British Politics

Mitch Benn discusses why Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is not what the UK needs. I have good news and bad news. The good news is: you’re not going mad. The bad news is: you’re not going mad. Yeah, sorry about that. There are times when it might be comforting to be able to dismiss the […]

Steve Bannon appoints Michael Seed as chaplain to his controversial right wing institute, David Cameron competes with his former ‘gatekeeper’ to get his memoirs out first, the Today show silences another Remain voice and the Daily Express says ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to Gina Miller Michael Seed – the so-called ‘priest to the stars’ who […]

The desire to vote against something or someone you oppose will only get you so far, says MITCH BENN, at some point you have to vote for something. I’ve got a lot of time for Tom Watson. I’ve met him a couple of times and he’s always been personable and sincere. He turned up to […]

David Cameron is not prepared to risk a promotional tour for his memoirs that coincides with Brexit happening, Michael Gove builds up war chest for leadership campaign, BBC irks staff by putting in for diversity and inclusion award and how Greta Thunberg rendered Lord Lawson speechless. Swedish environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty […]

Rupert Murdoch has been told to shut up about Brexit on Twitter by Jerry Hall, the politicisation of the BBC press office, how Mandrake got a passport emblazoned with the words European Union… and how Annunziata Rees-Mogg has been struggling for a role in life. Annunziata Rees-Mogg, sister of Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, speaks at […]

MITCH BENN on the benefit of taking some time to regroup and plan. Ian Cognito, who died on stage. Picture: Contributed – Credit: Archant Some people have expressed alarm that, having fixed upon the in-no-way significant or ominous date of October 31 as the new deadline for resolving Brexit (one way or another), parliament then […]

Like Trump fans, Leave voters aren’t dismissing themselves as less intelligent. It’s their own leaders who think they’re ignorant. As active and vocal Remainers, we are often reminded of the importance of not yielding to the temptation of dismissing Leave voters as stupid or ignorant (and, moreover, of congratulating ourselves on our supposed intellectual superiority) […]

Gina Miller reacts with chutzpah to a petition to silence her, Nigel Farage knows Dad’s Army scripts by heart and Christopher Booker sets an example for Telegraph colleagues. Although somewhat pre-occupied at the present time, Theresa May is being invited to consider whether Gina Miller should keep her thoughts about Brexit to herself. A change.org […]

Mitch Benn says the Remain movement is still in full voice as Brexiteers call for the government to get on with it. It’s exhausting, this Brexit thing, isn’t it? Even if you’re not tasked with following and commenting on the whole slowly unravelling fustercluck on a semi-professional basis, just trying to keep up with each […]

MITCH BENN says there should be awkward questions for the people who’ve been making a living peddling so-called ‘polite racism’. I found myself being interviewed on Turkish television last week, on the subject of Brexit in general and Mr Tragical Misery Tour himself, Nigel Farage. I was asked if I thought Nigel Farage was a […]

Life as a Brexit true believer would be so much easier, writes MITCH BENN, but self-righteousness helps no-one in the long run. Something remarkable – indeed perhaps unprecedented – happened on last weekend’s Andrew Marr Show. A Brexiter told the truth about Brexit. Jeremy Hunt – for ’twas he – reflected on how easy it […]

Steve Anglesey on the commemorative tat celebrating Brexit and the Brexiteers of the Week. ‘A delay to Article 50 is not inevitable,’ declared the soothsayer Liam Fox the other day, prompting Expedia’s servers to crash as scores of political journalists began searching for ‘cheap holidays around March 29’. If Mr Easiest-Deal-In-Human-History says something is on […]

While much of the country consists of the sort of constituency wherein, to quote the late great Alan B’stard, they’d elect a hatstand if you stuck the right colour rosette on it, hatstands is what we’ll get. Events are developing at a dizzying rate, and I’m currently suffering the after-effects of some not entirely successful […]

‘If TIG should call by-elections so should the MPs in the ERG or linked to Momentum’ Labour and Tory representatives say MPs in the Independent Group (TIG) should call by-elections in their seats as they were originally elected on another party’s manifesto. If this is the case, why is it that MPs such as those […]

Why The Independent Group must work to earn the support of Remainers. There is, as they say, nothing new under the sun; every event, however startling and novel, has its roots and causes in previous events, and similarly, every event, however unusual, will find its echo somewhere in subsequent events. It’s not often, however, that […]

We are writing as active and committed members of the Labour Party because we feel our voice is being ignored by our own party. We enthusiastically voted for Jeremy Corbyn precisely because he promised to listen to his members and put them at the heart of everything he did. We believed that and went on […]

There’s precious little in the news other than Brexit, but not much in the overall situation is actually changing. I think I’m experiencing a kind of Brexit numbness. On the one hand, there’s precious little else in the news right now, as is entirely appropriate given that we’re about six weeks away from an act […]

Laudable as they seem, attempts to tackle terrorism with science risk going horribly wrong

With so many reasons to abandon Brexit, writes MITCH BENN, Remain is winning the battle by a significant margin. There are literally hundreds of compelling reasons to abandon Brexit, and precisely one reason to go ahead with it. Every week that passes provides us with another couple of dozen entries for the ‘really very good […]

The Queen has attempted to rejoin the current political extremes over Brexit by pleading for a (presumably) centrist common ground on the issue. As a staunch Remainer, this for me will be impossible unless and until we have a second referendum. The first one was based on lies, alternative facts, deceit, project fear, financial irregularities […]

MITCH BENN discusses why links between Brexit and how it compares to past wars Britain have been involved in should not be made. I’ve long thought that there should be some sort of ‘swear box’ system in operation in political journalism, except with interviewees being required to cough up for clichés rather than profanities. I […]

MITCH BENN discusses the problems with a no deal Brexit and what the works no deal have become. Almost immediately after the spectacular failure of the prime minister’s Withdrawal Agreement last week, the question was asked throughout the land: ‘Okay, so now what?’ And this question was answered by everyone: ‘Literally nobody knows.’ However, one […]

Readers welcome the scrapping of charges for EU citizens and have thoughts on ideas for Theresa May’s Plan B. The announcement of the scrapping of the charge for application for settled status of EU citizens is to be welcomed. The government should go one step further and grant to these same citizens the right to […]

As the vote on Theresa May’s Plan A replica approaches, with the Irish backstop still the critical obstacle, many will find it inexplicable that the party propping her up, the Democratic Unionists, are virtually the sole representative voice in Westminster for Northern Ireland where 56% voted Remain in 2016. Meanwhile the party representing the majority […]

Cowardice and appeasement in the face of thuggery is always deplorable but there’s a specific reason it’s a bad idea in this instance, says MITCH BENN SKZ cartoons – Credit: Archant In a previous column I dealt with the concept of ‘privilege’, in as much the word is used with regard to the concept of […]

Mitch Benn provides a handy guide on how to tackle the most common arguments supporting Brexit. Last week, you may remember, I promised to enumerate some of the most frequently trotted-out arguments in favour of Brexit and against a final deal vote, along with some handy responses, should you wish to, in rhetorical terms, ‘take […]

Readers of The New European give their verdict on Channel 4’s Brexit film. Forgive me if I don’t join the chorus of approval for Brexit: The Uncivil War. As well as lying about the £350 million and Turkey, Vote Leave broke electoral rules and have been referred to the police by the Electoral Commission. They […]

Mitch Benn on why the real 2019 is going to be weirder than sci-fi’s vision of the future My favourite movie is Blade Runner. Specifically the original 1982 theatrical cut. That’s the one I saw when it came out, that’s the version which was the first (and for a while only) movie I owned on […]

A People’s Vote – or a second referendum – is the opportunity to give Britons that second chance to stop and think, writes BOB HALE. How many times have we heard someone say ‘in hindsight I would not have said that or in hindsight not done this’? Those of us supporting a People’s Vote are […]

A grouchy MITCH BENN stays up late hatching a plot to finally put an end to Brexit. Every Leaver in Britain loved Brexit a lot… But the Gritch, who lived just outside London, Did NOT! The Gritch hated Brexit! The whole Brexitshambles! So he sat in his shed and he grumbled and rambled. It could […]

Suffering from Brexit burnout? MITCH BENN takes solace in the world of Doctor Who If, like me, you’re suffering from Brexit Burnout or just so bewildered by the rapidity and randomness of current events, you might find it quite therapeutic to give your aching grey cells a bit of a rest. With that in mind, […]

MITCH BENN discusses how closely politics and Christmas should be linked. I come to report a disturbing development; in previous years (yes, this is now the third December in which I’ve been writing this column – doesn’t time fly when you’re mired in existential despair) I’ve noted that one bit of reactionary idiocy we’ve thus […]