British Politics

A High Court judge is considering whether a government decision to award a market research contract to a company whose bosses were friends of Dominic Cummings was unlawful. Campaigners took legal action against the Cabinet Office over the decision to pay more than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money to research firm Public First, following the start […]

Prime minister Boris Johnson is preparing to ditch the government’s “stay at home” messaging as reports suggest he will relax England’s lockdown restrictions next month. Officials are looking to drop the “stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives” messaging as the country moves away from lockdown restrictions. Despite telling the public to take reports […]

Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart and Dame Julie Walters have joined some of the biggest names in British theatre to urge Boris Johnson to change post-Brexit visa rules to allow more flexible travel for artists. In a letter from the Equity union, the new rules are described as a “towering hurdle” for the industry. […]

Senior Conservative backbenchers have urged Boris Johnson to allow Covid-safe weddings to resume from March 8 before permitting unrestricted ceremonies from May 1. Thirteen MPs, including 1922 committee chairman Sir Graham Brady, Covid Recovery Group vice-chairman Steve Baker and ex-minister Tim Loughton, have backed a campaign seeking to pressure the Prime Minister as he considers […]

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has urged people to wait a decade before judging whether Brexit has worked or not. Raab, appearing on The Andrew Marr Show, insisted that businesses take a “10-year view” to the troubles sparked by Brexit, before blaming the European Union for new bureaucracy. “We have always been clear that there are changes […]

Boris Johnson is facing calls from northern Tories to make good his promises at the general election. The Northern Research Group (NRG) of MPs want to see the region benefit from the prime minister’s commitment to  “level up” by unleashing a new investment boom. They say that the region needs its own “Big Bang” comparable […]

Keir Starmer is facing mounting criticism from within his own party. JAMES BALL assesses how seriously he should take it. Keir Starmer is, we’re told, a politician in crisis. Despite the devastating effect of coronavirus on the UK and on the standing of the government, the Labour Party lags behind the Conservatives in the polls, his personal […]

A Welsh Labour MP has told Keir Starmer’s critics to “come into the real world” as she lashed out at her party’s “left-wing” antics. Carolyn Harris, the Labour leader’s parliamentary private secretary (PPS), dismissed criticisms of his leadership as “nonsense” and not being based in “the real world”. Harris was joined by Welsh Labour’s deputy leader […]

Home secretary Priti Patel has said she disagrees with the act of taking a knee as a protest against racism, as she criticised Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Patel described the anti-racism protests – sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, USA, on May 25 last year after a white police officer held him […]

Michel Barnier has accused Downing Street of not correctly explaining the consequences of Brexit to British businesses as a row surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol continues to heat up. The EU’s former Brexit negotiator hit out at No 10, insisting scenes of empty supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland were not the result of new checks in […]

Campaigners who represent EU citizens living in the UK say they are taking stock after losing a High Court fight over the 2019 European Parliament elections. The3million, which campaigns for an estimated three million EU citizens living in the UK, complained that people were prevented from voting in the 2019 European Parliament elections because of […]

Party leader Ed Davey talks to MATT WITHERS about this burning issue, why social care is his top priority and the Lib Dems’ controversial Brexit policy. Here’s a pretty non-scientific experiment into the current state of what was until very recently the third force in British politics. Try typing “What is the point of the […]

Young people are more worried about the effects of Brexit than catching coronavirus, a study suggests. Just over two-fifths (42%) of adults aged between 18 and 29 reported being stressed about Brexit, compared with around a third (32%) who are worried about catching Covid-19, according to a recent UCL survey. The difference could be due […]

Readers are split on whether The New European should focus on rejoining the EU, or whether more time is needed. Congratulations on getting the backers and arrangements in place to enable TNE to continue and move on. What I would like to see is more coverage on how we can get to the point where […]

There’s scepticism from readers that the next leader of Scottish Labour can save the Union. The answer to Maurice Smith’s question, in my opinion, is that the Scottish Labour leadership candidate Anas Sarwar will not. The problem lies in the way the question is understood and answered by so many of your contributors. They seem […]

As the UK government continue to negotiate Brexit with the European Union, readers ask where are the benefits? Isn’t it about time that the press began to hold Boris Johnson to account over Brexit? Northern Ireland and the current issue over documentation and checks will not go away which will only push us closer to […]

Sadiq Khan has hit back at Jacob Rees-Mogg after being branded “Red Khan” over his new diversity scheme. Rees-Mogg claimed London should be spared “loony left-wing wheezes” as he branded the city’s mayor “Red Khan”. The Commons Leader said councils should be responsible for naming streets, with the MP for North East Somerset advising Sadiq […]

Downing Street is reportedly preparing for Boris Johnson to fight Andy Burnham at the next general election. Sir Keir’s leadership has been called into question over the past 10 days following a series of poor polling numbers – sparking speculation of a leadership challenge if the numbers do not improve. Now Downing Street believes that the most […]

Matt Hancock has urged people to be “patient” about the prospect of getting away this summer, despite the health secretary already booking a break in Cornwall. Hancock said that the rollout of coronavirus vaccines was “absolutely essential” for summer holidays to take place. “I know that people are yearning for certainty over whether they can […]

Michael Gove has been urged to show his unionist credentials by standing up for fishermen and Northern Ireland after Brexit, after admitting that the UK was facing a number of “obstacles” after Brexit. The Cabinet Office minister acknowledged the “bureaucratic obstacles” to negotiate and navigate with Brussels, as he was pressed to support “retaliation” against […]

Labour MP Stella Creasy is considering pursuing the government in court if it changes the law to allow only ministers to take paid time off after having a baby. The Ministerial and Other Maternity Allowances Bill, which seeks to update the treatment of pregnant cabinet ministers, was announced on February 4 and comes three months […]

The UK should be “more or less free” of the coronavirus crisis by the end of the year, a leading epidemiologist has predicted. Professor John Edmunds, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said some measures would remain “probably forever”. But he told ITV’s Peston: “I think we will be more […]

The EU has rejected a call from Michael Gove to change the Northern Ireland Protocol – with the European Commission insisting it is the “only way” to protect the Good Friday Agreement. In a letter to the Cabinet Office minister on the eve of their meeting in London, the Commission’s vice president Maros Sefcovic wrote: “The […]

No 10 has defended the use of taxpayers’ funds to pay photographers to capture Boris Johnson’s dog frolicking around in the snow. Downing Street defended the use of three “vanity photographers” to stage Instagram-style photoshoots of Dilyn, the canine Johnson shares with fiancee Carrie Symonds. The photographers – two civil servants and a special adviser – take […]

Boris Johnson was cut off mid-sentence by the Commons speaker after he “teased” the SNP’s Westminster leader during Prime Minister’s Questions. Sir Lindsay Hoyle interrupted Johnson half-way through his response to Ian Blackford about a £20 uplift to Universal Credit. Blackford asked the prime minister to make the uplift – brought in at outset of […]

Britain risks being “cut off from the rest of the world” if border measures are tightened even further beyond the new quarantine plan, Boris Johnson has claimed. The prime minister urged Labour to get behind the latest measures, which come into effect from Monday and include up to 10 years in prison for people who […]

Sir Keir Starmer said he would not take advice from a prime minister who “wrote two versions of every column as a journalist and who proposed Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize”. Sir Keir and Boris Johnson had been debating whether to extend the eviction ban set to expire on February 21 when a row […]

Downing Street has refused to publish an impact assessment on its Brexit deal with the EU, despite producing similar reviews of other trade deals. The prime minister’s spokesperson dismissed calls to publish the analysis, saying it had already set out the details of the deal “and the opportunities and benefits it provides the U.K.” “We’ve been […]

Labour’s shadow education minister has called on Tory peer James Wharton to resign his party’s whip after being appointed chair of the universities watchdog. Kate Green said Wharton’s appointment to the Office for Students (OfS) was the latest in a “growing catalogue of cronyism” committed by the government. The Tory peer was confirmed as chair on Tuesday afternoon, despite the Commons […]

Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith has criticised the government’s handling of its post-Brexit trade bill – comparing Boris Johnson’s administration to Handforth Parish Council for failing to read the standing orders. The Brexiteer claimed the government had “deliberately blocked” a showdown with Conservative rebels using “tricks” and “games” to avoid a key vote which could […]

Labour is demanding that Matt Hancock condemns a report published by a right-wing think tank and pay back the donations he received after it said there is “no reason” to be grateful for the NHS. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) used a report to also claim there is “no rational basis” for the public support […]

The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator has called for the EU to adopt a ‘different spirit’ during discussions over issues between Westminster and Brussels. Shortages on some food products have been experienced in Northern Ireland, businesses have struggled with red tape and Brussels recently threatened to override part of a post-Brexit agreement on the region to […]