News and Opinion

Remainers are still waiting for evidence of the cunning traps Labour were going to set for the government during this process, writes one reader. Two studies have shown that Labour’s surge at the last general election was mainly due to voters perceiving them as the party who would deliver the softest Brexit, or no Brexit […]

Britain will “meet our obligations” as it leaves the EU and pay for financial commitments made as a member, a Brexiteering Cabinet minister has said amid reports that a “divorce bill” of much as £50bn has been agreed. Transport secretary Chris Grayling refused to comment on “speculation” about the final figure but acknowledged “the price” […]

There aren’t many greater symbols of the UK’s ties to Europe than the Channel Tunnel – a transport operator many are desperately trying to keep on track after Brexit Thirty years ago this month, the first spade broke ground on the Channel Tunnel, for so long a metaphor used by Europhiles and Eurosceptics alike for […]

Ministers could trigger a new Commons vote to rule out having to release their secret papers on the economic impact of Brexit in full. Brexit minister Robin Walker today faced repeated demands from Conservative MPs to develop a revised motion guaranteeing that commercial, market and negotiation-sensitive information would be excluded from material given to the […]

David Davis sent his junior minister Robin Walker to answer Labour’s Urgent Question over the Brexit impact papers this lunchtime. [View the story 'Urgent Question granted on Brexit impact papers' on Storify] MPs from across the political divide used the opportunity to turn on the government over its handling of the papers, with a number […]

The Government has been warned it could be in contempt of Parliament unless it hands full details of its assessment of the potential impact of Brexit on the economy to MPs. Brexit secretary David Davis faced a furious backlash after passing an edited version of the documents, looking at 58 sectors of the economy, to […]

Critical Brexit talks mean Britain is facing its most perilous period since the Second World War, with the stage set for a pre-Christmas crisis. But, says JONATHAN LIS, there are grounds for optimism You would not necessarily know it from reading the news, but this country is currently facing its most perilous fortnight since the […]

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox used a speech in Australia today to launch a series of volleys at voters who backed Britain remaining in the EU. At a business event in Sydney to discuss how the two countries could work together in the future Dr Fox said Remainers were “wrong” and “unable to come to […]

David Davis’s Department for Exiting the EU has finally handed over to a parliamentary committee its secret papers on the economic impact of Brexit. The handover of the documents to the Commons Committee on Exiting the EU, chaired by Labour MP Hilary Benn, came a day ahead of the deadline agreed by the Brexit Secretary. […]

He is the man many blame for Brexit. So how is David Cameron coping with the infamy, asks JANE MERRICK? At the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall earlier this month, David Cameron joined his fellow ex-Prime Ministers to commemorate the war dead by laying a wreath at the Cenotaph. It was a rare public appearance […]

This week’s New European features a powerful essay on how we can still be a force for good in the world – if we can end the neurosis and introspection. Michael Jary makes the compelling argument that Britain is neither a fading power nor a chauvinistic example of historical exceptionalism. Michael Jary is senior partner […]

Brexit-backing Labour MP Kate Hoey has been mockingly compared to Donald Trump after saying Ireland will have to pay for a physical border with Northern Ireland if Britain leaves the EU with no deal. She claimed “we won’t be putting up the border” to govern EU-UK business through Northern Ireland, even if Britain leaves without […]

Russia trolls, American bots; uber-rich non-doms, ultra-poor left-behinds. Who knows exactly who drove the UK to vote to leave the EU? And now we have reached the cliff, are we any the wiser about who is at the wheel? Will they take us over the edge or find a magical bridge that leads to nirvana? […]

The Irish border stalemate has deepened with Liam Fox saying a final decision cannot be made until a trade deal is struck. https://audioboom.com/posts/6512537-spreadsheet-phil-s-budget-mrs-may-prepares-to-make-the-eu-an-offer-and-another-brexiteer-of-the-week-is-crowned The International Trade Secretary said a final position could not be reached until it was known what the ‘end state’ of the UK-EU relationship after Brexit would be. His comments look likely […]

There is at least a 20% chance Brexit will not happen, according to Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable. The former Cabinet minister believes there is a ‘distinct possibility’ the UK could remain in the bloc even though the Article 50 has been triggered. Sir Vince acknowledged that there could be an ‘amicable divorce’ with […]

Judge Roy Moore, a 70-year-old, far-right GOP Senate candidate, has been accused of a string of historical sexual assaults and sexual harassment offences, including one involving a 14-year-old girl. And in American politics right now, he is getting an even worse press than the president. The allegations focus on a period when Moore, then a […]

Morrissey – who declared the vote to leave the EU as “magnificent” – has never voted in an election and considers himself “non-political”, he has said. The singer and former Smiths frontman, who often treats the public to his political views, told The Sunday Times Magazine: “I’m non-political. I always have been. I’ve never voted […]

Brexit pressure is mounting on the Prime Minister over rules which could be imposed on Britain during any transitional period. A leaked document stating the UK could be required to follow new rules implemented by the EU during a transition period has angered Brexiteers. The position set out by Michel Barnier would make the application […]

Theresa May today faces fresh pressure over her plans to deal with the Northern Irish border post-Brexit after Ireland’s European Commissioner urged her to change course. Phil Hogan said the problems around the border – one of the key obstacles blocking talks on a UK-EU trade deal after the country leaves the bloc – could […]

The New European’s editor-at-large on why his passionately anti-Brexit stance stems from a love of Britain Say what you like about Nigel Farage, but old Frogface sure has chutzpah. I mean there he is, waves from an alleged conspiracy about the funding and running of the Brexit campaign starting to lap over his tootsies, up […]

The UK and European Union’s plans to share out quotas for cheap food imports from countries around the world after Brexit have come under fire from Australia. The UK and EU’s plans to share out quotas for cheap food imports from countries around the world after Brexit have come under fire from Australia. Restrictions on […]

Why is MP and Brexiteer John Redwood advising readers to ‘Sell Britain’, despite claiming to have full confidence in the process? A few weeks ago, a small controversy raged online, one that deserves to be better known than it is. We can call it: ‘The Mystery of The Two John Redwoods’. At first there seemed […]

Christopher Chandler correction: In an article headlined ‘Who is hacking Brexit? And why we need our own Robert Mueller inquiry’ published on 25 November 2017, our columnist, Liam Byrne MP, claimed that Mr Christopher Chandler had ‘helped to lead a boardroom coup to emplace Alexey Miller, Putin’s deputy from St Petersburg days, as head of […]

Only 11% of the public believe the UK should leave the European Union without a deal, according to a new survey. But the same poll found that a ‘no deal’ outcome was viewed as the most likely result of ongoing Brexit talks – with 17% saying this was what they expected, compared to 16% who […]

The Prime Minister has been handed a Brexit deadline to get her deal in order or face a trade talk stalemate. European Council president Donald Tusk said Theresa May faces a ‘huge challenge’ but must make significant progress on the divorce bill and the Irish border issues if she wants to start trade talks. May […]

Dublin has intensified the pressure on Number 10 declaring Brexit will not progress until an agreement about the border is struck. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Theresa May he needs fresh assurances that a hard border will not return between Northern Ireland and the Republic post-Brexit. A Number 10 spokesman said the UK continued to look […]

A Tory MP has been accused of not taking concerns about Brexit seriously after his letter response to a constituent still contained ‘add Bob’s comments here’ at the bottom of the reply. https://twitter.com/DiamondHell/status/933966496782606337 Robert Seely, the Tory MP for the Isle of Wight, is said to have made the gaffe in a response to Twitter […]

I didn’t get much from my Twitter spat with Kylie Minogue’s songwriter, but his famous lyrics certainly sum up the mindset of Brexiteers. I won’t lie to you; this hasn’t been an easy gig this week. I don’t necessarily regard it as being my responsibility to put a comical spin on events in every issue, […]