"The focus of efforts this week will be on legislating to stop the country crashing out of the EU without a deal. We are very optimistic this can be achieved."

Manipulation or even outright control of the media cannot explain the enduring popularity, borne out by opinion polls, of illiberal leaders, writes Daniel Gros.

AFTER so many fiscal cuts, Taoiseach Enda Kenny must now make the trickiest calculation of all and weigh up the political consequences of going for a cut-and-run general election after the October Budget.

Tánaiste Joan Burton has insisted Labour will not suffer the same fate as the Liberal Democrats in Britain at the next general election, despite her party’s support plummeting since entering Government with Fine Gael.

Nick Clegg has resigned as leader of the Liberal Democrats in the UK after admitting the results were “immeasurably more crushing” than he could have feared.