John Connolly

The use of facemasks in the fight against coronavirus has become a contentious topic in recent weeks, as different countries have debated how much difference they make when worn by the general public. After flirting with the idea of recommending the widespread use of masks, the WHO this week stuck with its guidance, which says

It’s hard to think of a place more deserving of a post-Brexit boom than Grimsby. In the 1950s it had the largest trawler fleet in the world, brought in hundreds of tonnes of cod a day, and you could cross its harbour by walking over ships in the dock. But the Cod Wars were lost

When the general election was called by Boris Johnson over a month ago, one truly unpredictable factor in the race was the Brexit party. Would Nigel Farage’s movement end up splitting the Leave vote across the country, thereby denying the Tories a majority? Or would the party mainly damage Labour’s chances, and manage to scoop

It’s been a remarkable election night. The Tories have won a big majority in the House of Commons and stormed the so-called ‘Red Wall’ of Labour seats in the North and Midlands, which have voted red for decades. As expected after such a tumultuous election, there have been some high-profile casualties along the way. Here

It’s easy to imagine prime ministers on election night, either nervously grinning or groaning in despair when the results for Dartford are announced. In every election since 1964, the London constituency has voted for the party which went on to win nationwide. It, along with nine other constituencies (such as Watford, Reading West and Worcester)

At around 3am on election night in 1997, the Conservative leading-light Michael Portillo suffered at shock defeat when he was ousted from his seat in Enfield Southgate by Stephen Twigg. Ever since, the surprising departure of a high-profile politician on election night – and their disbelieving face as the result is declared – has been dubbed a ‘Portillo