Alasdair Lane

It was billed as a moderate shake-up. A few fresh faces—particularly in the junior ranks—but effectively a continuity Cabinet, one committed to carrying out the Conservatives’ winning manifesto. Did nobody tell Dominic Cummings? Boris Johnson’s tough-as-nails top aide was in no mood for compromise this morning, forcing from office Britain’s second most powerful politician. Sajid Javid—now former Chancellor of the Exchequer—had been given an ultimatum: sack your senior staff, or you’re finished.

To upend a century of two-party rule, it takes an electoral earthquake. In Ireland, on Saturday, one struck. Sinn Féin, a group long shunned for its ties to sectarian terrorists, stormed the nation’s general election, beating both of Ireland’s dominant centrist parties in the popular vote. Now starts a frantic, and likely protracted, spell of coalition-building, as the roaring republicans look to lock their mainstream rivals from government. “Something of a revolution” was underway, said Sinn

In Germany this week—as the nation marks 75 years since the fall of fascism—the spectre of far-right rule reared its head. A startling series of events saw Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), a party of ardent nationalists, play kingmaker in a regional election. The result is likely to be undone—but Germany’s guiding post-war principle, to keep power in moderate hands, has been punctured. The drama played out in Thuringia, an eastern state governed in recent years by the left-wing Die Linke part

Two months, two eerily similar attacks. Late last year near London Bridge; on Sunday, a south London street. Members of the public mauled by knife-wielding young men bent on murder. Two corrupted minds untempered by recent prison terms for terror-related offences. Sunday’s assault on Streatham High Road could have been far, far worse. Tailed by counter-terror cops as he left his parole hostel, 20-year-old Sudesh Amman was shot dead before he could claim a life. In November, Londoners were less

On Friday evening, as the clock strikes eleven, Britain will leave the European Union. More than three and a half years since the EU referendum, during which the country has seen two general elections and much political wrangling, the wishes of 17.4 million Britons will be realised. • What price will the developing world pay for Brexit? But do not expect an end to the drama. January 31 marks a single page-turn in the Brexit odyssey and the next chapter could be just as fraught. A transition p

We’re on the final straight. After four frenzied, fascinating years, on Friday 31st, Brexit will happen. At the stroke of 11:00 p.m., the wish of 17.4 million Brits will be realized. For the first time in four decades, the U.K. will be truly standing on its own two feet. An independent trading nation, bridled by Brussels no more. Well, not exactly. At the end of the month, Britain will indeed cease to be an EU member. There will be no more U.K. MEPs, no British commissioner, no ministers in at

Is Huawei the right way? It’s a question bedevilling Britain’s Boris Johnson—one he will soon have to answer. There are no easy options. Entrust the Chinese tech giant with Britain’s 5G future, and he’ll incur the wrath of Washington; but kowtow to the Americans, and he risks nobbling his nation’s networking potential. It’s a delicate decision that could, in time, define Brexit Britain’s place in the world. Johnson’s Huawei dilemma is years in the making. His predecessor, Theresa May, backed pl

The moment police swooped on a multi-million dollar yacht trying to slip from Maltese waters last month, Joseph Muscat’s days were numbered. On board was a murder-linked businessman with alleged ties to the prime minister’s top team. His arrest lit the fuse on festering public fury, and soon the streets outside Castille— Muscat’s official residence—convulsed in protest. The island nation’s leader vowed to see the crisis through; but on Sunday, his time ran out. Assailed on all sides, Muscat prom

On Monday night, France’s counter-terror stalemate in the Sahel struck a new low. Manoeuvring to engage militants on the ground, an attack helicopter collided mid-air with a troop transport chopper. Thirteen French personnel perished—the heaviest toll of a single incident in a generation. The tragedy is, for many, emblematic of France’s faltering West African mission, which, six years in, looks no closer to success. When President François Hollande deployed troops to the Sahel in 2013, his inte

It ought to be a wholly red, white, and blue election, given the focus on Brexit; but Britain’s ballot battle is starting to look rather green. A year of unprecedented protests and activism has forced climate change into voters’ minds like never before. Over half the electorate now say global warming could be a deciding factor come polling day, giving those on the campaign trail plenty to ponder. Environmentalism’s ascendancy in the political arena is striking. Ahead of the 2017 election, scarc

As Britain's electoral hopefuls duked it out before a live studio audience last night, the delicate divide between truth and spin narrowed. For little over an hour, the Conservative’s press office Twitter account was fashioned as “factcheckUK,” an apparently non-partisan body fastidiously debunking Labour’s “lies.” It has been condemned as a deeply cynical stunt—but in the war for digital dominance, it has perhaps achieved its main objective: attention. So glued to ITV’s Boris Johnson versus Je

Give an inch in politics, and you risk losing a mile. Just ask Nigel Farage. He adopted the Brexit high ground on Monday, pledging to stand down candidates in Conservative-held seats for fear of splitting the Leave vote. But now they want more. Joined by some of Brexit’s biggest bankrollers, senior Tories are calling on Farage to forfeit his foremost electoral target: Labour’s Leave-backing heartlands. Brexit Party candidates would contest 600 seats in the coming election, Farage declared last

Murderous monarchs were once the Speaker’s foremost problem—deliver to the palace an unwelcome message, and their days were numbered. Even now, tradition dictates that those duly elected be dragged to the chair, so undesirable is the job. But as Sir Lindsay Hoyle was hauled to the head of the House of Commons this week, his thoughts will have been on a prospect more daunting even than killer queens: Britain’s Brexit bedlam. In gentler times, you’d likely not notice a new Speaker in the chair. T

Boris’s Brexit boat is listing heavily, and there’s a Trump-sized hole to blame. In an incendiary intervention last night, the American lit up Britain's nascent election race, casting doubt on his counterpart’s headline EU divorce deal - and gifting rival Jeremy Corbyn an electoral open goal. Crushing a time-honoured convention, an alacritous Mr Trump weighed in on the contenders during a radio phone-in. He offered Boris a personal boost - “he’s a fantastic man” - but skewered his hard-fought B

The Hague, August 9. The protesters march silently, a sizzling intensity surrounding them. No beating drums, no blaring megaphones. Just signs. I want to speak, reads a fluttering banner; I am robbed, states another. Police officers flank the noiseless procession – their job is to keep the peace. But should the veiled women stray into a public building – a hospital, say – that dynamic would change. In theory, at least. The Netherlands has joined a growing list of European nations to adopt a so-c

Each of their sickening crimes was different – one decapitated his victims, another molested a child before committing murder, a third indulged in torture – but the five men all have something in common: they’ll soon be dead. For the first time in 16 years, the United States federal government will execute those convicted of the most heinous crimes. Ending the US’ informal death penalty moratorium, Attorney General William Barr directed prison authorities to terminate five of the 62 federal deat

“Those who did this have to be punished,” utters Mevlid Halilovic, standing at the site of Europe’s worst mass killing since World War II. His grief – and that of his fellow mourners – is the enduring legacy of the Srebrenica massacre. They’ve gathered at a mass grave to mark the slaughter’s 24th anniversary, remembering 8000 of their loved ones – Muslim men and boys, murdered by Bosnian Serb troops. Outgunned and outnumbered, Dutch troops charged with the civilians’ protection had handed them o

Harpoons concealed beneath tarpaulins, five boats pulled away from the northern Japanese harbour town of Kushiro last week. A thousand miles south in Shimonoseki, three other ships did likewise. Upon their return, the catch of the day – eight metres long and perhaps five tonnes in weight – was doused in ceremonial cups of sake, as is tradition. It is a ritual dating back hundreds of years, when Japan’s seafarers first began hunting whales. Now, after a three decade hiatus, the controversial prac

“Whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey,” noted president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan not so long ago. Words he’ll live to regret, if ever they come true. The city of his birth, his political awakening and his ascent to power is – after a quarter of a century – no longer his. In perhaps Turkey’s biggest political upset since the abortive coup of 2016, an opposition candidate – Ekrem İmamoğlu – has surged from relative obscurity to win Istanbul’s mayoral election. And win it by a comfortable margin, he did

“When we pass reforms we have to go through death valley,” said France’s Emmanuel Macron earlier this month. A frank take – if a little melodramatic – on his government’s woes of late. Given the size and ferocity of the protests that plagued his administration last year – the so-called gilets jaunes movement – the youthful president can be forgiven a little hyperbole. That public anger seems to have subsided now though, and he is set to dabble in reform once more. Announcing ‘Act II’ of his pres