News and Opinion

As Trump scraps tax reform and Alabama shocks the world PAUL CONNEW looks at the two sides of a nation divided. Steve Bannon. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images. – Credit: Getty Images Maxim is frequently preceded by another word. Old. Can I suggest a new maxim to Donald Trump? Back a bigot who thinks the wrong […]

Jeremy Corbyn is facing calls for Labour to combine with other opposition parties to keep Britain in the EU single market and the customs union. The SNP’s leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, has issued an appeal for cross-party co-operation to prevent the ‘catastrophic damage’ of an ‘extreme’ Brexit. His intervention came as Corbyn rejected calls […]

For some, freedom of movement might just be jargon. For musician ANNEKE SCOTT it is a way of life. But for how much longer? I am a classical musician and love my job. Based in London, I work throughout Europe for many different ensembles, alongside musicians from every corner of the continent. We learn from […]

Dagenham is synonymous with automobile manufacturing and the go-getter attitude of the working class willing to put in a hard day’s graft and reap the rewards. But times have changed. WikiTRIBUNE’s JACK BARTON and LYDIA MORRISH report. At its height Dagenham was the home to motor giant Ford’s European heart beat. Built in 1931 the […]

Anthea McDowell writes that she is feeling more hopeful about the next 12 months in politics compared to this time last year. As 2018 approaches I find myself considerably more hopeful than at this time last year, when the twin blows of Brexit and Trump made it hard for many of us to get out […]

Manipulation and abuse of power doesn’t always take place behind closed doors. RICHARD GUNDERMAN looks back on one of the most controversial films in cinema. Today’s news is awash with allegations of behind the scenes sexual assaults involving prominent figures, with intense scrutiny of the ethics and behaviour involved. It is a subject I cover […]

ANGELA JAMESON ​looks back on a troubled year for the UK economy, with more perils lying ahead in 2018. As the year draws to a close, that big red bus drives back into focus. The Financial Times has made a good stab of trying to work out what Brexit has actually cost the UK economy […]

New pressure is mounting on the Government to release studies into the potentially devastating impact Brexit could have on the economy. Twenty-five Labour MPs have written to Chancellor Philip Hammond calling on him to release the material after he disclosed the work was being carried out during a recent session of the Commons Treasury Committee. […]

Tory peer and former deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine has suggested that a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn would be less damaging for the country than Brexit. In the claims, which will surprise some within the Conservative Party, he said that although he believed a Labour government would be bad for the country, Brexit […]

The former Chancellor claimed he was ‘not keen’ on the decision by David Cameron to stage a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. Osborne, who campaigned strongly for Remain, said he had always been ‘gloomy’ about the likely result of last year’s vote. However he said he had not wanted to create difficulties for […]

As the year comes to a close JAMES BALL looks ahead to 2018 and what may be in store for Brexit. We’re finally limping towards the finish line: 2017 is coming to an end, and many of us will be getting ready to spend the Christmas break with our extended families – many of whom […]

The new colour passport will be a colour of shame for a narrow-minded view of the world, writes STEVEN DOWNES. There’s nothing like a British victory to lift the spirits as the year tails off. And what a victory. After almost 30 years of humiliation and subjugation, we will rid ourselves of… burgundy passports. Raise […]

A group of Leave-backing Tory MPs are recommending that European Union nationals are charged £10 for a visa to enter Britain after Brexit. It calls for the UK to introduce a visa waiver system, similar to the United States’ ESTA, to raise £150 million a year to pay for border control after Brexit. The report, […]

To round off the year, The New European columnist MITCH BENN turns E-BENN-ezer for this re-imagining of a Christmas classic. After encounters with the ghosts of Brexits past, present and future, will he find enlightenment in time for the big day? The referendum was over. That must be clearly understood, or nothing wonderful can come […]

Remain politicians have poured scorn on plans to bring back the blue cover for the British passport. The spat was sparked by a Home Office announcement that British passports will again have blue covers once the UK has left the EU in 2019. The new design, which will no longer include the EU insignia, will […]

Famous for ‘not doing God’, ALASTAIR CAMPBELL interviews the Archbishop of Canterbury. The only regular journalism I do, in addition to my role with The New European, is a monthly interview for GQ magazine. Sadly, the general lack of balls among current top flight politicians means the handful of Cabinet ministers the public have heard […]

Readers had plenty to say this week about Nigel Farage’s claim he’s ’53, separated and skint’. Nigel Farage says he is ’53, separated and skint’. It is probably the first time one of his sentences has been two-thirds accurate, but the last bit really bugs me. Because Farage is plainly not skint. He earns £90,000 […]

Almost half of Scots would back an independent Scotland that remained in the European Union, if a second referendum was held in early 2019, a new poll suggests. The Panelbase research conducted for pro-independence blog Wings over Scotland found that 49% would vote for an independent Scotland in the EU if a second referendum on […]

A former director of Vote Leave has told the Commons he was aware of ‘a certain amount of odd-looking cyber activity’ during the EU referendum campaign. Senior Tory MP Bernard Jenkin even speculated that the Government’s online voter registration system crashed because of a cyber attack, claims which are denied by the Government. Mr Jenkin […]

As Alabama elects its first Democrat in almost a quarter of a century BONNIE GREER discusses what this means for the both sides of the Brexit argument. I told my taxi driver that since the odds were that we would never meet again, we could be straight with one another. I said that I was […]

I love it when Boris Johnson talks dirty in order to get some attention. This time of year is always tough for the emotionally needy. Whichever way you spin it, roast turkey and King’s College Choir, presents under the tree and Baby Jesus in his crib, there is no way that Christmas is all about […]

The Brexit department has been mocked after publishing ‘sectoral analyses’ revealing that electricity is vital for light and heating, fishing is important to coastal communities and postal services are used to supply goods. The reports also explain what an aeroplane is and how they are useful for conducting trade between countries, and features some sections […]

STEVE ANGLESEY adapts a few Christmas classics for New European readers in the mood for a singalong. Altogether now… (To the tune of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) Boris the Bare-Faced Liar Had an ever-growing nose Each time he told a porky It looked like Pinocchio’s All of the Remain voters Used to laugh and call […]

Editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on how William Shakespeare, the King of Word-Invention, provides us with the language to describe Brexit I learned a terrific new French word recently. I like learning new words. Some new words are awful, like Brexit, which did not exist even a few years ago, and now is one of the most […]

While the Telegraph has never been shy about its politics, it was once known for its tolerance and diversity of views. Not any more, says its former diarist TIM WALKER It seems a comical notion now, but The Daily Telegraph once recommended Gina Miler for a peerage. We’re going back a few years, of course, […]

The big guns – Boris, DD, Farage – all had pleasingly tricky years. But here STEVE ANGLESEY picks out 20 unsung zeroes who brought their side of the argument into even bigger disrepute. 20. FRANCIS BASHIR Leader of the Royal Disciple Church, a Pakistani Christian sect which worships Nigel Farage. Congregants believe that the nicotine-stained […]

He had to go – but it is very bad news for Theresa May. In normal circumstances Damian Green would not have been able to hang on this long. But these are not normal times and the Prime Minister was desperate to cling on to her closest political friend. He is more than that to […]

Anti-Brexit campaigners on Twitter are referencing the hashtag #FBPE in their posts and profile names to help build up a grassroots community of pro-EU posters. The hashtag – which stands for ‘Follow Back, Pro EU’ – was created after campaigners sensed there was appetite for more grassroots networking on Twitter. Campaigners claimed that a pro-EU […]

It’s been another ludicrous year in Brexit politics – but what do you remember of some of the most preposterous moments? 2017 is almost over – a year political scientists are saying was the most ridiculous since 2016. But what can you remember of some of the most outstandingly silly moments? Try our quiz and […]

RICHARD PORRITT with the week’s big stories, including a diplomatic spat between Austria and Italy It is Christmas drinks season in Westminster, when journalists are tempted by cheap white wine and nibbles. The Number 10 event included invites to many of the biggest names in the UK media, to hear Theresa May chatting about her […]

After the death of the scheme’s creator, Erasmus graduate JACK ARSCOTT describes his mind-altering university experiences and why they should not be denied to others Erasmus of Rotterdam is buried in the red sandstone cathedral in Basel, a Swiss city with regional bus lines connecting it with France and Germany and an excavated Roman town […]

What is the likelihood, asks PAUL CONNEW, of the findings of the Mueller probe ever coming to light? Donald Trump is already behind bars in jail. The problem is, he’s an all-too-colluding prisoner happy to lock the cell door behind him. For the last few days have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that […]