There have been penalties for those who looked the other way when Epstein was convicted of child sex offences and decided to maintain relationships with the financier — but not for the British ambassador to Washington, reveals SOLOMON HUGHES

ON THE steps of Downing Street the morning after the election Boris Johnson thanked those voters in the Midlands and north of England who he said had “lent” him their votes.
It was painful for any Labour supporter to hear. It was also a major admission by Johnson that indicates one side of the dilemma his government is going to face despite its large majority.
That this was the Brexit election is nearly universally acknowledged. The Tories picked up Labour Leave voters in strongly Leave towns and constituencies. Labour additionally lost votes to abstention.

A lot of discussion about how the left should currently organise – including debate on whether the Green Party is a useful vehicle for advance – runs the risk of refusing to engage with or learn from the reasons the left was defeated previously, argues KEVIN OVENDEN

As Starmer flies to Albania seeking deportation camps while praising Giorgia Meloni, KEVIN OVENDEN warns that without massive campaigns rejecting this new overt government xenophobia, Britain faces a soaring hard right and emboldened fascist thugs on the streets

