News and Opinion

It was an opportunity for the major political parties to face the public and set out their vision, but who do you think performed the best? As we wait for verdicts from the pollsters we’re asking for readers to give their perspectives on tonight’s performances. Who do you think was the overall winner – was […]

Twitter was full of commentary as representatives answered questions from seven of the main political parties. https://twitter.com/GuardianHeather/status/1200491629301424134 https://twitter.com/jonoread/status/1200492545492553728 https://twitter.com/xeccar/status/1200492909885304833 https://twitter.com/TheotherNicola/status/1200494300888518657 https://twitter.com/StevenNT/status/1200497171335958528 https://twitter.com/grahamlithgow/status/1200497605538668544 https://twitter.com/nickeardleybbc/status/1200498659156275200 https://twitter.com/AngelaHaggerty/status/1200498721341026305 https://twitter.com/adilray/status/1200499361408585728 https://twitter.com/alcanlin/status/1200499995427954688 https://twitter.com/robpowellnews/status/1200500565807157249 https://twitter.com/KirstyStricklan/status/1200501979002363904 https://twitter.com/uk_domain_names/status/1200502443337027584 https://twitter.com/jimwaterson/status/1200503172235694082 https://twitter.com/AShadjareh/status/1200502429005037568 https://twitter.com/jdcairns/status/1200504119863189505 https://twitter.com/Simmy41/status/1200504609816694786 https://twitter.com/alcanlin/status/1200505872264388608 https://twitter.com/jonoread/status/1200514631325962240 https://twitter.com/Doozy_45/status/1200499417205346304 https://twitter.com/hiimginger/status/1200506961504165893 https://twitter.com/FrankGaudino/status/1200510678697725952 https://twitter.com/esbagshaw/status/1200508512985649152 https://twitter.com/redrog/status/1200509378945781760 https://twitter.com/suzannenw1962/status/1200511969792577536 https://twitter.com/joperry9/status/1200512208448491527 https://twitter.com/Moggsee/status/1200512428137517056 https://twitter.com/jdcairns/status/1200512217671749634 https://twitter.com/IainDale/status/1200509923374837761

Boris Johnson could sack Jacob Rees-Mogg if the prime minister is re-elected after the election. The leader of the Common’s ministerial career is in question after he appeared to criticise the victims of Grenfell Tower disaster. Rees-Mogg has disappeared from the election campaign after making the remarks shortly after the election was called, and did […]

In an attempt to defend his son from accusations of being a liar, Stanley Johnson has suggested that the ‘great British public’ does not have the degree of literacy to know who Pinocchio is. Appearing on BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show, the prime minister’s father responded to a viewer comment that Boris Johnson is like the […]

Billionaire businessman and oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood has revealed he now backs Brexit. Sir Ian, who was chairman of oil firm the Wood Group, said he had voted for Remain in 2016 but would “now vote to come out” as he warned Europe could be facing a “difficult future”. While he said he had […]

Readers express their concerns about the performance of Labour and Lib Dems during the election campaign so far. Labour are currently fighting what is being called ‘the Brexit election’ by trying their best not to mention Brexit. The only possible benefit of the inevitable large Tory majority which will soon follow is that the party […]

The outgoing president of the European Commission has written a farewell article reflecting on his five years in post, and had some choice words for the UK on Brexit. Jean-Claude Juncker, who is handing over to Ursula von der Leyen, joked in a piece for Politico’s Brussels Playbook that he would be “leaving before the […]

Readers note the prime minister no longer talks about spending £350 million on the NHS, despite Brexit not happening yet. Boris Johnson is going to postpone the cut in corporation tax to release £6 billion for the NHS and other ‘priorities’. But wait. Was the NHS not supposed to be being funded by the “£350 […]

The BBC has stuck to its guns over Boris Johnson’s reticence to undergo an interview with Andrew Neil and has turned down No.10’s suggestion that he appear on Andrew Marr’s show instead. The national broadcaster announced earlier in the week that it had been “unable to fix a date” for the general election grilling from […]

Is anyone keeping count of the overall numbers of employee shortages in the UK? I hear various figures – 40,000 nurses, 6,000 GPs, 120,000 HGV drivers, 20,000 police officers, 10,000 construction workers, unquantified numbers of teachers – to list but a few. So why are all the opposition parties running scared of the freedom of […]

Analysis of the websites of the major political parties suggests BBC News sends more traffic to the Tories’ homepage than Labour or the Lib Dems. Rebootonline.com found that news outlets were 150% more likely to support the governing party rather than Labour in any given article. Their analysis of referring domains of the key party […]

Boris Johnson has insisted to a reporter he has never told a lie during his political career. The prime minister was told by ITV News reporter Paul Brand the issue of trust was a big problem. He was then asked to look him in the eye and say that he had never lied during his […]

LBC has clarified what happened on air after Boris Johnson made a hand gesture that sparked online speculation while he fielded calls from the public with host Nick Ferrari. The radio show, which is also filmed, shows the prime minister slicing his finger across his neck with a look of deep irritation as he struggles […]

The prime minister refused to apologise for misogynist and sexist comments he made about single mothers and the character of their children. He was challenged on this by a single mother from Oldham, where he was taking questions from the public. Ruth asked the prime minister about his Spectator columns from 1995, when he said […]

The prime minister was unable to say how many trade deals the UK has set up internationally for after the UK leaves the EU. A caller to Nick Ferrari’s LBC show, where Johnson was taking questions, was told by Johnson only: “We’ve got talks under way with many countries.” He said there were a number […]

It has been claimed that Dominic Cummings resigned as Boris Johnson’s senior adviser three weeks ago, but there are questions over whether he had since returned to the job, while also assisting the Tory campaign. Cummings had been a senior figure in the Vote Leave campaign before becoming Boris Johnson’s senior aide back in July. […]

The BBC has told the Tories to remove online adverts which use edited versions of its content, claiming it was ‘completely unacceptable’ to ‘distort’ its output. An edited clip of BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg saying “pointless delay to Brexit” edited by the Tories for Facebook advertising. Photograph: PA/Conservatives. – Credit: PA One of the […]

The Labour Party has compiled a list of 60 questions it says Boris Johnson must answer. The party has accused the prime minister of “hiding from scrutiny” after he snubbed the Channel 4 leaders’ debate on climate change and is yet to sign up to an interview with Andrew Neil. The questions are on a […]

Labour has accused the prime minister of ‘trying to restrict the free press’ by threatening Channel 4 after it empty-chaired him with a block of ice. A Tory source suggested the party may review Channel 4’s public service broadcasting position after it replaced the PM with an ice sculpture when he refused to take part […]

A teacher has hit out at a Tory minister over the party’s pledge for 50,000 more nurses in the NHS, claiming that even his eight-year-old could see through the lie. Brandon Lewis appeared on Question Time to defend the Conservative Party pledge in its manifesto, but faced fierce criticism from the audience. To laughter, one […]

The alliance’s big guns descend on the UK with its very future at stake, JOHN KAMPFNER reports. How many times have diplomats sounded the death knell of Nato? How many times have the French and Germans fallen out over European security? The answer to both is “many”. Yet something has changed, for the worse. On […]

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…

The Lib Dems have calculated that 6,000 criminal could evade justice if Boris Johnson’s plans for Brexit goes ahead. UK police forces and prosecutors have used the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) to bring over 6,600 criminal fugitives to justice over the past five years, the analysis for the party reveals. This includes 140 for murder […]

Impressionist Josh Berry has been doing a perfect take on an over-entitled Conservative PR, advising senior Tories such as Boris Johnson and Michael Gove on their media strategy. In videos posted on Twitter, Berry poses as the staffer behind both Boris Johnson’s decision to duck an interview with Andrew Neil, and Michael Gove’s infamous “grime” […]

Channel 4 have replaced Boris Johnson with a melting ice sculpture of a globe containing a Tory party logo after he failed to attend the debate. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Plymouth, Devon, whilst on the General Election campaign trail. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire – Credit: PA The broadcaster had considered replacing both Nigel Farage […]

The anti-Brexit campaigner has revealed to a British newspaper that his support for the Remain campaign was almost turned during the 2016 European Union referendum. Oluwole’s told the Express support was almost swayed by the big red bus claiming that an extra £350 million could be spent on the NHS. Asked about which argument had […]

Duke of York’s Theatre, London, until February 29. On a local newspaper, I once reported on a Townswomen’s Guild’s attempt to re-enact the Battle of Britain. I sat for nearly an hour transfixed as about a dozen old girls, with papier-mâché wings attached to their shoulders, threw themselves into the ambitious project with manic intensity. […]

Jo Swinson has opened up about her late father in an interview, describing how his memory drives her on as she campaigns in the general election. In an ITV interview set to be broadcast in full this evening, the Liberal Democrat leader had to pause and take a breath when her father Peter, who passed […]