Opinion

In sacking Henry Bolton and choosing Gerard Batten as their new interim leader, UKIP members have sounded the death knell for their party. Known for his extreme anti-Muslim views, UKIP founder member and London MEP Batten inherits an organisation (for the next 90 days at least) that is in debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds, lurching ever further to the right and into political irrelevancy. Nick Lowles, chief executive of HOPE not hate, said: “Gerard Batten...

By Robert Seiler As if Europe did not have enough corrupt, charismatic politicians who expertly undermine democratic norms to their own benefit behind a charming facade, Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi is currently enjoying a political renaissance that is bad news for Italians but also for the whole of the European Union – Britain included. Italians may have known better, but the rest of the EU thought it was rid of the “bunga bunga” premier when the crushing global debt crisis forced him from office in 2011. A conviction for tax fraud in 2013 and ouster from parliament later that year, together with a ban...

By Sammy Russell A number of pro-Brexit figures have criticised the transition period for leaving the UK a ‘vassal state’. Granted, the conditions of the transition period are a world away from the ‘take back control’ mantra of the Brexiteers - it leaves the UK a neutered state. But for the Brexiteers, championing a transition has always been their best bet. The UK leaves the EU at the end of the Article 50 period in March 2019 (the point of no...

Migrants aren't a threat to the NHS - Losing the migrants that helped build it is That the NHS is acutely and chronically underfunded is an observation so often made as to be banal. Stats released last week showed the depth of the crisis: in January alone, more than 1,000 patients waiting 12 hours or more on trolleys and 55,000 operations cancelled. But its problems do not stop there. Another crisis is brewing in the NHS that risks being terminal:...

Why can’t Remainers just accept ‘they lost’, that it was a ‘democratic vote’, and just get on with their lives? Why can’t they just get with the programme? I’ll tell you. I'd consider myself a kind person. I've had some highs in my life, but it's definitely slapped me about a fair bit too. As a result, I continually try to empathise, to be polite, fair, and to do the right thing. They're about the only traits I pride myself...

Last Friday (9 February), the Work and Pensions Committee released their interim first report into the experiences of disabled people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), benefits intended to provide support for disabled people to live independently, or to manage the costs related to being out of work. Nearly 3,500 people provided evidence - an ‘unprecedented public response to a departmental select committee inquiry’ – according to the Committee. The report was described by the...

Courier records 54 per cent rise in enquiries about shipping to Australia since the Brexit vote. It’s an obvious export market but one that seems in danger of being overlooked, says David Jinks  As retailers and businesses begin to plan their export strategy for a post Brexit world, there is much talk of trade deals with the USA and the huge potential of the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China). But there’s a danger of missing the obvious trading...

By Garry Lemon, Head of External Affairs at Trussell Trust In the House of Commons on the 18th October last year, MPs were debating the biggest change to the British welfare system in a generation – a radical transformation that will eventually affect millions of UK households. On that day, MPs were locked in debate around Universal Credit, which aims to simplify the current system of benefits by rolling several benefits and tax credits into one package, while making it easier for...

Donald Trump today used the NHS as a reason not to push for Universal Health Care in the US. The President pointed to demonstrations yesterday in the UK with thousands of Brits taking to the streets to protest the poorly run system. But even though Trump might have a point about the UK, he doesn't have a leg to stand on in regards to publicly funded health care systems. Indeed, many people have pointed out that some of the best healthcare...