News and Opinion

ason Williamson is one half of the Sleaford Mods – probably Britain’s most political band, and certainly its angriest. And there is little that makes him as angry as Brexit. Here, he takes aim at Leavers, trolls and much more I get a lot of trolls on Twitter, and I’d been taunting them the night […]

This is the new political language of the emoji Later this year, emojis for the national flags of England, Scotland and Wales are being released. This will be welcome news for those wanting to cheer on the sporting exploits of the home nations. But does it have any deeper political significance? Is it merely a […]

Immigration was, by most accounts, the deciding factor in the EU referendum. Warnings about the economy, promises of £350m for the health service, even bendy bananas played their part. But nothing pushed the voters’ buttons as much as the idea of more people landing on our shores. Number of immigration stories in the Daily Mail […]

‘We now face the most momentous peacetime decision,’ said Heseltine, as Lords hand government their second Brexit bill defeat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn72WM2MJFk

Confused by another week in Brexit? We round up the losers and the losers (because there are no winners) of another crazy seven days on Planet Brexit 10. Paul Nuttall (RE-ENTRY) Having failed to become the new MP for Stoke – where he once played with distinction alongside the great Stanley Matthews – UKIP’s hapless […]

Despite all the promises made by Brexiteers, immigration may even rise as a result of the referendum Britain has a successful economy because it is open to clever, talented people from overseas. That is not a snippet from Tony Blair’s recent speech nor a pitch for votes made by Nick Clegg at the height of […]

From brown shoes to foreign lorry drivers, computers to oral sex, the list is as varied as it is perplexing 1. Bremoaners An ugly portmanteau (they are ‘Remoaners’ in the Daily Express) with an ugly meaning. Anyone concerned about Brexit is deemed ‘unpatriotic’, ‘whingeing’ and ‘contemptuous’ 2. Dentists After a US dentist killed a lion […]

The latest production at the National Theatre is a Brexit-inspired play based on a national conversation sparked by the referendum. (Sarah Lee) – Credit: Archant Brexit has produced a great deal of talking, but perhaps not quite so much listening. At least, until now. The response to last year’s referendum from the National Theatre was […]

She is married to a Briton, has lived here almost 30 years and raised a family here. Yet Irene Clennell found herself deported from the UK last week. Irene met John Clennell in London in the late 1980s. In 1990, they got married in the city before settling in his native north east. Here, they […]

Brexit has given new life to the Scottish National Party’s obsession for a new vote on independence The geography of politics in the UK has utterly shifted – and in Scotland, as usual, we have our own twist. Labour are acting out some sort of Shakespearean play as Jeremy Corbyn is Theresa May’s ineffective body […]

He revels in his role as shameless self-publicist, aficionado of the feud and defender of The Donald. But the real Piers Morgan is a more nuanced, more sympathetic character than his foes give him credit for. If Gore Vidal was right that every time a friend succeeds you die a little, having Piers Morgan as […]

Whatever you think about Nigel Farage he is blockbuster television. But is the BBC enabling his ring-wing rhetoric? Getty – Credit: Archant We need to talk about Nigel. The last time it was announced that he was to appear on Question Time, an audible groan arose from the audience. His interrogation by Piers Morgan a […]

The Peers should be heeded – most have been around for considerably longer than their friends in the Commons Who says most of the old folk voted for Brexit? Michael Heseltine (84 this month) certainly didn’t, as he noisily made clear again at the weekend. Nor did his more reticent sparring partner and ex-deputy, John […]

With the triggering of Article 50 due this month, Keir Starmer outlines what Labour will fight to achieve from Brexit – and acknowledges what the process cannot resolve It is eight months and eight days since the Referendum. Although there has been no end of debate over Brexit in that time, it has too often […]

In a devastating attack on his own party, former Labour minister Charles Clarke accuses the ‘incoherent’ Opposition of colluding in a damaging version of Brexit Labour’s confusion and incoherence in response to the EU referendum, eight months ago, has given the Conservatives a free ride. It must not go on. Labour’s starting point should be […]

Peers vote by an overwhelming majority of 102 to guarantee rights of EU nationals in UK Opposition parties, who backed the amendment, urged ministers to take the opportunity to rethink their position on EU nationals, amid concern among many Conservative MPs and peers. The Government has always argued that while it wants to secure the […]

Britain isn’t in the last chance saloon yet There’s still an outside chance of avoiding Brexit altogether. As Theresa May hurtles towards triggering Article 50, there are three main scenarios: Hard Brexit; Very Hard Brexit; and no Brexit at all. I put the chances at roughly 60%, 30% and 10% respectively. But these percentages are […]

The world’s most famous Frenchman, a racist hangover of colonialism, the anti-Peter Pan, or simply a very dapper, fun-loving elephant? Babar’s Guide to Paris, out this month, takes an amiable stroll through the main sites and little cafes of the great city for the benefit of our hero’s youngest daughter, visiting it for the first […]

Art no longer has to be hung in stuffy galleries and gazed upon in silence – the streets rule now. Here is The New European’s guide to Europe’s street art hotspots Graffiti was once the scourge of council’s clean up teams who would be dispatched post-haste to scrub the wall that had been defaced. But […]

At present Britons living abroad and EU citizens in the UK are pawns on a political chessboard. What will Brexit mean for expats? | The New European – Credit: Archant Their status remains unclear – and both sides are blaming the other for the impasse. When the Bill to trigger Article 50 was being voted […]

It is the issue that is every bit as toxic as Brexit itself – has Britain become more hateful since the referendum? Hate crime offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales – Credit: Archant When it comes to suggestions about hate crime, Brexit and a possible correlation, there’s not much which isn’t contested. […]

Put simply, if enacted, Brexit will mean Britain will leave the European Union. The EU was founded after the Second World War with the aim of fostering relationships between European countries that had repeatedly been hostile towards each other. Its focus was to build economic and political ties which would build a level of cooperation […]

The biggest issue facing UK jobs in the wake of the Brexit vote is the weakened pound and inflation. If the picture some on the Leave side painted of modern Britain were to be believed you could be mistaken for thinking that unemployment had reached record highs due to immigrants taking advantage of the benefits […]

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Confused by another week in Brexit? We round up the losers and the losers (because there are no winners) of another crazy seven days on Planet Brexit 10) Jack Brereton (NEW ENTRY) By the time you read this, real-life Tory Boy Jack might be the Conservatives’ youngest MP, having stood for them in the Stoke […]

Just who are the wealthiest people in Europe? We found out how much they’re worth 1 Amancio Ortega, Spain $67 billion Retail (Zara) The world’s wealthiest retailer. Began manufacturing textiles in 1963 before co-founding Zara with his ex-wife in 1975. He has invested in real estate across the world, including Madrid, Barcelona, London, Chicago, Miami […]

Turkey was on progressive path, but Europe sent it in a dangerous direction It was like the dawn of a new age. On a crisp winter’s day back in 2004, Istanbul’s great and good and chic flocked to the inauguration of Istanbul Modern, a sparkling new contemporary art museum in converted warehouses on the shores […]

What constitutes a fascist – and is it fair to categorise Trump, The Leader of the Free World, alongside Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler and Francisco Franco? How does Trump score on the fascist checklist? – Credit: Archant The New European front page in February 2017 asked the question that got Britain debating… ‘IS TRUMP A […]

British democracy has been an inspiration round the globe. Now it is time to defend it. One of the toughest charges to answer for those of us who voted against triggering Article 50 is that of being anti-democratic. If we respected democracy, so the argument runs, we would just shut up and enact the will […]

Piers Morgan and Milo Yiannopoulos share more than a love of attention: Society needs provocateurs, but it also needs us to see them for what they are What do Piers Morgan and the far-right pundit with a high-femme persona, the self-declared ‘dangerous faggot’ Milo Yiannopoulos, have in common – besides their masculinity? They both consider […]

There’s more to Tony Blair’s baggage than Iraq. But if he really is ‘back’, he does have the power to alter the terms of the Brexit debate ‘Well, that went down like a lead balloon, darling,’ we can all imagine Cherie Blair, in one of her more waspish moods, telling her husband over the breakfast […]

The Brextremists’ only response to Tony Blair’s speech was abuse. We should take heart from their refusal to engage on the substance – and force them to answer these 48 questions 1. Do you accept that many people who voted Leave did so without knowing the full terms of Brexit? 2. Do you accept that […]