United Kingdom

Michael Horovitz, poet, born April 4th, 1935, died July 7th, 2021 The euphoria that accompanied England’s victory against Denmark to reach the Euro final was deadened by the news the following morning that Michael Horovitz, one of the greats of British poetry, had succumbed to brief illness after a fall. A devoted Arsenal fan and a […]

The 1946 British Lions’ rugby league tour of Australia was one of the most unusual chapters in sporting history The officer of the watch heard the splash and the shouts. A man had gone overboard into the shark-infested waters off Port Said. It’s no mean feat to stop and bring about a 23,000-ton aircraft carrier […]

In a special report, JOHN KAMPFNER explores the failure of the US, Europe, China and Russia to work together on global vaccine provision, and how the developing world can exploit their rivalry Relations between the major powers are at their worst for decades with cooperation thin on the ground, and Covid-19 having deepened suspicions further. In April, […]

England’s success at the Euros tournament has stirred emotions Boris Johnson can only wish he could achieve

TIM WALKER on how the Sun and Mail on Sunday struggled with reporting an open secret The press statement Michael Gove and Sarah Vine put out to an unstartled nation last week announcing that they were splitting up included a request for privacy. Most of the major news organisations had, however, kept scrupulously to the press […]

The former health secretary’s other misdeeds may have attracted more headlines, but the use of private email and WhatsApp for government business is a serious concern

This week marks five years since the launch of The New European, a symbol of one of the few upsides to emerge from Brexit, says IAN DUNT

Denis MacShane on the late Dick Leonard, former Labour MP and dedicated campaigner to the European cause

Established a pop-up paper in 2016 due to last only four issues, The New European turns five this week. Former editor of the Financial Times LIONEL BARBER explains why it has found a niche and how it can help shape European debate

Bonnie Greer reflects on living in central London during Covid protests and explains what lies behind the manhandling of chief medical officer Chris Whitty If you appear on TV, even from time to time as I do, one of the facts of life is this: people will come up to you on the street. Most […]

MITCH BENN wants an end to gossip about the divorce of Brexiteers Michael Gove and Sarah Vine HEARTRENDING HUMAN DRAMA OF THE WEEK The parallel universes of politics and newspapers were rocked  with the news that the UK’s leading “power couple”, journalist-turned-perennial political survivor Michael Gove and journalist-turned-Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine, have separated and are […]

Scotland fan ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on his texts with Gareth Southgate, meeting Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling – and why he’s found England so easy to like this summer I wouldn’t overstate my England football credentials, but I have seen Harry Kane naked but for his underpants (more later); and Raheem Sterling has given me a guided tour of […]

Control of the UK’s borders helped drive the Brexit vote. Now, Priti Patel must hope for European co-operation for her immigration clampdown The desire to have control over the UK’s borders was one of the strongest arguments for the Leave side to win the EU referendum. Now, five years on, the British government is determined to […]

Hotel Inspector Alex Polizzi’s EU workers disaster shows that the Brexit chickens are coming home to roost It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain, and for all the talk of football, one thing we can be certain of coming home are Brexit chickens to roost. As the consequences of […]

One reader has his doubts about Boris Johnson’s plan for unlocking England

TIM WALKER reviews a cheering show breathing fresh life – and fun – back into theatre Showstopper! The Improvised Musical Garrick Theatre, London **** Playing the first Monday of each month Theatre professionals have long been aware of the need to attract younger audiences and the pandemic has given this a new impetus. Even with their two […]

Five years after she took office, we should resist a rose-tinted view of Theresa May’s time in Downing Street

Making it easier to get on the UK property ladder is a problem that can be solved… but only if politicians are willing to follow other nations, and hit theborn-lucky in the pocket. The Liberal Democrats apparently won the Chesham and Amersham by-election because of three factors: Brexit, HS2, and new planning regulations. Or to put it another […]

Will Self travels to Royal Tunbridge Wells to discover that in modern Britain, even a short journey takes you to another country In keeping with Multicultural Man’s distinctly rooted existence these past 18 months – something, no doubt, many New European readers can identify with – holidays have become a deeply strange phenomenon. Last year, […]

PETER TRUDGILL on the European language that lingered on Greenland, and another –  of sorts – that still thrives there Greenland is the largest island in the world. As is well known it also lies very far to the north. At its northernmost point, it is only about 500 miles from the North Pole. Iceland lies about 200 […]

A reader explains their decision to leave Britain following Brexit After having been in the UK for more than 20 years now and it has been some of the best years of my life so far, but now I cannot wait to leave. That will happen the very moment my son leaves school. I am […]

Boris Johnson may be frustrated by Rishi Sunak's reluctance to fund his increasingly hair-brained schemes, but the prime minister's wife Carrie at least has reason to be grateful to the chancellor.

The PM understands the importance of narrative and has turned government into a soap opera… how long can its leading character last?

Mitch Benn looks at another wild week in politics – including Joy Morrissey MP’s campaign to put portraits of the Queen everywhere, and the Matt Hancock affair PATRIOTISM TEST OF THE WEEK It’s been a terrific week for mandatory displays of fake patriotism, or indeed just another week of mandatory displays of fake patriotism if […]

He might seem to be unharmed by the scandals he presides over, but Boris Johnson’s position is more vulnerable than it looks. The fall will come, and it will be swift, brutal and comprehensive

British politics now exists in a moral vacuum. It cannot last

A woman who has been waiting more than four months for her EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) application to be processed has described her experience as “incredibly frustrating” and said she feels like a third-rate citizen. Daria Riabchikova applied for pre-settled status in mid-February as the partner of an EU citizen living in the UK, and […]

Brexiteers promised mobile phone roaming charges would not return if we left the EU. It was just another lie It has been a gloomy week on the sunlit uplands of sovereign Britain, where mobile phone users are discovering what Matt Hancock has already learned: Roaming can be costly. If UK tourists are ever allowed into […]

The New European has been praised for having some of the best front covers on the newsstands. And now, after five years, we’re looking to declare the best cover of all time.  We’ve painstakingly whittled down the selection to just ten out of 250 editions, with the readers now being given their opportunity to vote […]

More than 100,000 people have waited for more than three months for their applications to the EU Settlement Scheme to be processed, according to official figures obtained by a think tank. Some 102,000 EU citizens and family members, including 23,900 children, had applications outstanding for more than three months as of May 7, IPPR said. […]

TIM WALKER on Amélie the Musical at the Criterion Theatre in London. An admirable effort, but for what purpose? I counted 16 cast members on the stage in Amélie the Musical and I was stunned. It’s the sort of thing that, before the pandemic, I would have taken for granted. Now, I find myself fixating on the arithmetic: West […]

GAVIN ESLER on the frustrations of political debate in an era where reason counts for little Recently an American reader sent an email to my website angrily denouncing a newspaper feature I had written. It was about gun control, or rather the lack of it. I’ll call him ‘John’ and he wrote: “I have lived in Texas for […]