General Election 2019

Dominic Raab has been challenged over Islamophobia in an argument with a Labour frontbencher captured live on television. The foreign secretary faced up to shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald after the pair conducted a short interview with Sky News about the leaders’ Question Time debate. The pair pointd fingers in a clash as McDonald reprimanded […]

Brexiteer Dominic Raab appeared desperate to end the conversation with a food bank user when she challenged him about the cost of his weekly shop. The foreign secretary was at a local hustings when he was approached by a woman who quizzed him about a Tory promise to save low-paid workers money by raising the […]

Nicola Sturgeon has said she envisages a ‘less formal arrangement’ than a coalition with Labour to end austerity and stop Brexit as well as another independence referendum. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon takes pictures with supporters during a visit to Craig Boyd Hairdressing in Leven, Fife. Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Wire. – Credit: PA The SNP leader […]

Boris Johnson has once again refused to apologise for his comments made about gay men and Muslim women. Appearing on Question Time, Johnson said he had a “right to speak out” and told the studio audience to read his opinion pieces before criticising his remarks. He insisted he had never intended to cause “hurt or […]

Boris Johnson accused a Question Time audience member of peddling ‘Bermuda Triangle’ stuff when it came to claims about the Russian interference report the prime minister has refused to release. Johnson said that he decided “ages ago” not to release the report from the Intelligence and Security Committee as he was heckled by members of […]

Jo Swinson faced a gruelling reception during her appearance on a leaders’ special of BBC Question Time. https://twitter.com/bbcquestiontime/status/1197975739280302081 The Liberal Democrat will grilled over her record as a minister in the coalition government which saw her voting in favour of “harsh and uncaring” benefit cuts including the bedroom tax. Swinson admitted the Liberal Democrats “didn’t […]

It was an opportunity for four of the political party leaders to face the public and set out their vision, but who do you think performed the best? As we wait for verdicts from the pollsters we’re asking for readers to give their perspectives on tonight’s performances. Who do you think was the overall winner […]

Twitter was full of commentary as Jeremy Corbyn, Jo Swinson, Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon answered questions from the public on BBC Question Time. https://twitter.com/MrJRan/status/1197955099076833280 We’ve compiled some of the best responses as the debate took place… https://twitter.com/richardosman/status/1197955081397776384 Why are we talking about Evo Morales #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/NtbwAQA3AR— Tony (@AntMelia94) November 22, 2019 https://twitter.com/JazzTehara/status/1197956888702439425 https://twitter.com/UmaarKazmi/status/1197957204860710912 https://twitter.com/mstrdrmz/status/1197959375173935105 […]

Jeremy Corbyn has used a BBC leaders’ debate to confirm he would adopt a ‘neutral stance’ if he were prime minister during a second referendum. https://twitter.com/bbcquestiontime/status/1197961778807918593 An audience member asked: “Will you campaign to remain or leave the EU if elected. Why would anyone vote Labour without knowing the answer to that question?” Corbyn replied: […]

A Conservative councillor who was suspended from the party for ‘offensive and divisive’ social media posts about Muslims has been reinstated. David Abbott, who serves on Houghton Regis Town Council, was suspended by his party for Islamophobic comments in April but appears to have been reinstated despite “little evidence of contrition”. In one Facebook post, […]

Nigel Farage would be most likely forced to back a second Brexit referendum if his organisation won an election – because of his latest proposal in his manifesto. In his manifesto, promoted as a “contract with the people, Farage made a commitment to hold a referendum on any issue if five million people call for […]

A Pro-Remain supporter interrupted a Sky News broadcast to spread an anti-Brexit message to the nation. In the middle of a report about the Liberal Democrats campaign trail in Sheffield, the man leaned in front of the cameras to shout ‘Bollocks to Brexit’. He made his heckle just as the Sky News presenter was talking […]

What’s your take on the events of the week? Let us know your views on the key questions that have emerged for Remainers this week, on everything from debate performances to the Lib Dem ‘pivot’. – Got other views? Email us at letters@theneweuropean.co.uk

Organisers of an election hustings in Boris Johnson’s Uxbridge constituency may ’empty-chair’ the prime minister if he does not confirm he will show up. “We have not heard from Mr Johnson, his team or anyone from the Conservative Party,” said Rich Blake-Lobb, pastor at the church where the event is being held. The traditional event […]

A prankster has bought the domain name ‘thetorymanifesto.com’ and has made a remarkably profane ‘alternative’ election platform for the Conservatives. After Boris Johnson’s party bought the url for ‘labourmanifesto.co.uk’ in order to make a political attack site, an anonymous activist has retaliated “in protest”, says the website. Visitors to the landing page are quickly greeted […]

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has joined campaigners in urging people to register to vote before next Tuesday’s deadline. A total of 2,048,039 applications were submitted between October 29 – the day the government called for an election on December 12th – and November 19th. The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Tuesday November 26th, with […]

Channel 4 has had to cancel an election debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn after the prime minister refused to participate. The programme, which was meant to air on Sunday night, had already signed up Jeremy Corbyn to take part. But Boris Johnson would not agree to the programme despite “many weeks of discussion” […]

A Conservative candidate who is set to replace Boris Johnson in an upcoming seven-way debate was asked why the PM is not showing up. Chief secretary to the treasury, Rishi Sunak, was asked on Good Morning Britain (GMB) why the prime minister is so shy of debates that Sunak is being drafted into one on […]

The Brexit Party is standing by a candidate whose social media feed has reportedly warned about a Muslim ‘takeover’ of Britain and complained of anti-white ‘racism’. Dionne Cocozza, the party’s candidate in Glasgow North, has now deleted her account, but anti-far right watchdog Hope Not Hate say they had sight of it prior to its […]

The Liberal Democrats have thrown down the social media gauntlet with a tweeted video of a Jeremy Corbyn puppet. The 31-second video tweeted by the Lib Dem press office was billed as “backstage footage from Labour’s manifesto launch” and depicts a marionette styled as the Labour leader saying: “Reality has no place in the Labour […]

The home secretary has said that the government is not responsible for poverty in the UK, preferring to blame ‘all parts of society and the structures’. When confronted with shocking statistics about child poverty, Patel called the situation “appalling” – but refused to shoulder any of the responsibility. “It’s not the government,,” she told BBC […]

Michael Gove has denied that he has ‘form’ for telling mistruths in politics as he was questioned about claims made he and colleagues made during the EU referendum and Tory election campaigns. In an interview in which he was challenged on numerous untrue and misleading claims, he also said that the government was “absolutely right” […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme tonight comes from Bolton, hometown of former Crackerjack presenter Stu Francis – but which of the panel could crush a grape once punishing WTO tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit make […]

Boris Johnson’s claims that his plans for the National Insurance threshold will leave low-paid workers £500 a year better off have been picked apart in front of a hapless minister. While campaigning, the prime minister announced that he would lift the NI contribution threshold from £8,628 to £9,500 in a move he claimed would immediately […]

A Brexit Party campaigner has been ejected from a Manchester supermarket because he was ‘forcing’ leaflets onto shoppers, says Morrisons. Footage circlated widely on social media shows a man with a stack of leaflets being pushed out of the Denton branch by a security guard and being told to “f*** off”. The man, who claimed […]

The NHS has overtaken Brexit as the top issue that voters have on their minds in the general election, a poll has found. In what is considered to be a boost for Labour, 60% of UK adults said that the NHS is now very important in helping them decide who to vote for, compared to […]

A UKIP candidate has suggested that illegal immigrants are coming into the country on paragliders and plans to set up beach observation points to stop them. Former soldier David Moreland told the Eastern Daily Press that he believed immigrants are also being dropped off by boat at offshore wind farms and then continue the crossing […]

A ‘small but vocal’ group of protesters in Teesside chanted ‘no more cuts’ following one of Boris Johnson’s campaign speeches. One of the dozen protesters outside a factory being visited by the prime minister brandished a sign saying “stop lying Boris” as the group chanted. They stood around a hundred yards from where Johnson is […]

The Liberal Democrats have put stopping Brexit at the heart of their manifesto as the party try to maximise their credentials as the party of Remain. The party’s manifesto holds out the prospect of a £50 billion “Remain bonus” to be spent on public services and tackling inequalities if they succeed in keeping Britain in […]

More than six million people watched the first live leaders’ debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn on ITV. The pair’s appearance drew an average audience of 6.7 million viewers when it aired between 8pm and 9pm on Tuesday, according to overnight ratings. The programme peaked at 7.3 million, ITV said. According to one report, […]

Nigel Farage was left complaining some Question Time audience members had ‘an agenda’ after they pulled apart his ‘man of the people’ persona. Farage’s 34th appearance on the programme, part of a general election series of shows, did not go as smooth as he hoped when a young lady in the audience demolished his claims […]

The Conservative Party’s chair has faced criticism from the public and media for the party’s decision to rebrand their Twitter as a fact checking service. Speaking on BBC Newsnight, Emily Maitlis told the party’s chairman James Cleverly that the decision was “dystopian” and went against the prime minister’s claims about integrity. She said: “The Conservative […]