News and Opinion

A legal bid arguing Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal is unlawful, and attempting to prevent it being voted on by MPs, has been rejected in Scotland’s highest civil court. Campaigner Jolyon Maugham QC is behind the legal challenge which was heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, where the judge said the case was of […]

Constituents of a disgraced MP have taken to social media to express concern that their representative might not show up to cast a crucial vote in parliament on Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement. Former Labour MP Jared O’Mara has missed a number of key Brexit votes this year, including the September vote that saw the Benn […]

A new amendment to the Benn Act has been tabled by MP Oliver Letwin that seeks to close a possible loophole to ensure that the UK does not crash out of the EU without a deal. Letwin’s amendment aims to close all routes to a no-deal Brexit by requiring Boris Johnson’s deal to have passed […]

Campaigners Led By Donkeys have struck again with their latest eye-catching message: ‘Britain now wants to remain’ has been ploughed in 40-metre letters into a field in Wiltshire. A video posted to Twitter by the creative campaign group shows a tractor putting the finishing touches to the words, before the camera moves out and reveals […]

TOM DOLPHIN is calling on People’s Vote campaigners to arrive early to stand alongside LGBT+ people in opposing Brexit at their rally. If you are LGBT+ or an ally, we need you on Saturday. Brexit affects you as much as, if not more than, most people. Research has highlighted that 71% of LGBT+ people would […]

A pro-Brexit group said they have found themselves agreeing with Gina Miller over Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. Fishing for Leave, a spin-off of the Leave Means Leave campaign, tweeted that they had “never thought we’d agree with Gina Miller”. They said that they were in agreement Johnson’s deal was “basically the May deal” – and […]

MITCH BENN challenges you to make up for his absence at the People’s Vote march. My committed activism in the Remain cause since the 2016 referendum is fuelled in no small part by residual guilt at the knowledge that I didn’t do a damn thing to help or promote the Remain cause before the 2016 […]

The German chancellor has told a meeting of EU leaders that a Brexit extension would be unavoidable if the UK asks for it, according to reports. Sources familiar with the discussions told the Guardian that both Angela Merkel and Donald Tusk were in agreement that the extension should be granted if Boris Johnson fails to […]

How should you dress for a Brexit protest? MIA JANKOWICZ wonders whether the Remain cause could do with a makeover. This weekend’s anti-Brexit march is expected to be the biggest yet. Central London will be filled with EU flags, blue-painted faces, blue jumpers and berets with yellow stars, and other imaginative outfits in an enthusiastic […]

People would rather stop Brexit altogether than accept Boris Johnson’s plan for Brexit, a new poll reveals. According to Kantar just 20% of voters would back the new deal for Brexit – amounting to just one in five people – while one in three people (32%) would support revoking Article 50 and staying in the […]

Alastair Campbell issues a rallying call for people to join in on the People’s Vote march on Saturday. So it’s time to get the marching boots on again. London, this Saturday, midday. And there are no excuses… none… if you are a reader of this paper, the chances are you are anti-Brexit and pro a […]

TIM WALKER reviews Peter Nichols’ extraordinary 1967 play, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, which was inspired by the author’s own experience of raising his daughter. Even an actor of Laurence Olivier’s stature could not now have got away with playing Othello as it’s rightly accepted that black roles should be played by […]

The prime minister takes centre stage in Friday’s papers after an agreement on Brexit was sealed in Brussels. French paper Le Figaro calls this “the last chance for an amiable Brexit”, noting the deal must still pass through the “test” at Westminster, while Les Echos says Britain’s departure is there “by a hair’s breadth”. Flemish […]

David Cameron has given his backing to Boris Johnson’s Withdrawal Agreement in a talk that was repeatedly interrupted by protesters angry at his decision to call the referendum. https://twitter.com/GemmaLDillon/status/1184893168799617025 The former PM also revealed his nickname for Boris Johnson as he predicted the deal would pass, saying: “The thing about the greased piglet is that […]

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said that Labour will not back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal ‘because we won’t vote for anything that makes our constituents or our country poorer’. https://twitter.com/BBCBreakfast/status/1185093780417974273 He told the BBC it was a worse deal than Theresa May’s own proposals – because at least there were commitments to workers rights in […]

An attempt to rule Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal as unlawful and attempting to prevent it being voted on by MPs is set to be heard at Scotland’s highest civil court. Campaigner Jolyon Maugham QC is behind the legal challenge which will be heard at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He argues the new deal […]

An SNP MP has slammed Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal on Question Time, and warned that voting for it won’t ‘get Brexit done’ as it will be an issue for at least the next decade. Philippa Whitford was asked for her view on the proposals which MPs will vote on this weekend. The MP for Central […]

A Conservative Brexiteer MP has said that his reason for supporting Boris Johnson’s deal is that it will keep a no-deal Brexit on the table in the long run. Clarifying that he sees the spectre of no-deal as a negotiating tool rather than something he actually wants, MP John Baron pointed to next stage of […]

The relationship between the SNP and Labour is one that will shape the future of both England and Scotland. Maurice Smith reports where the latest manoeuvres involving the parties will lead. Kezia Dugdale, the former Scottish Labour leader, stood down from her post two summers ago, having failed to reverse the party’s calamitous decline at […]

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…

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Leicester, hometown of two of England’s heroes of Italia 90. But who will be the enlightened, liberal face of Remain like Gary Lineker – and who knocks out boorish pro-Brexit […]

A Brexiteer was left red-faced when his primary reason for voting to leave the EU was instantly quashed by radio presenter James O’Brien. Calling into James O’Brien’s LBC show, Martin said he’s known the European Union is “toxic” since he was a teenager, because his dairy farmer friend told him about EU milk quotas which […]

A Labour MP has claimed that between 10 and 20 party members could vote for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, against the party line. Poplar and Limehouse MP Jim Fitzpatrick. Picture: UK Parliament. – Credit: UK Parliament Although Jeremy Corbyn has spoken out against the deal and will push for a referendum on it, he has […]

Some readers fears that we are heading towards parliament accepting Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal. Almost all recent anti-Brexit effort has been directed towards stopping a no-deal outcome but I fear that enough MPs will now accept anything that Johnson brings back. Some Lexiteers will breathe a sigh of relief that any deal has been agreed, […]

Despite Boris Johnson’s claims that the EU is inflexible, they have moved considerably to give him a deal. If this recent movement towards a deal turns out to have just one benefit, it will surely be to demolish once and for all the myth of the European Union’s wilful inflexibility. It seems obvious to me […]

Former Labour MEP Mary Honeyball warns that Corbyn is leading her party – and Britain – on to the rocks. Brexit has been Jeremy Corbyn’s project as much as Theresa May’s or Boris Johnson’s. To this day he is still wittering about a Labour Brexit – Lexit – which he thinks puts jobs first and […]

The president of the EU Commission has said that he does not support the granting of any extension to Article 50 after ratifying the Withdrawal Agreement with Boris Johnson. He told gathered reporters: “We have a deal. The British PM has to make sure that the deal will pass the hurdles of Westminster. As president […]

MPs have voted to allow for a rare Saturday sitting of the House of Commons – and to allow for amendments to the government’s proposals which could pave the way for a People’s Vote. MPs supported a motion teeing up the extra session hours after the prime minister and the EU confirmed they had reached […]