All the latest analysis of the day's news and stories
As the two main parties reel from their local election performances today, are we at the beginning of a golden age for smaller parties? James Forsyth evaluates the chances of the Brexit party – Nigel Farage’s new electoral outfit – in this week’s cover piece. The conclusion isn’t pretty for the Conservative party: the Brexit
The local election results are dire for both the Tories and Labour. The Tories have lost over a thousand seats—and that is with the Brexit Party not standing in these elections. If Nigel Farage’s new party had been on the ballot paper, who knows how bad the Tory loses would have been. But at the
There is little doubt that Rory Stewart is amply-qualified for his belated promotion to the cabinet. The new International Development Secretary also has a background that means he understands what his brief actually does, and its value. But his move from the Ministry of Justice has also prompted a round of complaining that Stewart will
Things are going from bad to worse for Jeremy Corbyn. Labour has had a dismal night in the polls, losing nearly 100 councillors when the party had hoped to make gains at the Tories’ expense. And now Tony Robinson – the actor best known for playing Baldrick in Blackadder – has said he is quitting
MPs often struggle to bring out their human side when they’re on social media. Often, while ministers would like to give the impression that they are personally sending out warm replies and heartfelt facebook messages, in reality they have dedicated advisors writing posts for them. It seems that Jeremy Hunt might have been caught out by
So it’s acceptable now to assault electoral candidates? That’s the pretty scary take-home message from the Tommy Robinson ‘milkshaking’ incidents. Journalists and even politicians have been going wild for the bloke in Warrington who threw his milkshake in Robinson’s face yesterday as he was out campaigning as an independent for the upcoming Euro elections. It’s
On Thursday morning I left the house earlier than usual. I rode round the corner, through the driving Mancunian rain to a church hall. The people inside looked glad to see me. One asked for my address and then handed me a piece of paper. He ushered me to the centre of the hall where
The Tories are reeling after a dismal performance in the local elections overnight and things aren’t getting any better for Theresa May today. The Prime Minister has just taken to her feet at the Welsh Conservative conference but as she did so she was shouted down by a heckler calling for her to go: ‘Why
It’s always been the case that politics makes strange bedfellows, but even so, the current cross-party Brexit talks between Labour and the Conservatives have produced the oddest couple in a long time: Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May. One wants to remould the capitalist order, the other simply wants to survive as party leader until Christmas.
At the end of today, the Tory party will have had a terrible night – perhaps losing as many as 1,000 councillors in England, compared with a worst-case projection (by Tory peer Rob Hayward) of 800 defeats. But that may not end up being the big news: it is not exactly a revelation that vast
The biggest winners from last night are the Liberal Democrats who have (so far) won 260 seats – their best overall performance since 2003 and the highest number of gains since 1995. And this matters because the rationale of Change UK (the latest name for the Chuka Ununna-Anna Soubry group of breakaway MPs) is that
Today’s local election results are not a good look for Labour. After nine years of a Conservative Prime Minister leading the country, and the Tory party currently collapsing over its handling of Brexit, you would expect an opposition party to be triumphing in elections at this stage Yet as the local election results currently stand,
With widespread dissatisfaction across the country with the Tory party’s handling of Brexit, a key concern for CCHQ ahead of the local elections last night was turnout, and the risk that their supporters would simply stay at home. So it makes sense that at 8pm yesterday, with only two hours until the polls closed, a
It’s been a disappointing night for both main parties in the local elections. As predicted, the Conservatives have suffered serious losses and could be on course to lose around 800 council seats by the time all votes have been counted. Perhaps more surprising is Labour’s bad turn. The party has suffered a net loss of
The Tories have lost over 1000 seats as both major parties were hit by a Brexit backlash in the local elections overnight. The Conservatives are down 1323 councillors, while Labour lost 77 representatives compared to 2015. Theresa May said voters had sent the ‘simple message’ that her party had to ‘get on’ with delivering Brexit. Labour’s
The United Nations Security Council was designed to, in a phrase, keep the peace. Life didn’t have to be brutish and short; if the great powers got into a room, they could wield their collective might and solve any problem. The Security Council’s top priority—“the maintenance of international peace and security”—would prevent a third Great War
0% Balance transfer credit cards can help you to save money by not charging interest, and allowing you to be debt-free quicker. Here are some of the best cards on the market right now, from data supplied by moneyfacts.co.uk.
Over the last few years a steady stream of new financial firms have launched products and services meant to make our lives a little bit easier. Often described as innovative or frictionless, some of these products could improve our financial health, while others look set to deliver a dose of pain. And as more innovative
In this week’s books podcast, my guest is the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, architect of Bill Clinton’s “Third Way” and former chief economist at the World Bank. His new book People, Power and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent argues Trump’s economic boom is a “sugar-high”, and that the US economy is
Small issues – the construction of a hated roundabout or an outbreak of pot holes – can matter a lot at local elections. This year however the mood is different. Traumatised by Brexit, voters have been itching to vent their frustrations at the ballot box one way or another. With the two main parties in the
Due to several requests from befuddled citizens, the professional marketplace, Bidvine, are on the lookout for Brexit experts who can assist the public in getting to grips with the ever-changing topic of Brexit. Self-confessed experts could be paid as much as £80 an hour. People struggling to get their heads around Brexit can soon enlist
Voters have been heading to the polls for the local elections today, as a long and gruelling campaign for the two main parties is wrapping up. Activists have been touring the doorsteps issuing heartfelt promises to repair potholes and collect bins faster. It’s been a familiar script – the Tories accuse Labour of waste, and
Theresa May is behaving like a prime minister who has worked out that taking cautious steps to cling on to power is a bankrupt strategy. The ruthlessness with which she dispatched her defence secretary Gavin Williamson, who was till recently her closest ally, is one piece of supporting evidence. The point is that when he
As defence secretary in charge of Britain’s armed forces, Gavin Williamson did not exactly conduct himself with the usual stoicism and calm that comes with the role. But one of the least impressive moments he will be remembered for was his response to the Salisbury attack. After Britain had just deported 23 Russian spies from
In sacking Gavin Williamson for an offence he strenuously denies Theresa May has created for herself a potential embarrassment. What if a criminal inquiry were to find the former defence secretary not guilty of any breach of the Official Secrets Act? Yet as no-one seems to have noticed, the mini-reshuffle she carried out in the
The Guardian has an advertisement today from Sainsbury’s. Nothing wrong with that; respectable paper, respectable retailer. It’s the nature of the ad that’s interesting: a big bubble saying Save 10p per litre of fuel, surmounted by a picture of a petrol pump nozzle. You can see were the problem lies, can’t you? This is the paper that’s
It can never be said enough that Twitter is not real life, and that it is a huge mistake to think that what goes on there is representative of politics, society or humanity as whole. I’m not sure about its overall impact on the world, but I sometimes think that British politics and journalism might
Will Theresa May’s decision to sack Gavin Williamson come back to haunt her? That’s the question being asked in Westminster this morning after the Prime Minister fired the Defence Secretary alleging that he was behind a leak on Huawei from a meeting of the National Security Council to the Telegraph. The hope in No. 10
Hundreds of people have been arrested after violent May Day clashes in the centre of Paris. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the French capital to mark the event. Stone-throwing protestors clashed with police, as officers – more than 7,000 of whom were deployed – responded with tear gas. Gilets jaunes,
When young Venezuelan revolutionary Juan Guaido won the backing of Western leaders back in January, the political winds seemed to be blowing in his favour. Every politician from the White House to Brussels was lining up to endorse him as he declared the Maduro regime to be illegitimate. He was subsequently supported by the Venezuelan
It has been nearly a month since cross-party talks between the government and Labour began, and there is still no sign of white smoke. If the two sides do reach a deal, it is likely to involve movement from the government towards Labour’s key demand – negotiating a ‘permanent’ customs union with the EU after
Fiona Onasanya, the former Labour politician convicted of perverting the course of justice, has been ousted as the MP for Peterborough, after the required number of constituents signed a recall petition to remove her from office. A by-election will now be fought in the constituency on 6 June. For Onasanya to be removed 6,967 people
When Michael Fallon left government amid the ‘pestminster’ scandal two years ago, the expectation among Tory MPs was that Penny Mordaunt would be selected as his successor and moved to the Ministry of Defence. In the end, the role of Defence Secretary went to Gavin Williamson – who was seen as less qualified owing to
Gavin Williamson has been sacked from government following an investigation into the Huawei leak from a meeting of the National Security Council – replaced by Penny Mordaunt. Announcing the decision, a Downing Street spokesperson said Theresa May had asked Williamson to leave government having ‘lost confidence in his ability to serve in the role of