News and Opinion

All the news, reaction and analysis on May 5. .

Seeing through the parallel universe of slogans, soundbites and slavish supporters It was, said one of Robert Peston’s team, ‘the closest she will get to a TV debate, having you there glowering at her’. The ‘she’ in question was Theresa May, and as Peston interviewed her, I was sitting in what they insist on calling […]

On the panel tonight Paul Nuttall, David Davis and Rebecca Long-Bailey. .

This is an election like no other. Labour candidates saying there is no way their leader can win; the Tories insisting he can Spitting Image – where are you when we need you most? How tragic that the young generation we need to engage in our politics do not, as I discovered in a school […]

Election updates, news and reaction on May 4. .

Halloumi, edam, camembert? Which is your favourite European cheese? 1) Afuega’l Pitu, Spain Its name is derived from the local Asturian dialect and means ‘choking cake’, because its unusual texture can make it stick to the palate 2) Almnäs Tegel, Sweden Its distinctive ‘slab’ shape is an homage to the bricks used to build the […]

All the election news, reaction and analysis on May 3. .

10 myths about the June vote debunked 1) Theresa May needs a big majority to handle Brexit Article 50 negotiations. Not true. She has won every vote in the House of Commons with support from Labour MPs looking over their shoulder at their working class voters after the referendum. After the election, last June’s vote, […]

It would be bliss to elect a pro-EU government that would ditch Brexit, says A C Grayling Theresa May might have had any one of three reasons for calling a General Election. One is that she was in danger of losing her Commons majority because so many Tory MPs are under investigation for alleged election […]

The truth behind the headlines and the claims that Britain’s Press is rabid and running wild ‘Hypocrite … the most dangerous women in Britain … shambolic … rambling …’ the insults levelled at our party leaders are brutal. And on the political sidelines it doesn’t ease up – we have Sir Shifty, Lord Sleaze, Sir […]

It is one of the great Brexit paradoxes: farmers voted in high numbers to leave the EU, yet no other group benefits as much from European largesse https://infogr.am/food_and_drink_exporters The referendum unmasked great divides in modern Britain, young and old, north and south, Scottish and English, but none felt as stark as urban versus rural. We […]

Election news, updates and reaction on May 2. .

This former Tory MP and the current chairman of the European Movement is battling Brexiteers – including ones from his own party. Our central message in this election is that Europe trumps party. We say that not because we are citizens of nowhere, but because we believe that the drift towards nationalist isolation represents a […]

My name is Emma Jones and I’m a Lib Dem. There. I’ve said it. Now others need to end their denial Say it loud: ‘I’m Lib Dem and I’m Proud.’ It’s always going to be a tough one for Tim Farron to pull off like James Brown – even if he was rallying the 12,000 […]

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker fears Brexit talks will collapse after a disastrous meeting with Theresa May. Juncker walked out of the Downing Street talks saying he was ’10 times more sceptical than before’. Opposition parties warned the UK was heading for a ‘disastrous hard Brexit’ after a detailed account of their meeting last week […]

With the splintering of the left could this be a big election of the Greens? In the coming week’s politicians from all parties will be writing in these pages trying to persuade you to vote for them. Their pitch will, no doubt, be pro-European and liberal – identifying the good readers of The New European […]

Election news, updates and reaction on May 1. .

All the news, reaction and analysis on Sunday April 30. .

Our Editor at Large sticks up for Joey Barton, and sticks it to the hypocrites happy to hand over football to booze and betting firms First, a declaration of interest, that might upset the more sensitive among you … Joey Barton is a pal of mine. When I was drawing mild abuse for defending him […]

European leaders have come together to back a tough negotiating position on Brexit. The 27 remaining members states formally agreed their talks strategy at a special European Council meeting in Brussels. Council president Donald Tusk tweeted the outcome of their discussions, saying: ‘Guidelines adopted unanimously. EU 27 firm and fair political mandate for the Brexit […]

All the news, reaction and analysis on April 29. .

Our resident Brexiteer takes his own very particular (and not at all partisan look) at this week’s shenanigans Tory election poster – Credit: Archant Right, let’s get this over with right from the start. I voted for Brexit, shock horror! Why, you may ask, did our esteemed editor recruit a Leave supporter to the serried […]

We pick out the worst Leavers of a week in which people came together and united behind the opportunities which lie ahead. Probably. 10. Graeme Souness The permanently furious former player/manager/moustache abandoner/pundit capped a trademark rant about English teams trying to adopt a ‘tap-tap-tap’ European style by admitting he’d voted Leave. Appearing on Irish channel […]

The problem is that these days, it’s not the physical danger that usually brings about a fear – or panic attack – but an emotional one. Fear: don’t you just hate it? That gnawing anxiety attacking your belly and bowels, those sweaty palms, inability to focus, broken sleep? We’ve all read about what’s going on […]

All the news, updates and reaction from April 28. .

Is it time for toughness to discourage further defections or for accommodation to a changing public mood across the Union? This summer’s accidental collision between a French presidential election and a British general election offers splendid opportunities for selective outrage on both sides of La Manche. How can those woad-wearing Brits stage an unnecessary election […]

When the most feeble government of recent memory describes itself as strong. When they have the gall to bandy the word chaos about when our country has never been more chaotic thanks to their referendum and subsequent fall-out, when the Opposition refuses to bring clarity to the one issue this election will be decided on, […]

Zen And The Art Of Brexit ‘When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called a Religion.’ – Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance To adapt the classic quote from Pirsig, who died this week: ‘When one person suffers […]