Tom Goodenough is online editor of The Spectator.
Tory MP Charlie Elphicke has been charged with sexually assaulting two women. Elphicke, who represents Dover, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 6 September. The allegations relate to three incidents in 2007 and 2016. Elphicke, 49, was suspended from the Conservative party in November 2017. In December last year, the MP had the whip
Boris Johnson has undergone a makeover and no, it’s got nothing to do with his tidier hair and vanishing paunch. While Boris’s girlfriend Carrie Symonds has been busy transforming his appearance, journalists are now doing their bit to rebrand Boris too. I’m talking of course about Boris becoming Mr Johnson. A ‘request’ from Channel 4’s
Boris Johnson won a landslide victory in the first round of the Tory leadership contest. The frontrunner picked up 114 votes – 71 more than his nearest rival, Jeremy Hunt. Andrea Leadsom, Mark Harper and Esther McVey were eliminated from the contest after the trio all failed to reach the threshold of 17 votes that
As the race to replace Theresa May heats up, Operation Stop Boris is now in full swing. Boris Johnson remains the clear frontrunner to win the Tory leadership contest and his critics are determined to prevent him doing so at any cost. But his detractors should learn an important lesson from the referendum campaign: going
Has Labour finally got the message on Brexit? Since the referendum, the party has attempted to be all things to all people: keeping Brexiteers happy while doing its best not to alienate remainers. But in the wake of the party’s disastrous performance in the European elections overnight, it seems that the fence-sitting might now finally
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
Firefighters are continuing to tackle a blaze that has devastated Notre Dame in Paris. The medieval cathedral’s spire and roof have both collapsed as a result of the blaze. President Emmanuel Macron, who has arrived at the scene of the fire in the centre of Paris, said: ‘Like all of my countrymen, I am sad
MPs have once again failed to reach an agreement on their preferred Brexit option. The Commons rejected a customs union with the EU, Common Market 2.0, a confirmatory public vote and a bid to revoke Article 50 in the event of no deal being reached. Four amendment were considered – and voted down – by
Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been voted down for a third time by MPs. Parliament rejected the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement by 344 to 286 votes, a margin of 58. May said it is a ‘matter of profound regret that once again we have been unable to support leaving the EU in an orderly manner’.
Theresa May has said she will step down once Brexit has happened. Speaking to Tory MPs, the Prime Minister said she would not remain in post for the next phase of negotiations with the European Union. May told a meeting of the 1922 committee this evening: ‘I am prepared to leave this job earlier than
MPs have decisively backed Oliver Letwin’s amendment, handing them control of the parliamentary timetable on Wednesday in order to hold a series of indicative votes on Brexit. The cross-party amendment was voted through by 329 votes to 302. Three Tory ministers – Steve Brine, Richard Harrington and Alistair Burt – resigned in order to back the
Parliament has backed a plan to delay Brexit. MPs approved a motion to delay Britain’s departure from the EU beyond the end of March by 412 to 202. Despite the vote, Britain will still leave without a deal unless one can be struck in the next 15 days, or the EU agrees to an extension.
Being a street preacher can be a thankless business. Since moving to Britain from Nigeria nine years ago, 64-year-old Oluwole Ilesanmi has toured the country reading aloud from the Bible, spending hours outside train stations, urging people to see the light. Sometimes he makes a convert; most of the time his preaching falls on deaf
Theresa May’s revised Brexit deal has been voted down decisively by MPs. The Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement was defeated by 391 to 242 votes, a margin of 149 votes. May had said if her ‘improved’ deal did not pass, there was a risk of ‘no Brexit at all’. But while the number of Tory rebels was
Martin Selmayr is no stranger to using Twitter to offer his insight and call out those he thinks have got it wrong. But this morning, on the big news in Brussels, the so-called ‘Monster’ is keeping quiet. While Selmayr has today shared messages about ‘clean vehicles’, ‘TeamJuncker’ and (of course) Brexit, he has had nothing
Graham Brady’s amendment – that will send Theresa May back to Brussels to renegotiate her Brexit plan – has passed by 16 votes. The amendment, which was put together by the chair of the 1922 committee and was backed by the Government, states that the controversial backstop should be ‘replaced with alternative arrangements to avoid
Caroline Spelman’s Brexit amendment – saying that Britain should not leave the EU without a deal – has passed in the Commons tonight. The amendment – which won by 318 votes to 310 – displays Parliamentary opposition to a no deal exit, but it is purely advisory and has no legislative force. This means the amendment
Shamed former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya has been jailed for lying to police over a speeding ticket. Onasanya compared herself to Jesus after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice last year. But her explanation that she was ‘in good biblical company, along with Joseph, Moses, Daniel and his three Hebrew friends, who were each found
Theresa May appears as a dodo on the front page of today’s Sun. Unfortunately for the beleaguered Prime Minister, the verdict isn’t much better in the foreign press. Last night’s disastrous night in the Commons makes the front pages of newspapers around the world. The New York Times describes the Prime Minister’s defeat as ‘bruising’
Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been decisively rejected by MPs who voted 432 to 202 against the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement. The Prime Minister had told MPs to back her deal or risk “letting the British people down” but politicians voted down her deal in the biggest government defeat in the Commons in British history.
