Absolutely Not The Daily Troll-o-Graph

The newly elected Dover and Deal MP is seeking talks with the home secretary after 69 migrants in five boats were picked up off the Kent coast. Natalie Elphicke said she would be telling Home Secretary Priti Patel that the French needed to do more "to stop illegal departures from their shores". The migrants, including 10 children, have all been given medical checks. On 4 December,  79 migrants , including children, were intercepted in five separate incidents. Mrs Elphicke said: "The French have been given tens of millions of pounds of British hard-earned taxpayer money... I want to know where the money has gone. "Because while much has been done, it is clear there is more to do. "More to do tackling the people traffickers behind this shocking trade in people. "More to do making sure anyone found in the Channel is immediately sent back to France. "More to do by the French to stop these illegal departures from French shores." F...

The SNP’s resounding victory in Scotland – taking 48 of 59 seats – was based on a manifesto calling for a second independence referendum. While the prime minister has the constitutional power to refuse to let Scotland hold one, this may not be sustainable if Scotland’s pro-independence parties continue to demonstrate they can muster strong public support. But holding a second independence referendum in 2020, as the SNP has demanded, would be a mistake. The report says the result of the UK general election has set Westminster and Holyrood on a collision course over the future of the Union. But important constitutional decisions should not be rushed. The first referendum in 2014 took place more than three years after agreement on it was reached in principle. It would also take time for the Scottish government to set out its vision for independence, and for the UK government to develop alternative proposals for a reformed Union with more powers for Scotland, if it chose t...

The five take-aways, beyond the bleeding obvious, from last week’s election. If you discount London, Britain’s major cities will send more Scottish nationalists than Conservatives to Westminster. It’s worth noting where the Tories made little headway, not just where they made lots. The great majority of their gains were in small and medium-sized towns. Britain has 18 cities outside London with three or more constituencies. In total, they elect 73 MPs. In the new parliament, 53 will be Labour, 11 SNP, eight Conservative and one Liberal Democrat. There will still be no Tory MPs from Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham or Sheffield. Nor did the Tories advance in London. They gained two seats and lost two, and still have just 21 of the capital’s 73 MPs. When the Conservatives last won a big national victory in 1987, they had more than two-thirds of London’s MPs. Labour’s heartland voter...

There’s a hard truth for anyone who stands on the left side of the political divide, a truth demonstrated again in recent days. Put starkly, the left usually loses. In the UK, Labour has governed for just 30 of the last 85 years. Of the eight men who have been president of the French fifth republic, only two have been socialists. In the postwar tally of US presidents, Republicans outnumber Democrats. There are countless reasons for this, but here’s one to contemplate in a week when the reality of a fourth consecutive election defeat for Labour slowly sinks in (very slowly in some quarters), and as Democrats contemplate poll numbers showing that even as Donald Trump becomes only the third president in US history to be impeached he still enjoys an edge over his leading Democratic rivals in the battleground states likely to decide the election next November. A look at recent electoral history suggests an uncomfortable pattern. Not only is the left’s default setting to lose; it win...

The EU is ready for the next phase of Brexit but risks greater internal divisions over trade talks with the UK, one of its incoming leaders has said. In one of his first interviews since being nominated president of the European council, Charles Michel said Brexit may have played an important role in bringing the EU together. The former Belgian prime minister will take the reins following a formal handover ceremony on Friday in his Europa HQ in Brussels, as Donald Tusk stands down after five years in post. Michel’s first big moment will be chairing the EU summit on 12-13 December – election time in the UK. EU leaders will probably be finishing off their three-course dinner when exit polls drop on polling day, revealing whether Boris Johnson’s election gamble is likely to have paid off. Michel said he hoped the election would bring clarity on whether the UK would ratify the withdrawal agreement. If Brexit happens on 31 January, the two sides will immediately embark on an 11-mo...

Labour shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has been savaged on social media for announcing she will stand to replace Jeremy Cornyn as leader of the embattled party. Britons shared their bemusement at the news the MP for Islington South and Finsbury will battle other potential candidates for the top spot. One comment on Facebook read: “So admitting to wanting to delay the election to get her own way? So that’s how you apply to be Labour leader? “Guess the party will be f***** for a good few years. A second commenter said: “Another gift that keeps giving. The Tories will love this. Another five years added to the 10 estimated and further losses.” A third said: “This is better than the muppet show.” Another added: “No improvement then, probably worse, oh well at least the comedy will continue.” Another said: “That’s Labour out for another decade then!” Another added: “What could possibly go wrong?” Today, Ms Thornberry - who is most remembered for her white van sno...

Tony Blair is warning that Labour will be "replaced" as a serious political force if it tries to "whitewash" the scale of its election defeat. The ex-prime minister will unveil research suggesting Labour's problems go "far deeper" than the unpopularity of Jeremy Corbyn and its Brexit stance. He will say in a speech that the party faces electoral oblivion unless it changes course. Mr Corbyn has said he will stand down as leader "early next year". At a meeting of Labour MPs on Tuesday, he said he "took responsibility" for Labour's worst electoral performance, in terms of seats won, since 1935. But he was criticised to his face by Labour colleagues, with former MP Mary Creagh saying the lack of a personal apology showed he was a "man without honour and without shame". Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer told the Guardian he was "seriously considering" running to be Labour leader, saying i...