The condemnations are striking but still they ring hollow. Binyamin Netanyahu denounced the arson attack by Jewish settlers on the West Bank home of the Dawabsha family, in which Ali Saad, a baby just 18 months old, was burned to death, as an “act of terrorism in every respect”. Netanyahu was joined by Naftali Bennett, the leader of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Home party, which is close to being the political wing of the settlers’ movement. Bennett described the murder as a “horrendous act of terror”. The defence minister, the army, they all condemned this heinous crime.

Published by: The Guardian

Telling supporters he won’t win is futile: elections are not their priority. They want to be true to themselves

Published by: The Guardian

Long before Labour lost the election, it lost the war of metaphor. The origins of the defeat go back at least to the long summer of 2010, when the Conservatives returned to power and promptly took control of the national conversation. Instantly they unleashed a series of simple metaphors to explain what had just happened, and the roles they and the Labour party had played in the story. The simplest and most important, repeated for years to come, was: “We’re clearing up the mess we inherited.”

Published by: The Guardian

Greece has come to an agreement with its European creditors that will allow it to stay within the eurozone – at a heavy cost. Columnist Jonathan Freedland and economics editor Larry Elliott discuss the late-night deal that the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has agreed to – one that heaps further austerity on his country's economy and appears less favourable than what was previously on offer Continue reading...

Published by: The Guardian

Perhaps it’s unwise to admit it, but one of the challenges during a budget speech is to stop your mind from wandering. Even an address of astonishing political audacity – as George Osborne’s was – has its longueurs, its moments when the stats are coming in such a blizzard, the borrowing projections merging with the annual growth percentages, that the brain, briefly blinded, looks elsewhere.

Published by: The Guardian

The national living wage, the abolition of non-dom status and cutting tax relief for buy-to-let landlords were all attempts to cast the Tories as the workers’ party

Published by: The Guardian

Now that Greece have returned an overwhelming no vote in the referendum, columnist Jonathan Freedland and economics editor Larry Elliott discuss the possible next moves for the European leaders. Alexis Tsipras has thrown the ball into Angela Merkel's c...

Published by: The Guardian

On Sunday the Greeks vote while the rest of Europe holds its breath. No matter how clunky the wording on the ballot paper, everyone knows what’s at stake. This is a moment of great peril, not only for the euro but for the European project itself.

Published by: The Guardian