22 h. ago BORIS JOHNSON: Starmer's leading the most abject and craven British government of the past 100 years. They are so weak they make Neville Chamberlain look positively robust

As they pounded the Iranian nuclear ­facilities yesterday, the Israelis were finally doing what so many Western leaders had expected they would do for years, if not decades.

Politics

23 h. ago Parklife 2025 age restrictions and how old you need to be to get in

There is an age limit on who can attend the Heaton Park music festival

Politics

26 h. ago UK government admits being ‘too slow’ to spot US mistreatment of prisoners after 9/11

Court admission comes in trial over claims British agents were complicit in CIA torture operationsThe UK government has admitted its intelligence agencies were “too slow” to realise the CIA was mistreating prisoners in its post-9/11 torture programme, acknowledging in court for the first time involvement in US detention operations.The admission was made during a trial that concluded on Friday at the investigatory powers tribunal, which has been investigating claims that British intelligence was complicit in the mistreatment of two men who were repeatedly tortured by the CIA in the early 2000s. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Brits STILL face chaos at Faro airport as huge queues form at passport control despite new post

Faro Airport in Portugal has started the rollout of e-gate access to British arrivals after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer confirmed an agreement with EU leaders last month.

Events

5 d. ago British government reverses policy that limited home heating subsidies for retirees

The British government say it is reversing its unpopular plan to end winter home heating subsidies for millions of retirees

Events

6 d. ago PETER HITCHENS: If any person acted like this Government, they'd be confined in a locked ward for delusions

If the British Government were a person, it would long ago have been sectioned and placed in a locked ward because of its severe delusions of grandeur.

Events

7 d. ago PETER HITCHENS: If any person acted like this Govenment, they'd be confined in a locked ward for delusions

If the British Government were a person, it would long ago have been sectioned and placed in a locked ward because of its severe delusions of grandeur.

Events

7 d. ago Ministers accused of being ‘asleep at the wheel’ over UK’s soft power around the world

Government’s own advisers warn of funding crisis for BBC World Service, British Council and universitiesAs US retreats, is there a ‘soft power’ opportunity for UK?Ministers have been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” over threats to the UK’s soft power around the world, as some of their own advisers warned a funding crisis is undermining key institutions promoting British influence.Members of the government’s new soft power council, set up by ministers earlier this year, warned the BBC World Service, the British Council and universities – regarded as the bodies at the forefront of the UK’s soft power efforts – all face major financial pressures. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Russia is at war with Britain and US is no longer a reliable ally, UK adviser says

Government defence expert Fiona Hill warns UK to respond to threats by becoming more cohesive and resilientRussia is at war with Britain, the US is no longer a reliable ally and the UK has to respond by becoming more cohesive and more resilient, according to one of the three authors of the strategic defence review.Fiona Hill, from county Durham, became the White House’s chief Russia adviser during Donald Trump’s first term and contributed to the British government’s strategy. She made the remarks in an interview with the Guardian. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Don’t think Nigel Farage will kill off the Tories? Just look at Reform UK’s surge in Scotland | Owen Jones

The party is making inroads among people who once chose not to vote. But as Zia Yusuf’s resignation shows, chaos still reignsIf you were doubting that Nigel Farage had a serious chance of heading a hard-right British government in 2029, the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse just poured a bucket of particularly icy water over your head. Though Labour won the Scottish parliamentary byelection, defying predictions it would be beaten into third place, Reform UK chalked up more than a quarter of the vote – trailing the victors by an unsubstantial 1,500 voters.This tells a devastating story. Nigel Farage’s outfit seriously outperformed the level of support indicated by Scottish polling: the last four surveys had Reform on between 12% and 19%, yet it secured 26% of the vote after standing here for the first time. This suggests it is mobilising previous non-voters whom pollsters are not picking up. The latest UK-wide YouGov poll, which asked people how they would vote if there wer...

Events

8 d. ago British Palestinians urge action from Government as relatives starve in Gaza

The group is asking the Government to impose comprehensive economic and diplomatic sanctions on Israel.

Politics

9 d. ago Popular EU holiday destination to let Brits skip border queues by becoming first to allow UK tourists to use passport e

The announcement comes after the Government said on May 19 that British passport holders will be able to use e-gates at more European airports as part of a UK-EU deal.

Politics

1 week ago UK politics live: Starmer accused of chaos after Reeves gives winter fuel payment U

Tory leader insists PM should apologise to pensioners ahead of reversing unpopular policy

Politics

1 week ago UK politics live: Starmer accused of chaos after Reeves gives winter fuel U

Tory leader insists PM should apologise to pensioners ahead of reversing unpopular policy

Politics

1 week ago The spirit of Liz Truss, ridiculous but relentless, stalks British politics | Rafael Behr

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have much more in common with the failed Tory leader than either cares to admitWe need to talk about Liz Truss, although there are reasons not to bother. The prime minister who failed faster than any previous holder of the office has much to say about her dismal record, but nothing insightful. She cuts a pitiful spectacle padding out the schedule at rightwing conferences, chasing attention and relevance with an addict’s fervour.Last week, Truss was at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, sharing the big lesson she learned in government. It was that British institutions have been captured by a leftist doctrine and that they “hate western civilisation”. She couldn’t possibly counter this threat from No 10 because supposedly the real power was wielded by a well-financed “globalist network”, operating through such engines of anti-democratic subterfuge as the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization.Rafael Be...

Politics

1 week ago The spirit of Liz Truss, ridiculous but relentless, still stalks British politics | Rafael Behr

Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have much more in common with the failed Tory leader than either cares to admitWe need to talk about Liz Truss, although there are reasons not to bother. The prime minister who failed faster than any previous holder of the office has much to say about her dismal record, but nothing insightful. She cuts a pitiful spectacle padding out the schedule at rightwing conferences, chasing attention and relevance with an addict’s fervour.Last week, Truss was at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Budapest, sharing the big lesson she learned in government. It was that British institutions have been captured by a leftist doctrine and that they “hate western civilisation”. She couldn’t possibly counter this threat from No 10 because supposedly the real power was wielded by a well-financed “globalist network”, operating through such engines of anti-democratic subterfuge as the International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization.Rafael Be...

Politics

1 week ago UK government ready to take Abramovich to court over Chelsea sale proceeds for Ukraine

Three years after Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was forced to sell Premier League club Chelsea, the British government says it is prepared to go to court to ensure the proceeds reach war victims in Ukraine

Politics

1 week ago Resident doctors warn of ‘immensely disruptive’ potential co

The physicians formerly known as junior doctors are being balloted in England for strike action.

Events

2 w. ago Worried about weed: should London follow New York and decriminalise cannabis?

Almost 25 years after an experiment was ditched to caution rather than arrest those carrying small amounts of the drug, a rethink is on the cards – but the British government remains cautiousThe last time London dabbled in decriminalising cannabis, it brought one part of the capital to a brief but giddy high. In 2001, an enterprising Scotland Yard borough commander empowered his officers in Lambeth to caution rather than arrest those carrying small amounts of the drug for personal use – freeing them, according to the scheme’s proponents, to concentrate on more serious crimes.The softly-softly approach was controversial in some political and policing quarters, but wildly popular in the borough – and some of its results were dramatic. Over six months, more than 2,500 hours of police officers’ time were saved on processing cannabis arrests, while arrests for dealing class A drugs rose by almost a fifth. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago ‘In his company you could not be lazy’: remembering my friend Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

A giant of African literature whose best works existed between the political and the personal, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was warm, funny and friendly – and liked to bet on my pool gamesAmong the African writers who emerged in the middle of the 20th century, the most political undoubtedly was Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Born in Kenya while it was still under British rule he was anti-colonialist, a communist, anti-dictatorial, and an almost militant proponent for African languages being used for African literature.His best works exist at the interface between the political and the personal. His first book of essays, Homecoming, is at once engaging and polemical. His early novels Weep Not, Child and A Grain of Wheat look at the impact of colonialism and the Mau Mau rebellion on individual lives. He was strangely at his best with the personal and the intimate, but his reputation grew more from his political stances – first against the British government, then against the dictatorship in Kenya in the 70s...

Politics