It might be surprising that an artist like Tori Amos has managed to produce three - count 'em - retrospectives of her work over the past six years. Yet for die-hard fans (and for followers of this siren, entering her third decade as a recording artist, the die-hard bit is...

It's the season for apologising. Over the past week we've seen quite a few public figures saying sorry for what was said, done or not done in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster. Now Nick Clegg's getting in on the act over tuition fees, and while some people are never...

Downing Street has dropped yet more hints that David Cameron might consider going into the next election supporting a third runway for Heathrow Airport.

A communiqué issued by Number 10 on Wednesday lunchtime suggests Heathrow was near the top of the agenda when the prime minister met senior ministers...

Maria Miller has sought to head off claims that she privately opposes gay marriage by writing a column in The Independent firmly supporting the proposed change. Her intervention follows concerns that despite being the government's new equalities minister Miller privately opposes extending civil rights to gay...

Not an easy afternoon for Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg, who had to stand up and respond to Michael Gove's heavily-trailed announcement that GCSEs in core subjects would be scrapped in favour of an English Baccalaureate qualification, a process that will begin in 2015.

Twigg's central claim was...

People commonly believe that the character of Lord Julius Nicholson in The Thick Of It is based on Andrew Adonis - or Lord Adonis to give him his proper title. The two men are both seen as rarefied blue-skies types, able to think the unthinkable because they don't...

David Cameron is under pressure to explain why he has failed to give honours to the women sacked from Cabinet in this week's reshuffle, while men who've lost their jobs have been given a slew of gongs. The criticism comes after allegations that David Cameron made some of...

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has sought to capitalise on internal Lib Dem leadership squabbles by sending a strong overture to Vince Cable, who has been tipped as a successor to Nick Clegg. In an interview with The Independent, published on Thursday morning, Balls says he "feels for" Cable,...

"That's just how assertive and butch the leader of the opposition is," said David Cameron of Ed Miliband, after revelations that the Labour leader makes a cup of coffee for Ed Balls every morning.

But the reality was neither man sounded particularly butch at the first PMQs...

Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has urged David Cameron to "get off the fence" over a third runway at Heathrow and signal whether or not the Conservatives will go into the next election in favour of expanding the airport.

His comments on Wednesday morning follow speculation that the Cabinet reshuffle...

Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has urged David Cameron to "get off the fence" over a third runway at Heathrow and signal whether or not the Conservatives will go into the next election in favour of expanding the airport.

His comments on Wednesday morning follow speculation that the Cabinet reshuffle...

For some reason the return of David Laws is viewed as some kind of panacea, someone who'll save the coalition from both itself and the sense of drift that's become a hallmark of government so far in 2012. Yet surprisingly few MPs - Lib Dem or Tories - actually feel...

"I would like to make a statement on House of Lords reform," announced Nick Clegg to the Commons on Monday afternoon. "Or what's left of it," he added, quite gamely.

Clegg was lighthearted, joking along with MPs who shouted "1911" when he offered a run-down on recent developments on...

Senior Tory MP David Davis has launched a not-so-coded attack on George Osborne's growth strategy, saying that the UK was at the "eleventh hour" in terms of avoiding decades of economic stagnation and unemployment.

Davis, who stood against David Cameron in the 2005 Conservative Party leadership election, told an audience...

Gordon Brown has suggested it is unfair for students from England paying tuition fees to study in Scotland while Scots and EU nationals get the same education free.

"There are hard truths we in Scotland have got to face up to," he said. "I don't believe it's right, personally,...

Alistair Darling has strongly criticised the German government's policies towards recovery in the eurozone, suggesting a failure of leadership by Angela Merkel and other European politicians risks political upheaval similar to that seen in the 1930s.

In an interview with The Huffington Post UK the former Labour chancellor expresses his...

Donations to political parties plummeted by almost £1m in the second quarter of 2012, the same period as the cash-for-access scandal, according to figures published on Monday.

But surprisingly most of the drop was attributable to a drop in donations to Labour party, not the Tories.

Contributions to...

George Osborne is facing widening calls from business leaders and influential economic thinkers to change economic policy, with the head of the CBI becoming the lastest to add their voice to the clamour calling for Plan B.

Writing in The Times on Monday, John Cridland urges the...

Ed Miliband has offered qualified support for Louise Mensch as Labour launched their campaign in the Corby by-election triggered by Mensch's surprise resignation earlier this week.

Just three days after Mensch sensationally revealed she was quitting, the Labour leader headed to the small town of Thrapston not...

Last Sunday Andy Murray did something he's never done before. No, not the part about him beating Roger Federer at a Wimbledon final. Murray sang the British national anthem on the podium as he picked up his Olympic gold.

Fortunately only the first verse of God Save The Queen...