Free Republic

What we witnessed yesterday on the Downing Street step was deeply troubling to those who care about our democracy. In the space of just a few short weeks, Andy Burnham has effectively crowbarred his way into No10 without anyone even trying to block his path. He has arrived there unelected, unopposed and with no mandate from the public whatsoever but for a by-election victory in Makerfield. Meanwhile, the rest of the country has been left scratching its head in bewilderment as it faces yet another handover of power to someone it never asked for, nor, frankly, knows very much about...

@yashar NEWS Senator Darline Graham, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, confirms to Sean Hannity that she is going to run for a full-term.

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Saturday slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s post commemorating two U.S. service members killed in Jordan as a result of Iranian strikes. “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve,” Hegseth wrote on social platform X. Greene said it was inappropriate to deem their deaths a “sacrifice.” “Sacrifice?? What the f— are you talking about?? They did not willingly sacrifice themselves. They were killed because of the war you, Trump, and the admin, are waging on behalf of a FOREIGN COUNTRY, Israel,” Greene wrote in a response on X. “You mean their deaths fuel...

Feckless and clueless, Donald Trump is lost in Iran, unable to find a way out of the disastrous war he started. Once again, the US military is pummelling the country and, increasingly, its civilian infrastructure. As before, this unlawful bludgeoning strengthens the resistance of a hardline regime that cares little for its people’s suffering. How often have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s wildling lord of bones, hailed a bogus victory? The president claimed this week to be “winning big”. No one believes him. Even as it counts the vast human and economic cost of his Persian folly, a watching...

@ZiaYusufUK Imagine being so deranged you campaign to have British passports given to men who gang raped British children and tortured British civilians for ISIS. Meet Andy Burnham’s new Director of Political Strategy.

@MarkLynchSC Rick Scott introduced a bill to END Social Security by 2028, leaving more than 75 million American seniors without the benefits they earned, and hurting everyone who has already paid into it. He calls it welfare. In the Senate, I will fight to protect your benefits from career politicians like Rick Scott and Ralph Norman.

Spain striker Borja Iglesias has conceded he will reluctantly shake Donald Trump's hand at the World Cup final because he 'doesn't want to go to prison'. The United States president will be on hand at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to hand the Jules Rimet trophy to the winners on Sunday, with Spain taking on defending champions Argentina. It's possible, though, that Trump will meet players from both sides, and that's put Iglesias on edge. The 33-year-old has regularly made his political views clear, and spoke out during the controversy surrounding former president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation...

It’s been a tough go lately for the controversial British politician Nigel Farage. His party’s been dropping in the polls, and he’s under investigation for failing to report a gift from a billionaire of £5 million ($6.7 million). Last week, he resigned his seat in Parliament so that he could stand for reelection — aiming to win a vote of confidence from electors in a region that has long supported him. But the major parties are refusing to field candidates against him, turning his political gambit into a bit of a farce. A perennial candidate who likes to dress up...

Just before dawn, the bridges began to fall.One by one, American missiles reduced them to crumpled concrete, strewn across river beds and gorges.For a week, the US had bombed southern cities, cranking up the pressure on Iran to relinquish control of the Strait of Hormuz.But now the US military was going for the transport arteries connecting key southern ports to the rest of the country.The bombings leave Bandar Abbas, a city of 500,000 people where roughly half the country's trade comes ashore, almost completely isolated.

Vice President JD Vance spoke to podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday about how California has declined under Gov. Gavin Newsom to the point that it gave him flashbacks to visiting a "third-world country." Vance recalled driving through a rough neighborhood in Los Angeles on his way to an elite Christmas party and was struck by the contrast between the two settings. "And I realized when I was there, you know what this reminds me of? This reminds me of going to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti," he said, as Rogan chuckled. "Like super security, crazy wealth and privilege and...

President Donald Trump thanked Iran for a 'gesture of Goodwill' after an American woman who was 'wrongly detained' in 2024 was released from the country – while also taking a shot at the former President Biden. Trump showed gratitude for the gesture in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, adding that the woman was now outside the country and in 'good condition'. 'Iran has allowed an American Citizen, who was wrongfully detained in December of 2024 under the "presidency" of Sleepy Joe Biden, to leave the Country,' wrote the president. 'She is now safely outside of Iran, and in...

Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor who has frequently criticized President Donald Trump, is poised to become the United Kingdom's next prime minister after emerging as the only candidate to replace outgoing Labour leader Keir Starmer. Burnham, 56, received nominations from 322 of Labour’s 403 Members of Parliament on the first day of the leadership process, far surpassing the 81 required to enter the contest and leaving potential rivals with virtually no path to qualify. He is expected to be formally confirmed as Labour leader Friday and appointed prime minister by King Charles III on Monday, July 20, following...

Sir Keir Starmer was praised by leaders in one of his last acts of diplomacy on the world stage. The Prime Minister said there had been a “very productive” meeting on Monday of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris, as other global leaders took the chance to publicly thank him for his work. At a press conference after the talks, French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of how positive it had been to work with Sir Keir. Mr Macron spoke of “how grateful the coalition is as whole to him” and stated “we owe you a lot, Prime Minister”. German...

Representative Thomas Massie on Friday questioned why Republicans continue to emphasize widespread election fraud even as the party holds total governing power across Washington, calling it a contradiction at the heart of the GOP's message. “I mean, we won all the damn elections and we’re in charge,” he said. “And what are we doing with it? We're bankrupting the country, we're starting new wars, we're violating the Constitution. We're not cracking down on the fraud."

@JamesOKeefeIII Regardless of what you think of him, this will always be one of the most powerful speeches in the history of the Senate. Back in 2018 when this happened, friends of mine who were not political teared up after watching this.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will set out on Monday the legal steps she will take to deport the freed ringleader of a Rochdale grooming gang. Shabir Ahmed, jailed for 22 years in 2012 for multiple counts of child sexual offences including rape, was released from prison on licence earlier this month. Calls have mounted across the political spectrum for the deportation of Ahmed, who was stripped of his British citizenship following his conviction, leaving him with only Pakistani nationality. But he cannot be deported due to a 1971 law that forbids the removal of a small group of Commonwealth citizens...

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Sunday announced, after weeks of speculation, that he had a fall last month that landed him in the hospital. “My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion. I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages. But I was briefly unconscious and was taken to the hospital. While receiving excellent care over the past several weeks, I’ve also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia,” he said in a statement. McConnell also provided a photo showing him smiling...

The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will have ripple effects on the GOP agenda in the coming weeks, as Washington mourns one of its most outspoken dealmakers and defense hawks. Graham had risen to become one of the most influential voices among Senate Republicans since he was first elected to the chamber more than 20 years ago, becoming a top ally for President Trump. The senator’s office announced Graham died Saturday evening from a “brief and sudden illness” at the age of 71. Preliminary findings from the Washington, D.C., chief medical examiner revealed Graham is believed to have...

Donald Trump says the US is reinstating its blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, beginning "immediately" In a post on Truth Social, he says the US will be the "guardian" of the vital waterway and impose a 20% charge on all cargo shipped to pay for the cost of "safety and security" - how this will work in practice is unclear, writes our White House reporter

A federal judge on Monday nullified an agreement the government reached with Donald Trump and his sons over the leak of his tax returns. The judge lambasted the government and president’s lawyers for using the judicial process to try to concoct a beneficial arrangement for the president. The ruling from US district judge Kathleen Williams in the southern district of Florida blocks a widely criticized arrangement the government and the president’s attorneys reached earlier this year to resolve a $10bn lawsuit by Trump and his sons over the leak of the president’s tax returns. The government never responded to the...