News and Opinion

ZOE WILLIAMS on the pivotal role that John Bercow is destined to play this autumn to defend the constitution. I spend a lot of time at the moment thinking about the English Civil War, for obvious reasons. The parallels are enough to make a person shake their head, and shout “Seriously? We really have to […]

A no-deal Brexit could prompt a year-long upsurge in dissident republican violence in Northern Ireland, a senior police commander has said. Assistant chief constable Barbara Gray said it was too simplistic to attribute the recent spate of dissident attacks to Brexit. But the officer, who heads up the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s counter-terrorism response, […]

What’s your take on the events of the week? Let us know your views on the key questions that have emerged for Remainers this week, on everything from how to challenge prorogation to which Brexit minister has made the worst gaffe. Got other views? Email us at letters@theneweuropean.co.uk

The minister from the department for exiting the European Union has written a Twitter thread about Brexit readiness that has spectacularly backfired. Errr ... this has just dawned on you? https://t.co/1WoPkT39J5— Andrew Neil (@afneil) August 30, 2019 Amidst a £100 million government propaganda campaign about Brexit readiness, Stephen Barclay made his own priceless contribution to […]

Young anti-Brexit campaigner ANDREW HERRIDGE works in cancer services for the NHS, and grew up in the North East of England. Here he explains why he’s fighting against Boris Johnson’s plans to prorogue parliament and for a People’s Vote. As a young person from the North East, and who works for the NHS, I can […]

The Edinburgh Fringe is over for another year and Mitch Benn says it’s been a good one. So the Edinburgh Fringe is over for another year; I’m not going to start bandying figures about but suffice to say I’ve had a really good one, both in terms of audience numbers and response. This is gratifying […]

Following our article on the Eurotunnel in which a regular passenger called for a ‘quality rail experience’ some readers have lept to the defence. I enjoyed reading Victor Lewis-Smith’s article about his experiences with Eurotunnel (TNE #156), but it made me think that there must be two such services. The tunnel I use is nothing […]

Tory rebels and opposition leaders appear increasingly confident of finding a way to block a no-deal Brexit, despite the prospect of parliament shutting down temporarily. Opposition leaders in the Commons have agreed to seek a legislative change when MPs return to Westminster on September 3. Tory rebel ringleader Sir Oliver Letwin said he had been […]

Heavyweights from across the political divide have joined forces to fight Boris Johnson’s prorogation plan in the courts. Former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major, deputy Labour leader Tom Watson and Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson have thrown their weight behind a legal challenge being mounted by campaigner Gina Miller. There has been an uproar […]

Bonnie Greer looks at Donald Trump’s popularity in Tennessee My late mother was born in Nashville, the eldest of six. I always think that, somewhere in her, that fact haunted her after she moved away with her parents to the north. She would show me, sometimes, her Nashville baby picture. Then I would forget. But […]

ALASTAIR CAMPBELL says he is having to avoid the media as journalists continue to trot out Boris Johnson and Donald Trump lines as fact. Life, at least ‘the news’ part of it, is so depressing right now that I find myself avoiding television, radio and press as much as I can. Present company is excepted […]

Theresa May forgot to think about the Republic of Ireland. Boris Johnson now thinks about it too much. Neither prime minister understands the complexity of the UK and England’s long and troubled history with the island of Ireland. The necessity to maintain unfettered movement across what was once a border to end all borders between […]

The man who started the million-signature petition against prorogation says he saw the British army patrolling the Northern Irish border as a child – and he doesn’t want to see it happen again. Mark Johnston, who saw his petition go live around two weeks ago, has worked in Brussels for 17 years as a freelance […]

A cross-party group of MPs and peers have had their request for an interim interict rejected, but their full case will still be heard next week. They had called for the interim interdict until a final decision was made on the case after Johnson went ahead and announced that parliament was being suspended for five […]

Gordon Brown has claimed that the European Union will give Boris Johnson the opportunity to avoid humiliation by withdrawing the October 31st deadline. The former prime minister used a speech to claim that European leaders will withdraw the deadline when they next meet to avoid Boris Johnson having to return to EU to ask for […]

Government officials ‘war gaming’ ways to stop MPs thwarting Brexit before October 31st have considered creating more bank holidays to stop them sitting in the House of Commons. According to Buzzfeed giving the UK more bank holidays before October 31st is just one idea considered to avoid MPs having being able to fully scrutinise the […]

The government has rejected a plan to rehash an advertising campaign using the slogan ‘take back control’ – instead agreeing to a ‘get ready’ for Brexit campaign. According to The Times, Michael Gove has signed off the campaign which will be launched next week. It will kick off with a billboard campaign and a new […]

The Liberal Democrats have won the Shetland by-election, holding on to the seat despite the SNP returning a record number of votes in the island constituency. Nicola Sturgeon’s party mounted a strong campaign in the election, which was sparked by the resignation of former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott, with the first minister making […]

A judge is expected to rule on a legal challenge aimed at stopping Boris Johnson suspending parliament to help force through Brexit. A cross-party group of around 70 MPs and peers have backed the action at Scotland’s highest civil court after filing a petition earlier this summer aiming to stop the prime minister being able […]

Scores of protests are taking place over the weekend against Boris Johnson’s plan to prorogue parliament with ‘hundreds of thousands’ expected to attend. At least 32 events from anti-Brexit campaign group Another Europe Is Possible will take place in England, Scotland and Wales. and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has urged MPs to join the demonstrations […]

Doctors are warning that a no-deal Brexit is likely to delay the supply of flu vaccines, at the same moment that ‘a particularly virulent’ strain of the illness is on its way to our shores. Free flu vaccines are offered annually to those most at risk of the illness, such as the over-65s and pregnant […]

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…

A petition to stop Boris Johnson’s proroguing parliament has hit 1.5 million signatures, just a day after the prime minister announced his plans. The petition, which was created by Mark Johnston on parliament’s official petition website, states that parliament should not be prorogued unless there is another extension of the Brexit deadline or the idea […]

Downing Street has distanced itself from a suggestion from a minister that Boris Johnson’s move to prorogue parliament was motivated by Brexit. Ben Wallace was filmed speaking to French armed forces minister Florence Parly at a meeting of defence ministers in Helsinki, Finland. He appeared unaware that microphones were picking up his conversation with his […]

Readers give their views on a the prospect of a trade deal with Donald Trump, and what it will bring to our food shelves. With no-deal getting closer and the necessity of a trade deal with America therefore growing, I detect a media push to persuade us that the infamous chlorinated chicken is not all […]

Veteran political interviewer Andrew Neil is to front a new politics show on BBC Two after stepping down from hosting This Week earlier this year. The Andrew Neil Show will run through the autumn as the Brexit date approaches rounding up the political events of the week. Launching on on September 4, the 30-minute programme […]

The Conservatives who once claimed that Boris Johnson had no plans to prorogue parliament – and would be against such a measure – have gone surprisingly quiet since the prime minister announced the plans. https://twitter.com/BrexitBin/status/1167074658702766080 Boris Johnson once told Tory MPs during the leadership contest: “I am not attracted to arcane procedures such as the […]

The lord chief justice in Northern Ireland will tomorrow consider granting an immediate injunction to block the suspension of parliament. Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA. – Credit: PA Archive/PA Images At a 20-minute hearing on Thursday morning Sir Declan Norman ended his summer holiday to hear Raymond McCord’s […]