News and Opinion

Two more Tory MPs who rejected a motion to extend free school meals have been at the receiving end of local protests. Empty plates with messages on them began piling up outside the office of Sutton MP Paul Scully on Monday after it emerged he was one of 322 Tory MP who voted against plans to feed hungry […]

A peer told of the “mounting panic” his family had faced ahead of school holidays when he was a child as he shared his experiences of receiving free meals, as he slammed the “Etonians” in parliament who would not recognise that feeling. Labour’s Lord Griffiths of Burry Port told the House of Lords: “I was […]

A Tory MP who signed a letter to Boris Johnson over Covid-19 measures in the north of England said he wants to “keep the prime minister honest” and delivering on his promises. Simon Fell, the MP for Barrow and Furness, was one of 55 Conservative MPs calling for a roadmap for Northern constituencies out of […]

Piers Morgan has ripped into Boris Johnson’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, describing his approach as “catastrophically wrong” and calling him a “blustering buffoon” on Australian television. The Good Morning Britain presenter said the virus had been a “nightmare” for may across the world, but particularly so in the UK. Appearing on Australian chat show Today, Morgan […]

A Tory MP has criticised his party for continually failing to tackle “burning injustices” and “life chances” because “something else always comes along”. Paul Manyard, the MP for Blackpool North and Cleveys, said that the backlash over free school meals should not have been a surprise and that it was no accident. Writing for Conservative […]

Deloitte and McKinsey are among a raft of private companies awarded £180 million in Brexit-related contracts by the government. Data released by the government and analysed by the Byline Times has revealed that six firms were handed identical contracts worth £30 million each for the provision of “strategic programme management” regarding the end of Brexit transition period. […]

Television presenter and campaigner Esther Rantzen has slammed Boris Johnson’s response to the coronavirus, saying the prime minister should not be proud of his support for children in particular. Asked by Julia Hartley-Brewer about the coronavirus support, she said: “In Boris’ place I don’t think I would be proud of my record, I would be […]

Boris Johnson is acting as a “human shield” for the Tories during Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, a political commentator has claimed. Benedict Spence, a Telegraph columnist, has said that the prime minister is “soaking up the political flack” during the pandemic, and he has claimed it is unlikely anyone will manoeuvre to replace him […]

Boris Johnson has been warned the Tory majority in parliament will be “wiped out” over his coronavirus strategy in the north of England. The prime minister ignored the wishes of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and other northern officials when they entered the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions without providing adequate financial support. The government […]

Matt Hancock has found himself at the centre of intense criticism after a video of him promoting government policy in a hospital seriously backfired. Hancock failed to notice he was breaking government guidelines when he was filmed at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading promoting a new review into food standards across the NHS without […]

Britain will not have the same prominence in Washington it has been previously used to be because it is “less useful to the US administration”, a  former senior diplomat and crossbench peer has claimed. Peter Ricketts, who has spent 40 years defending Britain’s interests in the world, believes our interest in the world will be severely […]

Boris Johnson’s administration is said to be “frantically repositioning” itself for Joe Biden to win the US election, former Tory chancellor George Osborne has claimed. Osborne appeared on CNN to claim that the Brexiteers in government will find it “hard to pivot toward a Biden administration”. “There’s no doubt that the Brexit government here will […]

Health secretary Matt Hancock has insisted the leaders of the Test and Trace scheme ‘needs our thanks’ after it was put to him that Baroness Dido Harding should lose her job leading the initiative.  Hancock was asked whether Harding should remain in the job after senior Tory MP Bernard Jenkin called for her to be […]

A shop in Lancaster has become the second business banning Tory MPs after they voted against extending free school meals over the holidays. Ian Bailey, who owns The Runners Centre, has barred local MP David Morris after he voted with 231 Tory MPs to reject a motion to feed hungry children over school holidays. This comes after […]

A business minister has defended Tory peer Baroness Harding’s handling of the government Test and Trace scheme, claiming she is doing a “very difficult job really well” and is working 19-hour shifts every day. Nadhim Zahawi was asked to give his verdict on Harding’s leadership of the key Covid-19 prevention programme after senior Tory MP […]

UKIP is attempting to revive its party by focusing on the London mayoral elections after it installed Neil Hamilton as its new leader. Guido Fawkes reports that the party’s frontrunner with the NEC for the 2021 elections is Dr Peter Gammons. Gammons is said to be a professional “inspirational and motivational speaker” and is reported to […]

Former Tory party chairman James Cleverly has been mocked after tempting to smear Labour by telling people to look at the situation in Wales. The Foreign Office minister saw his name to trend on Twitter as he tried to turn users against Labour by using the example of the Welsh government to prove his own […]

Boris Johnson has been warned by more than 50 Tory MPs that his handling of the coronavirus pandemic could “send the North into reverse”. A group of northern Conservative backbenchers, led by former northern powerhouse minister Jake Berry, has written to the prime minister expressing their concerns. The Northern Research Group (NRG) wants Johnson to […]

Powers enabling ministers to break international law could be stripped from controversial Brexit legislation by peers within days. The UK Internal Market Bill is undergoing detailed line-by-line scrutiny in the House of Lords, and is currently scheduled for four days of consideration at committee stage. The legislation sets out the way that trade within the […]

Readers have their say on politics in Germany, and make comparisons to Britain. The German people believe Angela Merkel will tell them the truth (“Trust helps Germany through its crisis”, TNE #215). The biggest issue with our government is a lack of faith.The trust in Boris Johnson and his uninspiring crew has been systematically undermined […]

Readers have their say on the silence of Baroness Dido Harding, who is overseeing the government’s test and trace scheme. I can’t help wondering why, if Diana ‘Dido’ Harding is that capable, confident and articulate (“Test of her life”, TNE #215), she doesn’t seem to do more media interviews: after all, who better to report […]

Readers have their say on the latest opinion articles from The New European. Re: Alastair Campbell on Piers Morgan. Though I used to find Piers insufferable, I now looking forward to his combative take on all things Covid-19 and the disastrous no-deal Brexit prospect.Last Monday I felt a tad deflated not to see him and […]

A tweet by the Brexit Party aimed at shaming Tory MPs who voted against extending free school lunches has been slammed online. Nigel Farage shared a Brexit Party post on Twitter which showed a plate half empty along with the caption: “The Tories will support ‘eat out to help out’ but they won’t spend a few quid to help a […]

The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier has delayed his return to Brussels and is expected to remain in the UK until Wednesday to carry on intensive discussions with his British counterpart Lord David Frost. Barnier originally arrived in London on Thursday to resume the stalled negotiations and had been expected to return on Sunday ahead […]

Welsh secretary Simon Hart has accused the media of concocting a scandal surrounding England’s contract tracing system as he dismissed claims it was an “abject” failure on national television. Hart struck a defensive tone with Sky News’ Andrew Boulton who confronted him over dire test and trace figures. “To use Boris Johnson’s words, the government has quite happily […]

Brexiteer Prue Leith has reportedly quit her membership of the Tory Party after the government rejected a motion that would have safeguarded UK food standards. The Great British Bake Off judge has previously expressed concerns about the state of UK standards after Brexit and has called on MPs to not allow countries like America to import inferior food into […]

Tory MPs have become the centre of a new protest shaming them for voting against a Labour motion to extend free school meals until Easter 2021. Dozens of empty plates were left outside the office of Southend West MP Sir David Amess, who was one of 322 Tories to vote against the motion last week by […]

Boris Johnson and Priti Patel have been urged to end their “hostility” towards lawyers who defend asylum seekers in a letter signed by more than 800 legal professionals. The letter, published in the Guardian by former and current lawyers, barristers, and UK justices of the Supreme Court, have called on the government to apologise for attacking the legal profession. The […]