News and Opinion

Like a Jack Russell trying to bark down a tree, WILL SELF says dogs – especially old and small ones – can aptly describe the UK’s position in the world. The airways have been ultrasonically whistling these past few weeks with the news that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic representative for New York’s 14th Congressional District, […]

Remember when the chancellor once claimed that Britain is better off in the single market? Are all the former Remainers now in Johnson’s cabinet as shockingly fickle as Sajid Javid? As David Cameron’s business secretary, and therefore well-placed to know all the facts, he said in the 2016 referendum campaign: “I still believe that Britain […]

Brexiteer Iain Duncan-Smith has admitted that the next steps of Brexit is the ‘most difficult phase of all’ of the process. Despite his leader claiming he had got Brexit ‘done’ and had reached the ‘finish line’, newly-knighted Duncan-Smith said what happens next will be ‘difficult’. He told talkRADIO: “It’s not just about making trade deals. […]

Readers question the decision for politicians to centre their Brexit celebrations around London. If the Brexiters want a bell-ringing party, why don’t they hold it in Grimsby, Sunderland, Stoke etc rather than the cradle of the metropolitan elite? I suspect we know the answer: now Johnson and Farage have got what they wanted out of […]

Fans of Victoria Derbyshire’s current affairs television programme have called for Question Time to be axed by the BBC instead. https://twitter.com/SetiCats/status/1220428518468857864 Following news that Derbyshire’s TV show is to be axed, there has been an outpouring of support for the award-winning BBC Two show. One viewer said it was a “life-saving programme” that had helped […]

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 […]

One reader has a suggestion for anyone feeling dispirited ahead of Brexit day on January 31st Yesterday, in driving rain and buffeting wind, I drove six miles home in deep gloom, my default position since December 12. I switched on the car radio and caught the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – the Ode […]

The presidents of the European Commission and European Council have signed the Withdrawal Agreement as Britain heads toward Brexit day on January 31st. The Queen gave royal assent to the legislation for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, paving the way for the UK to leave the European Union with an agreement at the end of January […]

As Labour’s leadership hopefuls try to work out their position on freedom of movement, ZOE WILLIAMS looks back at the way immigration has been exploited as a political issue. 1st May 1968: A man walking past graffiti stating ‘Powell For PM’ (prime minister), referring to British Conservative politician Enoch Powell who caused controversy with his […]

Maurice Smith on how politics north of the border remains as inflamed as ever, as Labour’s leadership race is showing It can be a tough job being a Scottish independence supporter these days. Already this month two Labour leadership hopefuls have managed to stir up bad feeling. Now Scots face the unnerving prospect of a […]

Regional elections in a traditional left-wing stronghold in northern Italy could help propel the far-right into power. PAUL KNOTT reports. Italy’s leading far-right rabble-rouser Matteo Salvini spent last summer touring the country’s beaches, mojito in hand, campaigning to overthrow the government in which he was serving as deputy prime minister and interior minister. His aim […]

Terry Reintke is already taking steps she hopes will see the UK rejoin the EU. And, aged just 32, she is prepared to be patient. She talks to MATT WITHERS. Of all the members of the European parliament who have become emotional at the prospect of the UK’s departure, high on the list is one […]

JOHN KAMPFNER on the perils that lie ahead for the Corporation ni the coming years, as it navigates choppy political, financial and technological waters. All the talk of One Nation Conservatism is a ruse. Boris Johnson has put himself at the heart of a protracted culture war and the BBC is a big prize. The […]

ALICE FIGES on the remarkable rise of the sardine movement Last autumn four graduates set up a Facebook event called “6,000 sardines against Salvini”. They wanted to encourage people to turn up in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore on November 14, to make sure the gathering outnumbered the attendance at Matteo Salvini’s election rally taking place just […]

Len McCluskey has claimed that Jeremy Corbyn ‘changed the face of British politics forever’, as his Unite union prepared to debate who it would back in the Labour leadership contest. McCluskey, the general secretary and an ally of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, told reporters before a meeting of the union’s executive: “What Jeremy did […]

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…

Culture secretary Nicky Morgan has confirmed she will stand down from the cabinet in the forthcoming reshuffle. The former Loughborough MP quit the Commons in the December election but was given a seat in the Lords by Boris Johnson – and retained her ministerial role. Morgan told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast: “I made the […]

The Dutch prime minister has warned that the UK’s position on a deadline for trade talks with the EU risks a return to a cliff-edge no deal Brexit. NEW: Dutch PM @markrutte tells @skynews that despite Boris Johnson's pledge that Britain will get a trade deal with the EU this year, the chances are still […]

The Daily Express has been a proponent of the campaign to bring back blue passports. So there was some surprise when the newspaper ran a story with a photograph of one of those ‘iconic’ passports – with the wrong wording on it. Placed alongside an existing burgundy passport with the ‘European Union’ messaging on it, […]

The SNP have reacted to the news that Boris Johnson’s Brexit bill has received royal assent as a ‘constitutional crisis’. Some MPs cheered as deputy speaker Nigel Evans announced the news, but the SNP reacted with fury that governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales had all rejected the bill. The Westminster leader Ian Blackford […]

Environment minister Zac Goldsmith has defended his appointment to the House of Lords – despite losing his seat in the House of Commons a month before. In his maiden speech from the despatch box, Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park said: “I know my appointment to this House wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. “One political rival […]

Sir Keir Starmer has been forced to cancel Labour leadership campaign events as his mother-in-law is critically ill in hospital. The shadow Brexit secretary has pulled out of events for the rest of the working week as a result of his mother-in-law’s condition. A spokesman for Sir Keir said: “Following an accident, Keir Starmer’s mother-in-law […]

A group of EU citizens living in the UK are planning to mark Brexit by launching a series of networking events to bring people affected closer together. The campaign group the3million are planning to launch its first event days after the UK departure date from the EU. The event, taking place in Southwark in London, […]

A Tory Brexiteer has called for a fireworks display so big that it can be seen from France. Natalie Elphicke also rubbished proposals from a Lib Dem MEP that plans a “we still love EU” banner to be displayed on the White Cliffs of Dover – instead proposing a rival banner which says “we love […]

After a lot of noisy demands from Brexiteers but, as reality hit, they have backed down and gone awfully quiet. Sound familiar? This time it’s over the bonging of Big Ben on January 31st. Despite the prime minister initially backing calls for a crowdfunder to raise £500,000 to fund Big Ben bonging at 11pm to […]

The former Mirror editor built a career on defending unpopular opinions, so STEVE ANGLESEY asks how can he tell Remainers to ‘shut up’ now? It’s quite the plot twist when a man who spends his life professing outrage at vegan sausage rolls and calling Meghan Markle a snowflake tells someone else they have nothing worthwhile […]

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Electability or ideology, reclaiming old heartlands or targeting new ones… BARNABY TOWNS on the choices facing Labour. Some general election defeats are so comprehensively disastrous that the routed party must rethink and regroup amid the political equivalent of smoking ruins. Since the war, this has been true of 1945 and 1997 for the Conservatives, yielding […]