All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
After three weeks as the president-elect, we are starting to get a sense of what a Trump presidency will look like. Or at least a clear idea of how he is running the transition from Trump Tower to the White House. It looks much the same as his unconventional campaign, combining Twitter rants with Rust Belt
Taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland has been revealed as the worst performer in the Bank of England’s annual health check of the UK banking system. The Guardian reports that, following its failure in the Bank of England stress test, RBS has published a plan designed to bolster its financial strength by an estimated £2 billion. Barclays and Standard
After Ukip’s new leader Paul Nuttall said he planned ‘to replace the Labour party and make Ukip the patriotic voice of working people’, Jeremy Corbyn’s party are under pressure to re-connect with their traditional working class voters. With that in mind, Stephen Kinnock appeared on the Today programme on Tuesday to talk Labour and immigration.
With Emily Thornberry en route to Cuba to attend the funeral of Fidel Castro, back in Blighty landbound socialists — with selective memories — continue to take to the airwaves to heap praise on the late dictator. Happily during one such appearance, from Richard Gott — a former literary editor of the Guardian — on Sky News,
I recently had the misfortune of featuring in a BBC documentary that repeatedly breached the corporation’s own editorial standards. I happened to be at the gym when word reached me that BBC Inside Out London wanted to interview me the following day. It was late in the evening, and I was told that the documentary
In recent weeks, Theresa May has attempted to perform a balancing act between looking after the interests of ‘just about managing’ families and keeping big business on side. On becoming Prime Minister, she gave several speeches suggesting the need for a radical overhaul of the way businesses — and capitalism — work in order to
The news that Theresa May offered to do a deal on expats – only to be rebuffed by Angela Merkel – is unsurprising. The Prime Minister has ended up in a pretty bad, unbecoming position on EU nationals using them as bargaining chips in a way that has appalled her critics (and even some of
Although Eddie Izzard’s kiss of death is famous throughout Westminster, the comedian-turned-campaigner still manages to bag prominent positions in losing campaigns. Take for example the EU referendum. Izzard was hired by the Remain camp to valiantly tour the country preaching to the youth of today about the positives of the European Union. While his words failed
Of all the government departments, it’s the Department for International Trade that manages to find itself in the firing line the most often. Whether it’s a turf war between the department and the rest of Whitehall or reports of Liam Fox instructing civil servants to read his book, it’s safe to say the department has not
The Twitch-hunters, those antsy, intolerant guardians of what it’s permissible to say on Twitter, have claimed another scalp. Eric Bristow’s. The former darts champion, lovably known as the Crafty Cockney, will now probably be better known as hate-speaker thanks to the offence-taking army that took umbrage at his tweets about child abuse. For this quarrelsome
Another day, another miserable bit of news for the Labour party. This time it’s in the form of an ICM/ Guardian poll, which puts Jeremy Corbyn’s party 16 points behind the Conservatives. While the Tories are riding high on 44 per cent – their highest share of the vote in more than seven years – Labour’s
In last week’s Autumn statement, Philip Hammond appeared to channel his inner Ed Miliband as he banned letting fees and went on a borrowing splurge. Today at Treasury questions, it was Labour’s turn to cross-dress. After John McDonnell sparked much laughter from Tory benches by referring to Mark Field’s chief of staff — behind yesterday’s so-called Brexit leak
Although Theresa May is reluctant to say that Brexit means anything other than… Brexit, on Monday we were given a glimpse of what else it could stand for. Mark Field’s Chief of Staff, Julia Dockerill, was snapped carrying some intriguing notes on the topic following a reported meeting with David Davis: is this the first insight into
If you’re not familiar with the term, then ‘salary sacrifice’ is a bit of a puzzler. Just what is your boss expecting you to sacrifice? A chunk of your wages? A goat in the car park at lunchtime? Put simply, salary sacrifice arrangements enable employees to give up salary in return for benefits-in-kind that are often
Even in its twilight years the Guardian remains the gift that keeps on giving. As the tin-shaking below the pieces grows stronger (generally presenting the publication as the only barrier between the reader and incipient fascism) the pieces remain reliably ridiculous. Yet even by these standards, Monday produced perhaps the Guardian’s worst shake-down effort to date.
Despite fears over affordability and the effects of the Brexit vote, the number of first-time buyers purchasing homes in the UK reached a record high in October. The National Association of Estate Agents said that a third of sales registered at its members’ branches were to first-time buyers, a 9 per cent rise from September and the
After being made Ukip leader yesterday, Paul Nuttall wasted no time in making it clear who he had in his sights: the Labour party. Nuttall said he wanted Ukip to ‘replace Labour’ within five years. And in its editorial, the Times says this threat spells a ‘nightmare’ scenario for Labour. The paper says that while ‘healing’
Remember how rises in global temperatures were reported earlier in the year? Here is a taste from the Guardian in July. Funny thing is, though, global temperatures are now falling equally sharply – and no-one, with the exception of the Mail on Sunday last weekend, seems to be bothered about reporting it. Not even Nasa
I like the fact that Theresa May is an Anglican, a good, solid, unashamed, unflashy Anglican, whose allegiance has not wavered since childhood. It reassures me. For the CofE is a place of pragmatic idealism, public service, profound humanism, good humour, self-criticism. Also, it’s just about the only place where class and racial divisions are
Restaurateur Gavin Rankin enjoys a gastronomic trip to Belgium but wishes travelling companion, chef Rowley Leigh, had kept his mouth shut about the ox tongue. I recently lunched with two National Treasures – both Chefs – and was amused to see that their pointed bantering was every bit as spiky as might be expected from
By next summer, Britain could be the only one of the three major Western military powers unequivocally opposed to the idea of Russian domination of its near neighbours. For François Fillon, the Republican candidate for the French Presidency and the favourite to win, has — as UK security sources point out — pretty much the
Shock news! Hold the (virtual) front page! Martin Schulz, arch bogeyman of every British Brexiteer – and even a few Remainers – is leaving the EU. No, Schulz hasn’t renounced his support for ‘ever closer’ European Union. Rather, he’s stepping down as President of the European Parliament to stand as an MP for the SPD,
In his admirably brief and necessarily brutal, Brexit: What the Hell Happens Now, Ian Dunt tells how civil servants brief business leaders while they wait to meet David Davis. For all his appearance as a tough guy with the strength to handle the most complicated diplomatic crisis the British have faced since the Second World
In Miami’s Little Havana, champagne fizzed all weekend. Meanwhile, the rest of us in the free world amused ourselves comparing the barmiest political reactions to the death of Fidel Castro. Jeremy Corbyn is strong in the running for the ‘Despot Hagiography Award’, though top honours must go to the national statesmen remembering a tyrant as a
Today Paul Nuttall has been appointed Ukip leader, winning over 62 pc of the vote. His election marks a new chapter for the party, after months of in-fighting and confusion since the Brexit vote. A popular figure in the party, many had hoped he would run in the first leadership election, that Diane James went
I was interested to read that police recorded more shoplifting offences in the year ending in March than they have since the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in 2003. The trend was unique among other diminishing types of hands-on thieving, single-handedly driving up the number of ‘property crimes’ reported in England and Wales, according to
François Fillon crushed Alain Juppé on Sunday night in the second round of voting for the presidential nomination for France’s main conservative party. Having knocked Nicolas Sarkozy out of the race last weekend, the 62-year-old Fillon won 66.5 percent of the vote in yesterday’s run-off against the more moderate Juppé. It’s a devastating blow for
Paul Nuttall has won the race to replace Nigel Farage as Ukip leader. Nuttall’s victory was decisive: he picked up 62.6 per cent of the vote, compared to Suzanne Evans on 19.3 per cent and John Rees-Evans on 18.1 per cent. For Nuttall, the hard work starts now. His win today puts an end to
This week in the books podcast, I talk to Alex Bellos, author of the superbly engrossing Can You Solve My Problems?, about mathematical and logical puzzles: what they can teach us, the oddballs who invent them, and the pleasure that they offer. Plus, a first for this podcast, we’ll be setting a brain-teaser at the
Cyber Monday. It’s an odd phrase, more likely to conjure apocalyptic visions of a Terminator-style machine invasion than a frenzied day of online shopping. Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is relatively new to these shores. In just a few short years, it’s become part of the year’s busiest spending weekend, with both days book-ending a
Oh dear. Over the weekend many liberal leaders heaped praise on Fidel Castro as news broke that the Cuban dictator was dead. In fact, it was Tim Farron who stood out for actually condemning Castro’s human rights abuses — while describing him as a ‘vastly significant’ leader. So, what of the SNP? Well, today George Kerevan
Don’t believe the hype. Despite forecasts of record sales for this year’s shopping frenzy, Black Friday appears to have been a bit of damp squib, with online sales growth falling significantly short of predictions. The Times reports that purchasing online was up by only 6.7 per cent against the same day the previous year, compared
The Daily Mail calls those who ‘heaped adulation’ on Fidel Castro over the weekend – including the likes of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell – ‘useful idiots’. The paper says after Castro’s death on Saturday, the Cuban leader’s supporters are ignoring the ‘poverty he inflicted on his people’ as well as his torturing of political opponents
Since Netflix released The Crown, much praise has been heaped on the network for the royal drama. In fact, the series — a dramatisation of the Queen’s early years — has proved so impressive that several critics have suggested the future of quality drama lies online rather than with broadcasters like the BBC. So, with that in mind,