Politics

By Nathan Lee, TLE Correspondent  The current, ongoing crisis in Ukraine is the most devastating manifestation of East vs West tensions seen since the Cold War era. The Iron Curtain that now runs along the East of Ukraine already bores a physical scar since the annexation of Crimea by Russia on 18 March. Unrest in Donetsk and Luhansk between the post-revolutionary Ukrainian government and pro-Russian insurgents could lead to further splits as Putin takes scissor to cloth, remarking territorial boundaries as he sweeps...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Today’s PMQs were considered, respectful and...boring. This might be what the public claim they want, but would they actually watch that every week? I mean who doesn’t tune in for live environmental, food and rural affairs questions with Liz Truss on BBC Parliament (Thurs 9.30am, as if you didn’t know). Hilary Benn stood in for, well, an empty space and Gideon took up the reins for the Tories. Perhaps they could have given the Labour...

By David Binder What do the recent 'gay cake' case, the same sex marriage referendum in Ireland and the British government's aspirations for ‘’snooper’s charter' all have in common? The answer lies in the fact that they all bring into question how we define and uphold both equality and liberty. It seems that these two values are increasingly being seen as diametric opposites when in actual fact they should be seen as bedfellows. Whilst I don't wish to discuss the...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor I remember when I was boy and I misbehaved with my mates, my mum would say “stop showing off in front of your friends,” and it had the desired effect, of shaming me into silence. It ruined my self-confidence and I barely spoke to another human until years of counselling, but that’s another story. Well this was the trick Harriet Harman used on the PM today, and it worked…a bit. Obviously the PM is fully...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor It’s almost the same amount of time between the start of Sepp Blatter’s presidency of FIFA and the last majority Tory Government. Then the football dictator stepped down the day before the first pure-blooded Conservative PMQs, some coincidence surely? “Wow, they made Michael Gove  Justice Secretary? I can’t compete with that level of malevolence,” he was heard to say, as he handed himself into the Feds. When they were last in power people sent text...

Watch Norman Smith accidentally call Nigel Farage a c**t during a live broadcast on 14/05/2015.

By Max Bluer Thursday evening and the British general election’s exit poll has just been released; it accurately predicts massive gains for the Europhobic Conservative Party and the Scottish Nationalist Party – the driving force behind last year’s referendum on Scottish independence. That noise you heard when the news broke was supporters of the left, of the integrity of the United Kingdom and of the European project banging their collective head against the nearest wall.   David Cameron and his government...

By Pieter Cranenbroek The day after the UK general election, a Dutch journalist commented that ‘as long as the British press is giving out voting advice, you’re better off reading cat blogs.’ Although most European newspapers can be linked to a certain political group, this relationship is rarely as explicit as in the British media. With more flavours on the political menu and a surge in floating voters, it becomes increasingly important for newspapers to hide their political partisanship. There were...

By Jack Peat, TLE Editor   I am too old to be pulling all-nighters. On Thursday evening I returned home with a solid plan; exit polls at 10, bed, up at 6 for a clear indication of the results - and repercussions thereof - then at my desk for results in time for elevenses. GE2015 made a complete hash of that. Like many others, I became engrossed from 10 o clock onwards. Mainly in disbelief. I knew that a Labour...