News and Opinion

The Tory MP and deputy chair of the European Research Group (ERG) Mark Francois was grilled as the 2019 general election results came in, after he compared the ‘fall of Labour’ to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Speaking after the broadly accurate predictions of the exit poll came in, Francois told the BBC’s Andrew […]

A former Labour home secretary has offered bitter recriminations to Momentum, saying Jeremy Corbyn ‘couldn’t lead the working class out of a paper bag’. Alan Johnson has delivered invective that may well echo during the “period of reflection” that Corbyn has said he will have before he stands down as Labour leader. The encounter has […]

Re-elected Labour MP Ian Murray has warned his party’s ideology must change or else it will die. Labour’s Ian Murray. Photograph: Lesley Martin/PA Wire. – Credit: PA The Edinburgh South MP used his victory speech to criticise the Labour leadership for helping to deliver “the worst Conservative prime minister in history”. He warned: “This party […]

When the Lib Dems pushed for an election they were hoping that it would produce a parliamentary majority for a second referendum. Instead it has seen the anti-Brexit party go backwards after its messaging failed to gain traction with the electorate, and its leader, Jo Swinson, lost her seat to the Scottish National Party. She […]

Despite attempts to unseat the prime minister, Boris Johnson managed to strengthen his grip on his Westminster seat. Johnson retained Uxbridge and South Ruislip after finishing 7,210 votes ahead of his Labour opponent, increasing his personal majority by more than 2,000 from 2017. Johnson was joined by his partner Carrie Symonds and their dog Dilyn […]

John Bercow made a stunning intervention to praise former Tory Dominic Grieve as the candidate prepared to concede the seat he has fought as an independent. Grieve, who lost the seat to the Conservatives’ Joy Morrissey, told Sky News that he expected not to win – prompting a heartfelt intervention from John Bercow. Sitting in […]

Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson has lost her seat in East Dunbartonshire. In a bruising night for the anti-Brexit party, which has failed to win the gains it had hoped, the party’s leader lost her Scottish seat to the Scottish Nationalist Party by just 149 votes. Swinson had a majority of just 5,339 votes, which […]

Jeremy Corbyn has stood down as leader of the Labour Party in the midst of a disastrous night for the party. He won his seat with a comfortable 34,603 votes, but is witnessing massive losses of seats nationwide. In a statement, he had scathing words for the media treatment of his family and his party, […]

Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery has blamed the offer of a second referendum – not Jeremy Corbyn – for the expected election defeat. Appearing on the BBC, Lavery said that Brexit was to blame for the fact his party was performing so badly in the results. He said: “I think what we’re seeing in the […]

Former speaker of the house John Bercow had quite the put-down for Andrea Leadsom over his decisions on Brexit-related parliamentary bsuienss. Bercow, who has clashed with Leadsom in the past, accused the business secretary of suffering from “the rather material disadvantage of being wrong”. He added that she “didn’t have a strong grasp of parliamentary […]

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has announced he will not lead the party into the next general election, but who will replace him? Here’s a look at the key players who may be looked on as replacements for Labour’s leader. – John McDonnell The shadow chancellor has been prominent throughout the general election campaign and is […]

Boris Johnson’s father has been heckled by a live television audience on election night after defending his son’s remarks about the Muslim veil – and making it worse. Appearing on Channel 4’s alternative election coverage, he said that the remarks had been “taken out of context”. “Most of the things that have been said against […]

The polling and elections expert John Curtice, largely responsible for the exit poll which predicted a large majority for the Conservatives, has apologised for polling predictions he made during the election campaign. While Curtice says that the polls and predictions made throughout the campaign were broadly accurate, “a lot of the commentary focused disproportionately on […]

The joint-leader of East Dunbartonshire council has said ‘it is on a knife edge’ whether Liberal Dem leader Jo Swinson will lose her seat to the SNP. Andrew Polson, a Conservative councillor, said: “My gut reaction is that she might scrape through, but it’s on a knife edge.” Polson revealed that – according to his […]

Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb has blasted the Lib Dem leadership for running a poor campaign. Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press after the exit poll was revealed, he said it was an “astonishing result” up against the “worst government in living memory”. “I am horrified by Boris Johnson I don’t think he is […]

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…

Labour was seeking to blame Brexit for the catastrophic electoral defeat predicted by the exit poll that has estimated a huge majority for the Conservatives. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell was visibly shocked by the predicted figures suggesting Labour was on course for its second general election defeat under Jeremy Corbyn. McDonnell sought to blame a […]

A joint exit poll for the three major broadcasters has predicted the general election will produce a Conservative majority. Polling experts professors Sir John Curtice, Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher have worked with BBC News, ITV News and Sky News on the polling, and is usually credited as giving an indication of how the election […]

Follow update from The New European as the election results pour in, and get the latest anti-Brexit analysis throughout the night. Jeremy Corbyn, Caroline Lucas, Jo Swinson, Nicola Sturgeon, Liz Saville-Roberts, and Boris Johnson. Photograph: TNE/PA. – Credit: Archant Follow the live coverage from 9pm…

Best for Britain’s tactical voting guide has received more than 3.5 million hits on election day – with a number of hours left to go before the polls close. The anti-Brexit organisation – behind the getvoting.org website – has previously claimed just 20,000 tactical votes in key marginal seats in the UK could transform the […]

Boris Johnson has not voted for himself despite a heavy tactical campaign to oust him from his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat. The prime minister instead broke with a tradition set by his predecessors having registered to cast his ballot in Westminster. He voted at Methodist Central Hall, near Downing Street, at about 8.15am. His […]

Liberal Democrat Ed Davey has taken the family guinea pig to the voting booth. Liberal Democrat Ed Davey took his guinea pig to the polling station. Picture: Ed Davey via Twitter – Credit: Archant The deputy leader, standing in Kingston and Surbiton, took the family pet, named Carrot, as he did not have a dog […]

Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan would reduce the UK economy by almost 2%, according to independent trade experts. Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan would harm Britain’s economy, experts have warned. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire. – Credit: PA The UK Trade Policy Observatory (UKTPO) said leaving the European Union and switching from frictionless trade to a free trade […]

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was met by a person dressed as the Sesame Street character Elmo when he arrived to cast his vote. Absolutely lost it at this battle between Elmo and Corbyn's security pic.twitter.com/zR1DdYse35 — Calgie (@christiancalgie) December 12, 2019 The woman, dressed as the children’s TV character, greeted Corbyn with a handshake before […]

JOHNNY LUCAS on the importance of voting tactically in the general election – even if it means holding your nose to do it. I have voted for the Liberal Democrats in every election that I could – or rather, every election that I had to. Because for the first two elections of my adult life, […]

Max Sebald was a writer who never experienced the horrors of the 20th century but in his writings he could never escape them. CHARLIE CONNELLY reports on his life. Author and academic professor WG ‘Max’ Sebald, 57, who was killed after his car was involved in a head-on collision with a lorry in December 2001. […]

Jamaica’s capital not only gave the world one of its greatest music stars, it produced a sound that has taken root around the globe. SOPHIA DEBOICK reports Kingston teenagers Althea and Donna had a No.1 with Uptown Top Ranking in 1977. Picture: Fin Costello/Redfems – Credit: Archant Since the middle of the last century, music […]

Charlotte Salomon’s short life was characterised by persecution and family suicides and ended at Auschwitz. FLORENCE HALLETT reports on the remarkable artwork with which she chronicled her tragic existence. Here, the day the National Socialists took power in Germany is portrayed in painting. Picture: Collection Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam/Charlotte Salomon. Picture: Foundation Charlotta Saloman – […]