News and Opinion

Not quite ready to laugh about Brexit? This 1960s comic classic brilliantly captures a sense of the undeniable farce the referendum vote has triggered A post shared by Vinylcollection (@vinylhoard) on Mar 5, 2017 at 4:17am PST The comic novel is one of the hardest things in literature to get right. Indeed, when you consider […]

What is Unicum and why should I drink it? https://www.instagram.com/p/BWPZ9I9gO4-/?taken-by=unicumofficial The intriguingly-named Unicum is the ‘national shot’ of Hungary, and its story is that of the nation, from its use as a popular aperitif at Habsburg balls, to its struggle for survival under communism, and its emergence as a symbol of modern Hungary. The drink […]

Plot gossip: Leaky lips in the Tory party and a look at the world beyond Brexit sniping Whose leaky lips are these? – Credit: Archant The world goes busily about its business. But British politics has been trivially distracted by Philip Hammond’s suggestion that modern trains no longer require train drivers to possess unusual physical […]

We Dutch used to make fun of the Germans and admire the Brits, says Vanessa Lamsvelt. Now, we find ourselves laughing at, not with, the UK Growing up as a northern European citizen in the 1980s and early 90s the world was so much simpler. The European Union consisted of only 12 countries, you were […]

The Cabinet is ‘united’ in backing a transitional Brexit deal which would mean continued access to migrant labour, Michael Gove has said. The prominent Brexiteer, said the Government would take a ‘pragmatic’ approach in response to suggestions Britain could maintain free movement for EU citizens during a transition period following the official separation from Brussels. […]

The Euratom row lays bare the innate flaws of Brexit. But it also gives pro-Europeans their biggest chance yet to regain the initiative Our politicians have belatedly woken up to the fact that amongst the many complex implications of Brexit are some very serious issues to do with nuclear safety, nuclear waste and nuclear medicine. […]

Richard Porritt, Steve Anglesey and Geri Scott bring you up to speed on another week in Brexit Britain. The New European team crown Brexiteer of the week and pick over another week in politics. Catch up on all #TNEpodcast episodes over on Audioboom. Like this? Leave your comments and questions below!

How did Brexit Britain lose the spirit of the 2012 Olympics? It was such a wonderful time to be alive, to be British, to feel that everyone had swallowed some kind of happiness pill that made them smile more, talk on the Tube more, for once look for the good in people and events rather […]

Brussels is holding out on the government’s hopes of continuing membership of the European health insurance scheme post-Brexit. The UK may be forced to set up its own healthcare insurance for tourists holidaying in European countries if Brussels plans to limit the scope of current rules. British negotiators want a continuation of the European Health […]

Brexiteer cabinet minister Liam Fox has reiterated the government’s widely ridiculed negotiating tactic of ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’. The Trade Secretary said the UK ‘can of course survive’ without securing a trade deal with the European Union after Brexit. May has repeatedly stated that her approach to Brexit is ‘no deal […]

The European Union’s top Brexit negotiator has demanded the government clarifies its position on citizens’ rights and stumps up a Brexit divorce bill. After four days of negotiation talks Michel Barnier said the UK and Brussels have ‘fundamental’ disagreements over citizens’ rights and there must be ‘clarification’ on Britain’s position on a number of issues. […]

Another week, another great issue packed with news, Brexit analysis and brilliant features on art, culture, film and food 1. Britain: Where did it all go wrong? Alastair Campbell on the UK’s fall from grace 2. Michael White on a weak and divided government drifting towards crisis 3. Kevin O’Sullivan: RIP common decency – welcome […]

We pick the worst Brexiteers of the week Andrew Bridgen When government advisor Lord Adonis compared Hard Brexit to the British appeasement of Hitler, a series of Tory Brexiteers popped up to complain that using the Fuhrer as a yardstick was unacceptable in modern politics. Chief among them was the intellectual heavyweight for North West […]

It is no accident that Britain’s creative sector has grown as borders have become more open. Now, decades of progress are in peril, says one of the world’s leading architects (Copyright EDP Foundation) – Credit: Archant Britain is a part of Europe – whether we’re in or out of the European Union. We’re shaped so […]

The British economy can succeed. But it needs less wishful thinking and a more hard-headed assessment of the facts Can we end austerity without bankrupting the country and our grandchildren? The answer is yes and we can learn the lessons from the turnaround of the British automotive industry. The Deputy Governor of the Bank of […]

Among some of those who can see Brexit is a disaster there is a gloomy fatalism about letting it happen anyway. That is a big mistake. ‘Brexit is clearly a terrible idea. But it has to happen.’ My heart sank when I read the headline over John Harris’s recent Guardian column, and not merely because […]

The club in Turin is a football club quite unlike any other – an institution which combines excellence and ugliness Italian Alessandro Del Piero playing for Juventus Turin. (Photo by Christian Liewig/TempSport/Corbis via Getty Images) – Credit: Corbis via Getty Images For a club started on a bench in Turin by a bunch of schoolkids, […]

After fundraising curry night in support of the Grenfell victims, our resident foodie gets creative with the leftovers – and some Aperol Spritz There was no greater example of the day after the night before than Sunday past. The first Saturday of July had been one of those contradictory collisions of community concern and corporate […]

The Vespa and Lambretta are both characterised by style, beauty and the promise of freedom. But they have divided the world into two equally fanatical set of followers. 1957 Lambretta LD 150. (Photo by National Motor Museum/Heritage Images/Getty Images) – Credit: Getty Images Vespa or Lambretta. You’re not really allowed to be a fan of […]

Just because Donald Trump doesn’t care about it, doesn’t mean climate change isn’t already having an impact in the US. The Colorado River, one of the longest rivers in the United States, is gradually shrinking. This is partly a result of overuse by municipalities and seasonal drought. The other reason is global warming. The decline […]

The idea that the British establishment is predicated on civilised values of ‘fairness’, ‘openness’ and ‘transparency’ is beginning to unravel. I was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, a British protectorate until October 9, 1962, when the country became independent. The Union Jack came down but most Brits stayed on. One of them was Mr […]

The fight against the menace of modern day piracy must start on the land, not the sea This article originally appeared on The Conversation. The Gulf of Aden has been vulnerable to piracy since 2008 when pirates escalated hijack and ransom attempts on merchant ships. Ransom demands skyrocketed to millions of dollars. But after a […]

For some in Europe Brexit offers an opportunity to prize business away from London and the UK. Vultures don’t always circle their next meal. Some of them get the plane straight to Heathrow. Others don’t have to leave the ground, arriving at St Pancras on the Eurostar from Paris or Brussels. Delegates from cities and […]

London’s economy is ‘wobbling’ due to the aftershock of the Britain’s decision to back Brexit, according to a new report. Research by think tank the Centre for London concludes that the looming EU exit could be a factor in reducing numbers of Europeans coming to the capital to work, a slowdown in job creation, declining […]

In era of Trump, Brexit and social media, it is harder than ever for children to avoid politics. Is that a good thing? My nine-year-old daughter’s birthday… We’ve had the cake, the surfeit of presents and the questionable snacks, and now it’s time for big brother’s puppet show. I pop out of the room, expecting […]

Spiritual leader of the Leavers; cult figure on social media; future prime minister? It’s been a good week for fans of haunted drainpipes, Victorian undertakers, or cartoon giraffes with monocles that drop from their eyes every time they see an uncouth hippo. Jacob Rees-Mogg is back in the news, and now our only hope is […]

Legacy publishers such as the Mail and the Sun are condemning the environment they create There used to be an easy way to tell if legacy news publishers were talking positively or negatively about the internet. If they prefaced it with ‘online-‘, it was good – online banking, for instance. But if it was preceded […]

Things are now so grim in Brexit Britain – there is no hero riding to the rescue – but it’s not too late to rethink I expected, by now, to be coming round to the idea of Brexit. A lot of my friends were Outers – clever folk with whom I agree on much else. […]

British broadcasting’s big hitter who is still awaiting his rightful BBC inheritance. The writing is on the wall for the grumpy old men who have dominated the airwaves ever since Sir Robin Day first snapped impatiently at an unsuspecting politician. In the same way that Theresa May won the election but has clearly been mortally […]

Really Theresa May? Consensus? With the ‘saboteurs’, the ‘enemies of the people’? Say what you like about George Orwell, but the man was even-handed in his scorn for political thuggery: having been shot in the throat while fighting as a volunteer against Franco’s fascists in the Spanish Civil War, he then came home and wrote […]

Chancellor Philip Hammond has launched a ferocious counter-attack on cabinet rivals who have been briefing against him claiming Brexiteers are behind the plots. He accused them of trying to undermine his attempts to secure a Brexit deal which protected jobs and the economy. Hammond has been hit by a series of press reports claiming the […]

How the world’s leaders are failing in the face of the Russian threat. Putin and Trump – Credit: Archant Last week’s G20 summit in Hamburg was overshadowed by the much-anticipated first meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Expectations were so low for Trump in this encounter that it’s almost impressive how he managed to […]