Opinion

As a long-standing centre-right Tory voter for more than 60 years, I am appalled by the extremist slide which has moved the party too far to the right for my taste. In fact, it has become so right wing that it is similar to the Republican Party in the US, something which is contrary to […]

Why those attacking the BBC are picking the wrong target. For almost two and a half thousand years, political leaders have been warned against the dangers of shooting the messenger, and for much of that time the message has gone unheeded. Such is the risk for frustrated Brexit opponents focused on the BBC as a […]

The Daily Mail’s theatre critic has been accused of racism in his review of a play, says BONNIE GREER. He certainly doesn’t understand theatre Twitter has just experienced a first: a theatre critic set it ablaze. That milestone belongs to the Daily Mail’s parliamentary sketch-writer by day and theatre reviewer by night, Quentin Letts. He […]

Barry Gardiner’s comments were arguably worse than Owen Smith’s, but he kept his job. Why? Two shadow cabinet ministers. One, Owen Smith, called for a referendum on the final Brexit deal – admittedly in a break with Labour policy – and was swiftly sacked by leader Jeremy Corbyn. This in spite of the fact that […]

Anette Schweizer argues that Remain needs to put a positive spin on freedom of movement to win the argument… I moved to the UK from Germany five years ago and live in a small market town in the East Midlands, in an average, middle-classy residential area. I love talking to all sorts of people from […]

David Miliband’s latest Brexit intervention makes perfect sense – let’s hope people are listening. At the end of a week when some in the centre have dared to dream about a return for the best Labour leader the party never had, Miliband has warned that Brexit could land Britain in real danger. And he is […]

Thomas Harris encourages The New European readers to ensure their friends and family are all registered to vote in the local elections… Theresa May asked the electorate last year to endorse her hard Brexit posturing. It delivered no such endorsement but she has carried with it on regardless. May’s ministers have continued to ‘negotiate’ with […]

Knowing what we know now, how do we respond to Wagner and Woody? Changing cultural attitudes are forcing this question on all of us, says Bonnie Greer Walking through Tate Modern’s once-in-a lifetime exhibition, Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame, Tragedy, it is impossible not to think of the relationship of the genius and his muse. […]

So. Yeah. Easter. Bit of a weird one. For all that Easter is in many ways the direct counterpart festival to Christmas, the yin to Yuletide’s yang, as it were, it’s always been very much the junior partner. It’s just not as big a deal, for all that in theological terms the two festivals ‘bookend’ […]

The EU has more democratic checks than any other international structure we belong to. EU legislation requires approval both of those directly elected MEPs and of the Council, composed of national ministers accountable to national parliaments. The EU’s central administration, the Commission is headed by a team of Commissioners, each one nominated by the Prime […]

Tens of thousands of us march against Brexit in Leeds, Edinburgh, Brighton, Oxford and the rest making it onto the national news agenda. A handful of Brexiteers throw dead fish off a boat and the coverage is everywhere. This will shock some TNE readers but it isn’t an example of mainstream media bias against Brexit. […]

‘Exposure of Cambridge Analytica’s links with Vote Leave has obviously touched a raw nerve’ claims Anthony West. By crying foul at the Observer and Channel 4 and also haranguing journalist Carole Cadwalladr in the process, all Isabel Oakeshott did on the Marr show was to betray her anxiety that something was obviously amiss as far […]

Jeremy Corbyn’s dismissal of Owen Smith is yet more evidence that Labour is just as bad as the Conservatives when it comes to Brexit. Both are pursuing a disastrous Brexit with catastrophic outcomes as the end scenario. This is further illustrative of the long-standing fact that the 48% do not have a place in either […]

The Sun yesterday acknowledged its story on lower prices after Brexit was false. But Jacob Rees-Mogg, who enthusiastically endorsed it, remains shtum It was, by any standards, a belter of a clarification. Appearing on page 2 of The Sun yesterday, it ran to 214 words – incredibly, longer than the original article it was correcting. […]

We should recognise that however charmingly it is sold, what Rees-Mogg is selling is toxic, and not fit for consumption, says JAMES BALL During his early years in parliament, Jacob Rees-Mogg was a joke. Despite being the multi-millionaire part-owner and manager of a hedge fund, with hard-right homophobic and anti-choice views, his faux aristocracy was […]

Michael Romberg doesn’t believe Jeremy Corbyn will ever change his mind on Brexit – here he explains why. Those who hope that Jeremy Corbyn will change his line (Zoe Williams, The New European, issue 87) should imagine what his conversion-to-Remain speech would have to say. The first line is easy: ‘The deal that Theresa May […]

The entire web is built on the exploitation of our data, says JAMES BALL. The latest scandal asks serious questions – not just of the tech giants but of ourselves Every day we are all bought, sold, and traded dozens if not hundreds of times. Each time we click ‘search’ on the internet, companies compete […]

An anti-Brexit boyband has set off on their first European tour – and already they are wowing the crowds. Sir Nick Clegg, Lord Heseltine and Lord Adonis kicked off their tour of European capitals in Dublin by bashing Theresa May over the Irish border issue. Former deputy prime minister Sir Nick said: ‘We remain as […]

It is time to face the fact that Washington’s ‘special relationship’ is now with Moscow, writes MITCH BENN. There’s an inherent risk in writing on the topic of the many and varied scandals and intrigues which currently beset the Trump administration; that is, by the time you publish something, it is a pretty safe bet […]

In this week’s Brexit Deconstructed, JAMES BALL reflects on world events and the challenge Britain faces protecting itself post-Brexit. In the grim aftermath of the Salisbury poisonings, the challenges facing Theresa May – and the UK – in a post-Brexit future on the international stage become all too clear: the UK is simultaneously too big […]

Stephen Bayley wants to set the record straight on our original membership of the European Community – it was never just about trade, he argues. Reading the Wilson government’s leaflet about the 1975 referendum, sent to every household in the country, is a very interesting exercise. For one thing, it dispels one of the big […]

Expect much crowing from the government about the deal on the transitional period. Theresa May and David Davis will tell you this is a triumph and that Brexit is on track – sunlit uplands here we come … But that is not quite true. The European Union has made some compromises. But compare them to […]

Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the prime minister’s action over the Russian spy poisoning scandal was met with condemnation. And it was not just the government benches shaking their heads as he fell short of fully backing the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomatic staff – among other sanctions – but also many on his own side. […]

MITCH BENN examines tweets from an organisation that claims to be returning conservatism to the grassroots A tweet appeared a few days ago from the group Activate UK; this organisation describes its objective in its Twitter ‘bio’ as ‘Creating a united platform for young conservatives and returning power to the grassroots’. Leaving aside the slightly […]

Fascism arises when people have a yearning for order and peace at any cost, says BONNIE GREER A recent image stands out. It is the sight of Vladimir Putin. He strides across a long expanse of stage to a rapturous standing ovation. He stands at a lectern, a huge backdrop behind him. The image on […]

It might not be getting many column inches, but what is currently happening in the Upper House is encouraging. Peers are conducting their detailed, line-by-line analysis of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill during its marathon committee stage. And so far it has not made pleasant viewing for the government. The bill has been pulled apart and […]

Alan Quinn argues that the Conservatives are putting party before country on Brexit, jobs and manufacturing. The recent article in The New European about the threat to our automotive industry is a stark reminder to us all about the insanity of Brexit. As my union Unite points out, one million well-paid jobs depend on this […]

In this week’s Brexit Deconstructed, JAMES BALL discusses how Trump’s ‘America First’ policy is bad news for the UK The UK is leaving the largest economic union of nations on the planet – which also happens to be right on its doorstep – and pinning its hopes on a new deal with the second largest. […]