News and Opinion

Political fun for all the family with our fiendishly tough trivia test, set by STEVE ANGLESEY. During the lockdown The New European will set you a series of questions as part of our big self-isolating quiz. Prove you know you have been paying attention to politics in recent years by having a go. How many […]

Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice has been ridiculed for claiming that he would rather the government did not buy Chinese ventilators to deal with the coronavirus outbreak. The UK government is said to be one of a number of countries lining up to buy Chinese ventilators as it looks abroad to find life-saving equipment to […]

The COVID-19 response has been at a national, not European, level. With countries often turning to populist and nationalist solutions, what is needed is a wider community response. What the economic downturn that began in 2008 did not achieve, could be managed by a microorganism. The outbreak and spread of the virus SARS-CoV-2 and the […]

A more humane society is possible from the response to coronavirus. But, as SIMON MAIR explains, it requires politicians moving away from putting the markets and profits first. Coronavirus warnings on signs in Glasgow as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire. – Credit: PA […]

Is it time for Boris Johnson to show genuine leadership by calling for a national unity government to steer the country through the coronavirus outbreak? These are truly unprecedented times and as such there must surely now be a government of national unity. If parliament is forced to suspend, either formally or through parliamentarians voluntarily […]

Boris Johnson’s allies have been accused of ‘Trump-style’ tactics to blame China for government failures over the coronavirus. Michael Gove appeared to apportion some blame to Beijing for the UK’s lack of mass testing, claiming some of the signals coming out of China were not clear about ‘the scale, the nature, the infectiousness’ of the […]

Boris Johnson’s key adviser Dominic Cummings has self-isolated after showing coronavirus symptoms. Cummings, who was reported last month to have said that it was ‘too bad’ if pensioners die from COVID-19 until he saw fresh science, is staying away from work after showing signs of the illness over the weekend. The prime minister’s official spokesman […]

A Tory MP has said that sharing disinformation during the coronavirus outbreak should be an offence. Tory MP Damian Collins, former chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media And Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, called for knowingly peddling misinformation related to the Covid-19 outbreak to be made an offence. ‘Lots of the debate around fake news has […]

The man credited with winning the general election for the Tories has been hired to oversee messaging from Downing Street during the coronavirus outbreak. Isaac Levido was the name people were chanting to the tune of ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’ on election night after he was drafted in to run the election campaign in November when […]

Political fun for all the family with our fiendishly tough trivia test, set by STEVE ANGLESEY. During the lockdown The New European will set you a series of questions as part of our big self-isolating quiz. Prove you know you have been paying attention to politics in recent years by having a go. How many […]

Michael Gove has refuted claims from some scientists that Boris Johnson was flouting coronavirus guidance before he got infected by COVID-19. Cabinet office minister Michael Gove was asked whether the government was sending out clear messages on social-distancing, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme. It follows both prime minister Boris Johnson and health secretary Matt […]

Even on its first night, Sebastian Barry’s powerful piece about the redemptive power of human spirit was living on borrowed time. Trafalgar Studios, London The despair at the first night of On Blueberry Hill was all-pervading, if unspoken. It was, however, clear enough on the faces of the celebs who posed for pictures on the […]

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said that he is assured the UK as an ‘independent nation’ does not need the EU scheme to get extra ventilators. Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC, Gove was asked whether an email was received by the government. He claimed there had been some ‘confusion’ over […]

How Italians are using their shared musical heritage to get through a national crisis. Medical staff from Rome’s Forlanini Hospital step out with protective masks to join a flash mob performance of “Volare”. Picture: Getty Images – Credit: Corbis via Getty Images Across Italy, music has been connecting people as 60 million have been confined […]

The Daily Mail’s sister newspaper has blamed the EU for the fact Boris Johnson has contracted the coronavirus, sparking ridicule on social media for its outlandish claims. The Mail on Sunday’s report on whether Michel Barnier infected Boris Johnson with the coronavirus. Photograph: Twitter. – Credit: Archant The Mail on Sunday devoted two pages to […]

Political fun for all the family with our fiendishly tough trivia test, set by STEVE ANGLESEY. During the lockdown The New European will set you a series of questions as part of our big self-isolating quiz. Prove you know you have been paying attention to politics in recent years by having a go. How many […]

Before the professional ad industry took over and the watchdogs got involved, commercials had a more primitive and boisterous appeal. Poster for Lutticke’s original cold water soap, 1884. Picture: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford – Credit: Archant In 1477 William Caxton, the man who introduced the printing press to England, fixed a slip of paper […]

The public believes the government has already decided on the outcome of its consultation into the future of the BBC’s licence fee, days before it closes for representations. The poll – conducted by Survation and commissioned by public ownership campaign group We Own It – found that 53% of people believe ‘the government has already […]

A thrilling tale which secured a story described as the ‘greatest scoop in the history of journalism’ – and the curious publication behind it. French prime minister Clemenceau signing the Treaty of Versailles, June 1919, France. Picture: Getty Images – Credit: Universal Images Group via Getty The departure of the final few British service personnel […]

How should we view the Chinese government’s role in the pandemic – leader in the fight against it, or the reckless instigator? Staff stand to attention as they prepare to spray disinfectant at Wuhan Railway Station in China’s central Hubei province. Picture: Getty Images – Credit: AFP via Getty Images During the grim days of […]

Political fun for all the family with our fiendishly tough trivia test, set by STEVE ANGLESEY. During the lockdown The New European will set you a series of questions as part of our big self-isolating quiz. Prove you know you have been paying attention to politics in recent years by having a go. How many […]

Matt Withers meets Mark Pack – the man technically in charge of the Liberal Democrats – to get a sense on where his party is headed. Here’s one for an episode of Pointless in 10 years’ time: name any leader of the Liberal Democrats, permanent or acting. No-one, I suggest to him politely, is likely […]

Brexit talks are set to continue next week despite the UK and continent being on lockdown. Downing Street has confirmed Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove will co-chair discussions via video conference as the two sides look at implementing what is in the Withdrawal Agreement once the transition period ends, which is due to close on […]

Scientists have questioned why Boris Johnson adopted a business-as-usual approach to governing after putting the rest of the UK on lockdown. Professor Susan Michie, director of University College London’s centre for behaviour change, said it did not come as a surprise that the prime minister and his closest advisers had contracted the illness and accused […]

With Boris Johnson belatedly raising his game, MITCH BENN’s attention turns to ‘horrifyingly fascinatiing’ behaviour of his US counterpart. How are we all holding up? I do hope you’re all well, safe and still relatively sane. I won’t ask if you’re all behaving yourselves and staying indoors, since that decision is no longer ours to […]

England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty has said he is self-isolating at home after experiencing symptoms compatible with coronavirus. It comes hours after prime minister Boris Johnson and health secretary Matt Hancock tested positive for coronavirus. The announcement means that the three men leading the fight against the outbreak are self-isolating. All are continuing […]

To offer greater leadership, the prime minister needs to learn the lessons of his political hero. Fast. LEIGHTON ANDREWS discusses the importance of communicating a message in a crisis. Prime minister Boris Johnson. Picture: PA – Credit: PA The people taking key decisions at the centre of this unprecedented crisis are intelligent, hard-working and diligent, […]

Supermarkets are playing a vital role in the current crisis. But so too – and with less fanfare – are local shops. Could the pandemic trigger a wider revival? Supermarket shelves stripped bare due to panic-buying amid the coronavirus crisis. Picture: Archant – Credit: Archant Go local. It’s a no-brainer. Why bother with any of […]