News and Opinion

Former House of Commons speaker John Bercow has claimed he is a victim of a concerted campaign to destroy his reputation by those he describes as ‘snobs and bigots’. Speaking at a Guardian event in conversation with Owen Jones, the former Tory MP addressed claims of bullying. He said: “I was astonished when those allegations […]

Downing Street adviser Andrew Sabisky has announced his resignation amid criticism for his past comments which suggested enforcing the uptake of contraception to stop unplanned pregnancies ‘creating a permanent underclass’. On his Twitter account, Sabisky said: “Hey all, The media hysteria about my old stuff online is mad but I wanted to help HMG not […]

Independent photographers are calling again for answers on why they have been banned from covering Brexit in the lead up to the UK leaving the European Union. Number 10 chose to use only the prime minister’s official photographer to take images of Boris Johnson signing the Withdrawal Agreement, and the images of Johnson striking a […]

Boris Johnson’s spokesperson said he is receiving updates on the flooding from a 115-room lakeside mansion in Kent after being asked why he was not visiting the victims. The prime minister has resisted calls to chair a meeting of the government’s emergency committee, Cobra, to tackle the crisis. He convened such a meeting in response […]

Tory MPs are turning on Boris Johnson’s adviser Dominic Cummings after he was accused of running government by a former minister. In a letter to the prime minister, sacked transport minister George Freeman claimed he had been given the boot because he “somehow exceeded my brief with new thinking”. He said: “We won’t unleash enterprise, […]

A Tory MP has told his party to stop attacking the BBC as it is ‘picking a potentially unpopular fight’. Huw Merriman warned the corporation “should not be a target” after reports suggested the Conservative party were considering widespread changes including scrapping the licence fee. In a column in the Daily Telegraph, he wrote the […]

Boris Johnson’s key adviser Dominic Cummings should give evidence in front of a parliamentary committee, the SNP’s Ian Blackford has said. The SNP leader described Cummings, the former head of the Vote Leave campaign during the EU referendum, as the “power behind the throne” and urged the Liaision Committee to take evidence from him. Typically […]

Senior UK politicians have been criticised for failing to attend the Munich Security Conference – thought to be one of the largest gatherings of political leaders. The conference was attended by notable politicians including Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, Mike Pompeo, Sergey Lavrov, and Nancy Pelosi, as well as former prime minister Tony Blair. Representatives from […]

A 95-year-old Italian man has been asked to prove that he is a long-term resident in the country to be considered for post-Brexit Settled Status. Antonio Finelli came to the country in 1952 following an appeal for immigrant labour to help with the rebuild of the country following the end of the Second World War. […]

A French minister has warned Britain to expect a bruising battle with the EU in the forthcoming negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal. Jean-Yves le Drian predicted the two sides would “rip each other apart” as they strove for advantage in the talks as he made clear that Brussels will defend its interests when negotiations […]

Ofcom has fined George Galloway’s radio programme a £75,000 fine for failing to maintain impartiality in three episodes of the talkRADIO programme. “Under Ofcom rules, all broadcasters must remain duly impartial when covering matters of major political controversy,” the watchdog said. “TalkRADIO failed to do so in three episodes of the George Galloway programme during […]

Boris Johnson has been urged to sack one of Dominic Cummings’ ‘weirdos’ who once suggested enforcing the uptake of contraception to stop unplanned pregnancies ‘creating a permanent underclass’. Andrew Sabisky was hired by Number 10 after the PM’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings called for “misfits and weirdos” to apply to advise the government. He reportedly […]

A government minister has played down comments from Downing Street that the BBC will attempt to scrap the licence fee and force the BBC to sell off many of its radio stations. The Sunday Times quoted a senior source as saying that the broadcaster could be forced to sell off most of its radio stations […]

Labour leadership contest candidate Sir Keir Starmer has said he would take action ‘diversify’ the press following questions about the death of television presenter Caroline Flack. Speaking at the latest leadership hustings in London, he condemned the constant “vilification” of Labour politicians in the press. He said that both the traditional media and social media […]

New chancellor Rishi Sunak may delay the date of next month’s Budget in order to give himself more time to prepare, a senior minister has said. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said ministers had still not been told whether the Budget would go ahead on March 11 as planned after Sajid Javid’s resignation. “I know that […]

Downing Street has signalled a new onslaught on the BBC – with a threat to scrap the television licence fee and turn it into a subscription service. The Sunday Times quoted a senior source as saying that the broadcaster could be forced to sell off most of its radio stations in a “massive pruning back” […]

STEVE ANGLESEY on the double standards of Brexiteer MP Andrea Jenkyns over abuse in politics. In the final week of January, the Brexiteer MP Andrea Jenkyns told the Yorkshire Post’s political podcast Pod’s Own Country about the abuse she had suffered over the last few years. “At the height of it I got death threats,” […]

Download the free podcast from the team at The New European to hear our review of the week in politics. Every Friday Richard Porritt and Steve Anglesey review another wild week in post-common sense Britain. The award-nominated podcast is packed full of big news, comment, and irreverent views. We talk about the issues that matter […]

A reader claims that the media narrative on Brexit will not change even if it fails to be a success. It isn’t a matter of wanting leaving the EU to be a success or not. Even if the process seems to be an objective failure it is likely the tabloid press will try to frame […]

Ministers on both sides of the Irish sea have rejected Boris Johnson’s proposals for a bridge over the Irish Sea – branding it a waste of money. Work is under way to establish the feasibility of a road crossing between Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway and Larne in Co Antrim. But the devolved administrations said […]

A Brexiteer has provoked a massive response after he took to Twitter to fume that longer passport queues were ‘not the Brexit’ that he voted for. The Leaver, who two weeks ago was asking “where are all the remoaning cyclists who were laughing at me a months ago?”, managed to answer his own question with […]

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request surrounding the Russian interference report by a group of journalists has been dismissed as ‘vexatious’ by Downing Street officials. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism had sought to see the e-mails between the prime minister’s office and the parliamentary committee behind the Russia report in the lead up to the […]

One reader claims associate EU citizenship is simply Remain cakeism. I don’t see how associate EU citizenship for UK individuals will work, or why it should work. The EU is a noble idea of freedom for all peoples. Its impact and ambition must not be reduced to being an easy passage to living and collecting […]

An off-the-shoulder dress worn by Tracy Brabin in the House of Commons has raised more £20,200 for Girlguiding UK. The Labour frontbencher was forced to defend her attire after the dress slipped down her shoulder when she leaned on the despatch box due to a broken ankle. The final bid for the controversial dress came […]

The number of women attending Boris Johnson’s cabinet has fallen, despite vowing to promote more to the top jobs. Out of the 26 ministers attending the key government ministers, just seven are women – down from eight – and there are fewer women in the most senior roles. It means that women now account for […]

A Tory hereditary peer has encouraged people to eat grey squirrels, after telling the House of Lords they are ‘extremely good to eat’. Earl Home, the son of former prime minister Sir Alec-Douglas Home, also said making it illegal to feed the small animals should be considered as a way of curbing their numbers. Speaking […]

As a New European reader, you probably reckon you keep a close eye on the continent’s news. Test yourself with our quiz… Think you’re on top of what’s been going on across Europe in the past seven days? Take The New European’s tricky quiz and find out just how much of a Europhile you are…

WILL SELF goes searching for metaphors on the shores of Little Britain Lake. During our last session I took my students for a walk around Little Britain Lake, which lies in a confusion of confluences between Fray’s River, the River Colne and the Grand Union Canal, about a mile to the west of the campus. […]