Category Archives: Politics

Labour expels Alastair Campbell from party

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Former communications chief for Tony Blair voted for Lib Dems in European elections

Guardian Opinion cartoon – Martin Rowson on the expulsion

Alastair Campbell, the former communications chief to Tony Blair, has been expelled from the Labour party for saying he voted for the Liberal Democrats in the European elections because of their support for a second Brexit referendum.

The People’s Vote campaigner said he was “sad and disappointed” at his expulsion, especially as he felt it had happened on the day the Labour leadership appeared to be moving in the direction of supporting another Brexit poll because of the exodus of remainers from the party.

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Corbyn backs referendum on Brexit deal after EU election exodus

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To break parliamentary deadlock, deal has to be put to public vote, Labour leader says

Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to support a second referendum on any Brexit deal after the Labour leadership came under overwhelming pressure to halt the exodus of its remain voters who backed pro-EU parties at the European elections.

The Labour leader said he was “listening very carefully” to both sides of the debate after the party fell behind the Liberal Democrats and also lost ground to the Greens.

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‘It was a no-brainer’: but does a degree from abroad really make a difference?

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As applications to study in Europe plummet before Brexit, we ask British students who’ve done it where they are now

Adam Hussain was about to go to university in 2013 when tuition fees in the UK nearly trebled to £9,000. With additional loans for living costs, he realised he would incur debts of £40,000. So when he saw a television report about an exodus of UK students to the Netherlands, Hussain decided to attend an open day at Maastricht University, where annual fees were €2,000 (then about £1,700). That year more than 1,000 British freshers started university in the Netherlands.

“I already wanted to live abroad; when the higher fees came in it was a no-brainer,” says Hussain, 24, who attended an east London comprehensive.

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European elections: triumphant Greens demand more radical climate action

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Green politicians to push agenda urging climate action, social justice and civil liberties

Europe’s Greens, big winners in Sunday’s European elections, will use their newfound leverage in a fractured parliament to push an agenda of urgent climate action, social justice and civil liberties, the movement’s leaders say.

“This was a great outcome for us – but we now also have a great responsibility, because voters have given us their trust,” Bas Eickhout, a Dutch MEP and the Greens’ co-lead candidate for commission president, told the Guardian.

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Michael Gove to pledge free UK citizenship for 3m EU nationals

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Tory leadership candidate also plans to abolish need to prove settled status if he becomes PM

Michael Gove will pledge free British citizenship for 3 million EU nationals after Brexit if he becomes prime minister, as well as abolishing the burden of providing proof of settled status, the Guardian understands.

The environment secretary, one of the leading figures in Vote Leave, is understood to believe strongly that the pledge would honour the promises given to EU citizens by that campaign during the 2016 referendum.

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Sajid Javid joins race to replace Theresa May as Tory leader

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Home secretary announces bid as hopefuls weigh up whether to take part in TV debate

Sajid Javid has become the latest Conservative to declare he is standing for the party leadership, telling party members: “First and foremost, we must deliver Brexit.”

The home secretary made his announcement on Monday in a video posted on Twitter. He said: “As last night’s results made all too clear, we must get on and deliver Brexit,” adding it was important to “restore trust, bring unity, and create new opportunities across the UK”.

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Austrian far-right party likely to back motion to oust chancellor

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Sebastian Kurz faces no-confidence vote after his party tops EU election polls despite video-sting scandal

Austrian politicians are likely to sack the chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, in a no-confidence vote after the leader of the far-right Freedom party (FPO) indicated it would probably vote against him.

Kurz’s conservatives came out on top in Sunday’s European parliament elections despite a video-sting scandal a week ago involving the FPO leader, Heinz-Christian Strache, which brought down their coalition government. Strache then resigned from all his political posts.

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‘Immigrants make Britain great’: Magid Magid’s unlikely journey to Green MEP – video

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Magid Magid shot to fame as the lord mayor of Sheffield on a platform of hope and anti-racism in his city. A year later he has been elected as the first Green MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber. We followed him on the campaign trail and find out how he got his message out and what he will do in Brussels


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Four takeaways from the European elections – video explainer

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In the UK, the Conservatives and Labour have been decimated over their stance on Brexit, with Nigel Farage's Brexit party and pro-remain parties emerging as the big winners.  With votes still being counted across Europe, voters have boosted Greens and far-right groups, leaving centrists diminished

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Brexit: top Tories would bring down any PM who backs no deal

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Philip Hammond and senior party figures warn that MPs are prepared to take drastic action

Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab have been warned that Tory MPs would be prepared to bring down any prime minister backing a no-deal Brexit, triggering a general election, amid fears the leadership hopefuls will veer to the right in response to a surge in support for Nigel Farage at the European election.

A string of senior Conservatives, led by Philip Hammond, the chancellor, delivered a sobering message to candidates that many Tory MPs are prepared to take drastic action to stop a no-deal Brexit.

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Sajid Javid condemned for ‘criminalising’ fighters against Isis

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Families of those killed say the home secretary must distinguish between jihadists and others fighting with Kurdish forces

More than 40 international volunteers – a third of them British – who fought in Syria against the Islamic State terror group have written to the home secretary, Sajid Javid, to condemn his plans to prosecute UK citizens who remain in the country.

Four British families whose sons or daughters were killed fighting Isis have also signed the letter, raising concerns that Javid is “criminalising” those who risked their lives supporting the US-led coalition which two months ago defeated the IS caliphate.

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Britons rushing to take Spanish exams so they can keep EU citizenship

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Brexit and a deadline for people whose Jewish ancestors were expelled from Spain are behind a surge to take language diploma

Growing numbers of Britons are taking official Spanish language exams in order to become citizens of Spain, motivated by fears about Brexit and a looming deadline for people with Sephardic Jewish ancestry.

Figures published by the Instituto Cervantes show a 21% increase since last year in the numbers taking Spanish as a foreign language diploma, which is a requirement for anyone wanting citizenship.

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Stop Boris campaign launched by Tory moderates opposed to no-deal Brexit

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Former foreign secretary attacked as dishonest by leadership candidate Rory Stewart

A campaign to stop Boris Johnson becoming prime minister and taking the country into a no-deal Brexit was launched by moderate cabinet ministers on Saturday as the first shots were fired in the Tory contest to succeed Theresa May in Downing Street.

After May bowed to pressure on Friday and announced she would resign as Tory leader within two weeks, justice secretary David Gauke and international development secretary Rory Stewart condemned Johnson’s readiness to embrace a no-deal, saying it would be hugely damaging to the national interest.

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Led by Donkeys show their faces at last: ‘No one knew it was us’

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The four men behind the nationwide Brexit billboard phenomenon finally reveal their identities – in the pub where it all began

The Birdcage pub in Stoke Newington, north London, seems an unlikely birthplace for a rebellion. On a midweek afternoon, the bar is almost empty. Spring sunshine streams through the windows; Spandau Ballet provide a gentle soundtrack; black-hatted men from the local ultra-Orthodox Jewish community pass by outside.

The only customers are four men sitting at a table in an alcove. It was at this spot, more than five months ago, that this group of friends came up with an idea born from their collective despair over the “lies, lunacy and hypocrisy” of the Brexit process.

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EU fraud watchdog considering Nigel Farage investigation

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Olaf agency is carrying out an assessment of payments made by Arron Banks

The European Union’s anti-fraud watchdog is considering whether Nigel Farage should be investigated for any illegal activity over lavish payment from Arron Banks, the Guardian has learned.

The agency, which goes by its French acronym, Olaf, revealed it was carrying out an assessment, which could lead to a formal investigation. This “initial assessment … does not mean that the individuals in question are guilty of any wrongdoing”, it said.

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Matt Hancock says he will stand for Tory leadership

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Health secretary throws his hat into ring as Rory Stewart rules out serving in a Boris Johnson cabinet

Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has become the latest cabinet minister to declare he will stand for the Tory leadership after Theresa May’s resignation.

“Yes. I’m going to run to be the next prime minister,” Hancock told the BBC on Saturday morning. He said he would be “the servant of parliament” in delivering a Brexit deal – a conundrum that destroyed May’s leadership.

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Trump says he feels bad for Theresa May after her resignation – video

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Donald Trump, who is due to make a state visit to the UK in early June, praised Theresa May following her resignation as prime minister. Speaking to journalists at the White House, the US president said he felt bad for May, whom he described as a ‘good woman’. He added: ‘She worked very hard. She’s very strong. She decided to do something that some people were surprised at. Some people weren’t. It’s for the good of her country’

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UK negotiates loophole in Saudi export ban to sell planes to Yemen

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Government will continue to supply aircraft to be used in war, says Jeremy Hunt

The UK government has negotiated a loophole in a German arms export ban to Saudi Arabia that will ensure UK-supplied planes will continue to be used in the war in Yemen, the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has confirmed.

The news is contained in two unpublished letters from cabinet ministers to the parliamentary Committee on Arms Export Controls (CEAC). The aircraft, Tornado fighter bombers and Eurofighter Typhoons, are used in the Saudi bombing raids designed to push back the Houthi rebellion in the four-year civil war in Yemen. The aircraft were developed by consortiums of European companies and Germany supplies spares for them.

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May close to abandoning Brexit bill amid growing cabinet backlash – live news

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Rolling coverage of the day’s political events as they happen as the UK votes in the European elections 2019 and pressure continues on Theresa May to resign

This is what Valerie Vaz, the shadow leader of the Commons, said in the chamber earlier about the government’s decision not to publish the EU withdrawal agreement bill tomorrow. (See 11.22am.) She said:

Yesterday the prime minister told the house that the second reading of the withdrawal agreement bill would be in the week commencing June 3rd, now we hear it’s not, so in less than 24 hours the prime minister has broken her word. This is yet another broken promise by the prime minister on Brexit.

The prime minister’s official spokesman told journalists at the morning lobby briefing that Theresa May would be meeting cabinet colleagues to discuss the EU withdrawal agreement bill today, the Press Association reports.

“The prime minister is listening to her colleagues about the bill and will be having further discussions,” he said.

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