Politics
Never mind the general election: Tories are already fighting the Europe referendum
It is quite normal in British politics for a political party to turn on itself after an election defeat — but the Tories now seem to be preparing themselves for… Read more
Scotland's political earthquake – and what it will do to Westminster
‘She sold out the Hydro arena faster than Kylie Minogue,’ said one awestruck unionist of Nicola Sturgeon this week. Scotland’s new first minister has come into office on a tide… Read more
How Ed Miliband lost his winning hand
Ed Miliband’s internal critics used to complain that he had a 35 per cent strategy. They claimed that his unambitious plan was to eke out a technical victory by adding… Read more
Scotland needs Jim Murphy (even if he doesn’t want to go back there)
There should, by rights, have been a stampede of candidates to replace Johann Lamont as the leader of the Scottish Labour party. With the new powers promised to Holyrood, the… Read more
It’s not just Ukip that’s changing Cameron’s mind about immigration
It is easy to mock David Cameron on immigration. Under pressure from the public and from Ukip, he’s having to hot-foot it to a tougher position on the free movement… Read more
Ukip is here to stay – especially if Labour wins
British politics is rather like one of those playground games of football where one match is being played lengthways and another sideways. The two regularly get tangled up, making it… Read more
The Lib Dems' dirty secret: they want to stay with the Tories
The last Liberal Democrat conference before the general election has been dominated by denunciations of the ‘nasty’ Tories. Lib Dems claim they are shocked to find George Osborne proposing a… Read more
Get ready for an election where everyone loses (except maybe the Lib Dems)
Two things have been puzzling Tory high-ups in Birmingham this week: does Nigel Farage have another defector in his back pocket, and why is the Tory party in such a… Read more
Cameron must reunite the Tories or lose the next election
No one goes to Birmingham to revive a marriage. But that is what David Cameron and the Conservative party must do next week at conference. They must find a way… Read more
'There's no one left to tell the truth': how Scottish unionism lost the plot
This is really happening. The Scots could vote to end the greatest, most successful union in human history next week. Westminster has, at last, woken up to this threat and… Read more
David Cameron's next big European mistake
David Cameron loathes European Union summits, and with reason: they seldom go well for him. He has been ambushed by the French, betrayed by the Germans, seduced by the Swedes… Read more
David Cameron's fog of war
It was clear that things were going wrong for David Cameron when he had to say that his position on Iraq was ‘very, very simple’. To use that phrase was… Read more
It costs £34,000 to become an MP. No wonder they expect higher pay
Mark Simmonds has been in politics long enough to know not to expect much sympathy from his constituents. He resigned as a Foreign Office minister this week because his £89,435… Read more
Why this could be David Cameron's last summer in politics
At this time of year, whenever you see a British politician looking particularly busy, you can take it as a sign that they are about to go off on holiday.… Read more
Parliament's next crisis: a dangerous shortage of middle-aged men
The House of Commons is off for the summer. But few MPs and ministers expect to make it through to September without the House being recalled because of the grim… Read more
Gove, gone
‘There’s no shame in a cabinet to win the next election,’ declared an exasperated senior No. 10 figure on Tuesday night. This week’s reshuffle was not one for the purists:… Read more
Angela Merkel is losing patience with David Cameron again. This time, it's a good sign
In recent weeks British government visitors to Berlin have been confronted with a persistent question: when will David Cameron make up his mind about who he’ll send to Brussels? Picking… Read more
George Osborne's been playing politics since he was 12. Now, finally, he's winning
George Osborne’s first taste of political leadership came aged 12. At his prep school, Colet Court, he took charge of a party for school election in 1983. The Chancellor’s chosen… Read more
How the Westminster hawk became an endangered species
There is a slight whiff of the summer of 1914 to Westminster at the moment. The garden party season is in full swing and the chatter is all about who… Read more
The English question (and why David Cameron really doesn't want anyone to ask it)
Before David Cameron heads off for his summer holiday, he’ll be presented with a first draft of the Tory manifesto by Jo Johnson, Boris’s younger brother and a cautious, well-organised… Read more
Nigel Farage is becoming his party's David Cameron (and that's a good thing)
There are many words that you might associate with Nigel Farage, but moderniser probably isn’t one. Yet the Ukip leader is embarking on the process of modernising his party. He… Read more
Why no one’s ready to oust Nick Clegg (except the Tories, of course)
Nigel Farage is pretty good at giving people hangovers, and on Monday morning all three Westminster party leaders woke up with one. Ukip’s victory in the European elections represents the… Read more
Nick Clegg's weird war with a former Gove adviser
We’ve come to expect strange things from coalition government, but the events of the last few days have been particularly odd. On Saturday, several newspapers contacted the Department of Education… Read more
Meeting George Osborne at Waterloo
The defence of Hougoumont is one of the great British feats of arms. If the farmhouse had fallen to Bonaparte’s forces during the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon’s 100 days would… Read more
Revealed: George Osborne's plan to become Foreign Secretary
Confidence is coursing through Downing Street at the moment. The economy is growing at a good clip and senior Tories feel more optimistic than ever about the result of the… Read more
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Cartoons
‘My zebra chase footage got more than 100 likes.’
‘Just an anchor! That’s all?’
‘And now ...winter.’
‘Here comes the kids’ books rep.’
