Brexit
Bring on the next Black Wednesday
At the Brexit-related cabinet last week — as revealed by James Forsyth in these pages — David Lidington made an…
How WhatsApp stops the Tory plotters plotting
How to explain Theresa May’s resilience? As Prime Minister, she has survived mishaps and calamities that would have finished off…
Portrait of the Week: the Brexit march, Nick Clegg’s new job and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, found herself in another crisis over Brexit. Backbenchers whispered that 48 letters were being…
George Orwell’s legacy has been monopolised by the left
Mrs May says she is taking her stand on the issue of Northern Ireland and the integrity of the United…
Even ministers don’t understand Brexit
The Brexit negotiations are becoming so complicated that even the cabinet admits that it doesn’t understand what is going on.…
Divide and rule: how the EU used Ireland to take control of Brexit
The story of Britain and Ireland’s relationship has, all too often, been one of mutual incomprehension: 1066 and All That…
‘I should just shut up’: Dominic West on #MeToo and the perils of talking politics
Lounging confidently on the sofa of a Soho hotel suite, Dominic West has been beaming at me, but now his…
Portrait of the Week: EU mandarins are suspiciously cheerful about Brexit
Home EU officials were suspiciously cheerful over the prospects of Brexit negotiations running up to the next summit on 18…
Will Theresa May risk putting her Brexit rebels on the spot?
Before every Budget, George Osborne would tell his aides to prepare for it as if it were their last. His…
Critics hated Julie Burchill’s Brexit play. What does that say about them?
There is a new book out about the sun — the bright thing in the sky, not the newspaper. It…
What Darcy the demented sheepdog taught me about life
I met the late Darcy ten years ago, and wrote about him. I was 59 and he was 12. I…
How the Irish see Brexit
In February, I spoke at the first ‘Irexit’ public meeting in Dublin, a discussion about options for Ireland in the…
A no-deal Brexit could cripple horse-racing
Racing is full of risk-takers, not least those who fork out hefty sums to buy yearlings or unraced two-year-olds. Back…
If Jeremy Corbyn gets in, then I’m out
To London for much too brief a visit: a marriage, lunch with Commodore Tim Hoare, and a look-see for a…
Portrait of the week: Theresa May’s fury at the EU and Labour’s Brexit chaos
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, held a special cabinet to retrieve something from the wreckage of the Brexit policy…
All by herself: Theresa May and the politics of isolation
Few people would choose to celebrate their birthday by listening to Philip Hammond speak, but that is the pleasure that…
The minister for spinning plates: David Lidington interview
David Lidington is the most powerful minister you’ve never heard of. He is Theresa May’s de facto deputy, tasked with…
Tesco’s new Brexit supermarket doesn’t stack up
Supermarkets have always moved with the times. After the recession we wanted affordable luxury, so we got M&S’s ‘Dine in…
Portrait of the Week: Brexitry, Jaguar and the Lib-Dems’ non-leader
Home Britain was overwhelmed by Brexitry. Before flying off to an EU summit in Salzburg, Theresa May, the Prime Minister,…
Forget hard and soft Brexit – we’re heading for a blind Brexit
Brexit won’t be over by 29 March 2019. Britain will legally leave the European Union on that date. But that…
Jaguar’s boss isn’t scaremongering. The UK car industry is in big trouble
‘I’m afraid I think he’s making it up,’ was the retort of Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin on Monday’s Today…
A foretaste of Frexit
Moving day. The contents of a hillside shack to be moved four miles to a cave house perched high on…
Why can’t the warring Tories see that a Brexit deal is within grasp?
Loyalty, it used to be said, was the Tories’ secret weapon. No longer. Self-discipline has been discarded — along with…
Portrait of the week: Tories against Brexit, the Salisbury poisoning and Sweden’s election
Home Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, was said to want to throw a lifeline to Theresa May, the…
Must ‘the will of the people’ always be respected?
I’ve always respected Alistair Darling and cannot imagine him saying anything ill-considered. But listening to him interviewed last Monday on…
