British Politics

With the Liberal Democrat conference opening in Brighton this weekend, Layla Moran talks to Tim Walker about Brexit, Vince Cable’s proposals for the party – and those rumours she’s about to succeed him. Layla Moran, the 35-year-old Lib Dem MP touted as the next leader of her party, was relaxed to the point of insouciance […]

Comedian Mitch Benn takes to task the political commentators going to absurd lengths in search of the moral high-ground. If there’s anything more depressing than the sight of someone truly stupid giving full rein to their stupidity (and we’re getting more than enough of that at the moment, not to name any presidents) then it’s […]

I wrote to my MEP Nigel Farage requesting a financial assessment of the benefits of Brexit. I was expecting a mathematical answer but was astonished to receive a reply blaming those bloody Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle: ‘May I suggest some general reading for you: Hobbes, Locke, Von Mises, Hayek, Fukuyama. The EU is based […]

Following the death of John McCain mainstream media has been flooded with tributes to America’s war hero. But further into the blogosphere, Senator McCain’s death is proving just as divisive as he was, writes Mitch Benn US Republican Presidential Candidate Senator John McCain speaks during a rally in Davenport, Iowa. (Photo credit should read JIM […]

Comedian, musician and writer MITCH BENN recalls the speech he gave at a People’s Vote rally What do you think, is 48 too old to discover your true calling? I’m still in Edinburgh, still have a few days left of my Fringe run… About 10 days ago, I got wind of the fact that there […]

Isn’t it ironic that our divided government should mark the centenary of the ending of the First World War with facile arguments over Brexit and internal feuding? If only, for the sake of the millions killed on all sides in the conflict, they could show some real magnanimity and unity with our European counterparts. John […]

MITCH BENN assesses whether Boris’ fixation has moved from Churchill to Bannon. Two thoughts on the topic of freedom of speech: 1. Boris Johnson is perfectly within his rights to say whatever he wants about burqas. 2. The rest of us are perfectly within our rights to call Boris Johnson a reckless, shameless attention-craving, trouble-stirring, […]

I voted out in the referendum, but rapidly recovered my senses when Brexit fell prey to the far-right agenda. This stairway to heaven has become a dark passage inhabited by the dark art of data manipulation, and questions about the people behind anti-EU backers. To me it is now crystal clear that the whole Brexit […]

I noted with interest Tory trade secretary, Liam Fox, warning that a no-deal Brexit was now more likely than the UK getting an agreement with the EU. Quite bizarrely, this appears to be the same Liam Fox who little more than a year ago said that a post-Brexit free trade with the EU should be […]

Steve Anglesey looks at online reaction as Britain’s food shops prepare for a no-deal Brexit. Thank goodness for the earlier football transfer deadline! This self-inflicted wound, which disadvantages English teams while Europeans can still trade freely, has provided welcome relief from the problems of Brexit. But before we were obsessed with the transfer market, we […]

In summer 2016 my wife sent to our MP a detailed response about the conduct of the referendum, outlining all our now too-familiar concerns. In summer 2016 my wife sent to our MP a detailed response about the conduct of the referendum, outlining all our now too-familiar concerns. She received an acknowledgement that her letter […]

The £39billion we have committed to pay to the EU upon our exit is NOT a gratuity or a divorce payment. It represents a legal liability. It represents historic infrastructure commitments and liabilities entered into by our nation that are to be completed by 2030. It represents the remaining 21 months of the seven-year budget […]

It would seem that one of the scapegoats being prepared for when Brexit fails are Remainers who refuse to ‘get behind Brexit’. How one is supposed to support a vacuum is beyond me. Brexit is by definition a negative, dismantling process; there is nothing there of substance to support, even if one wanted to. It’s […]

With her Chequers agreement Theresa May is not trying to dilute Brexit: she is positively trying to deliver it. It would help her cause mightily if she communicated more bluntly to the country that a Boris Brexit, of having your cake and eating it, was and is undeliverable whoever is running the country. People need […]

It was reported this month that 53% of the UK population do not identify as religious. This is what is known in Whitehall as a landslide. This is a tremendous victory for non-religious people. It’s significant and symbolic. To ignore it invites unrest and division. We must obey the will of the people. On Monday […]

I’m concerned that so far, too few Leavers seem to have changed their minds and holding a second referendum before the time is right may be counterproductive. I suspect that right now the best that could be expected would be a mirror-image of two years ago – 52/48 for Remain. The whole issue of Brexit […]

It was rich for Boris to say we were dithering about Brexit, writes Anthony West. I wonder if Boris Johnson was using the ‘royal we’ during his resignation speech. Near the beginning he says ‘we have dithered’ about Brexit. This is of course exactly what our unlamented ex-foreign secretary did in 2016 (shall I, shan’t […]

Comedian MITCH BENN looks forward to how we can all spend our first summer after leaving the EU Hi! I hope you’re all enjoying your final pre-Brexit summer! Oh, were you trying not to think about that? Yeah, me too. Sorry. Well, chin up! Brexit isn’t the end of the world! Not LITERALLY, anyway. Economically […]

There is a lot to support in Justine Greening’s idea for a three-option People’s Vote but, as Christopher Wylie so memorably put it, Brexit is a crime scene. The side which won by 4% overspent by 10%. Three senior people in the Vote Leave, Leave.EU and BeLeave campaigns have been referred to the police. There […]

We should look to the England football team at the World Cup for some life advice, says Martin Deighton. We quite rightly persist in our efforts to win football’s World Cup and no-one suggests giving up because we have not succeeded since 1966. Making changes to the structure, the rules and the nature of the […]

Piers Morgan is mistaken, we’re not jealous about his interview with Donald Trump, it’s cozying up with the president which worries us, writes Mitch Benn. OK; I’m going to do something now which, I suspect, many of you may not entirely approve of. I’m going to give Piers Morgan the benefit of the doubt. In […]

Theresa May’s spineless capitulation to the European Research Group moves us closer to the no-deal exit of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s sepia-tinted dreams. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The toxic shock of austerity led us into Brexit and arguably only the toxic shock of becoming a third-rate dumping-ground country will lead us out of it. […]

The New European must continue after Brexit is rejected to provide news about the EU neglected by our mainstream media and, also, to campaign to reform our archaic parliament and voting system. Take the processes established by our parliament pre-referendum to scrutinise EU legislation. They were subject to only minor reforms despite the various changes […]

In some ways Boris Johnson was right, we are trying to polish a turd, writes Peter Roberts. Who knows what will happen over the next days and weeks, but surely this must now be clear. 1) There’s no form of Brexit that will benefit the nation. We really are polishing poo; 2) The national interest […]

Brexit is moving into a new and hopefully terminal phase. Aware that they have no majority in the parliamentary Conservative Party, the Brexiteers are in retreat. I expect this new era will be soundtracked by moans about how their special Brexit has been ruined and how all its golden opportunities have been lost in a […]

Boris Johnson’s use of the term ‘the dream is dying’ is revealing. Dreams always end when reality intrudes. The Brexiteers have now received their wake-up call and know that the central thesis on which their argument was based – that ‘they need us more than we need them’ and therefore that at zero cost we […]

Why we don’t have to drive over the cliff like Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon. Ok, time out. Cool your boots. Easy, tiger. Whoa there. Hang fire. Take five. Hold your horses. Phrase it any damn way you want to but please, for the love of whatever it is you pray to, just STOP. ENOUGH. […]

The Labour MP tells Tim Walker that voters won’t forgive politicians who put party politics before the national interest. If there is one individual in Westminster who has not been transfixed by the latest dramatic episode in the Brexit soap opera – David Davis, Boris Johnson and Steve Baker being dramatically written out of the […]