Opinion

The disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has had a seemingly remarkable effect on Britain’s policy toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Even if its response was slow in the beginning, London now sent an explicit warning to Riyadh to “provide a complete and detailed response” to the matter. This was in addition to International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s announcement to boycott a major investment conference in Riyadh hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to promote his “Vision 2030” reform...

Care workers, cleaners, cops and cashiers paid more in tax than the owner of Cadbury last year as the Conservative con that we’re all in this together unravels. Despite recording a profit of more than £185 million Cadbury owner Mondelez UK paid no corporation tax in Britain last year, meaning most workers in Britain contributed more to the treasury’s coffers than the new owners of the UK’s historic chocolate brand. Chris Henry wrote on Twitter, “I'm a care worker. I...

The Conservative myth that we are “all in this together” was laid bare today after a government-commissioned review recommended that high court judges should receive a 32 per cent salary hike just weeks after police demands for a 3 per cent pay hike was knocked back. Senior judges could be in line for an annual pay rise of almost £60,000 on top of their already inflated pay packets. It would see annual salaries jump from £181,500 a year to £240,000...

Dale Ballentine has written an open letter to the PM. Within it he has stressed the need to acknowledge the impact of welfare cuts and changes have when it comes to people taking their own lives. Dale lost his Dad Jimmy in February 2017 to suicide, and problems with his benefits and the DWP were a significant contributory factor in his death. I am pleased to see the introduction of a minister responsible for suicide prevention, alongside an additional £1.8m for the...

Preparations for Princess Eugenie’s nuptials are underway as Windsor gets set to host its second royal wedding of the year in lavish style. The day promises to be bigger than Harry and Meghan’s showstopping event with 850 guests expected to be in attendance, some 250 more than the aforementioned celebrity couple. It holds a likeness in other regards too with the public purse stretched once again to cater for a procession and rough sleepers turfed off the street to ensure...

Happy PMQs (Austerity is over)…only it isn’t really Rejoice! Walk out into the streets and hug your fellow humans. Austerity is over, the PM literally said: “Better times are coming.” This was just the news we need on World Mental Health Day. But it took that party pooper Corbyn to spoil all the fun. At today’s PMQs the Labour leader asked the PM why there are 5,000 fewer mental health workers. His point seemed to be irrelevant to May as...

I have set up a petition to call for an amendment to the Official Secrets Act. This would prevent its use in cases where child abuse is involved and would mean that child abuse could no longer be used as some kind of grubby political football, to keep MPs and ministers in line.

By Rupert Read and Samuel Webb If the last six months have proven anything it is that negotiating Brexit is quite clearly an unmanageable task. With the likelihood that Britain will be forced into a no-deal scenario the very future of the UK itself looks rather poor at this point. And when the government starts to talk about stockpiling food and medical supplies against the risk of a no-deal Brexit then it is clearly time to rethink whether leaving the European Union...

The Conservative Party conference was always going to be a festival of bad ideas. Consumed by Brexit, nobody expected anything new or innovative from the Tories. But rather than stick to the usual tired talking points, they seem to have hit upon a new plan: Resurrecting ideas that died decades ago. Boris Johnson furnishes the usual apposite example. On the fringe of the conference, Johnson gave a Red-baiting speech that would have made Ronald Reagan proud. He even name checked...