking Nigel Farage’s knighthood. He says he didn’t, of course, and I don’t see how he could have done. Farage, though, clearly thinks he did, and his wrath about this is the most fun
The notion of artificial life created in a lab – heralded today with the news that scientists at Cambridge have managed to combine two sets of mouse stem cells to start the process of embryo creation is mildly alarming, no? Shades of Aldous Huxley, Brave New World? These aren’t exactly embryos; a scientist friend prefers