News and Opinion

The final battle of Brexit now looms, and JOHN KAMPFNER says the prime minister will enter it seriously weakened. One of those adages you are taught in leadership colleges is that when the flak is flying at you, you march straight towards it. Boris Johnson, it seems, is doing just that. Is it the result […]

The firm’s fall has provided a number of lessons for the UK ahead of a possible no-deal Brexit, says JAMES BALL. The UK got a preview of what chaos in Europe looks like this week, at least on a comparatively small scale. That came not at the Supreme Court – although that’s caused ructions enough […]

DAN WHITE explains why so many of Britain’s disabled community are fearful of a no-deal Brexit. My daughter Emily is just one of the estimated 14 million disabled people living in the UK. Although she was too young to vote in the EU referendum, many in the community did. Of course, members of that community […]

The South Korean capital is known for its slick and boundlessly exuberant pop. Yet the ebullience belies a complex and dark history. SOPHIA DEBOICK reports. Seoul is a pop powerhouse. In just a few years, its K-pop industry has gone from a localised East Asian craze to a global force, with comic rapper Psy, of […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on an angry book depicting life on the margins of the UK, which should be classed as one of the most important works of post-Brexit literature “It won’t be long before the statues start moving,” was a familiar refrain in Ireland when the global recession hit in 2008. Miraculous visions always increase during […]

Like Wile E Coyote, Boris Johnson’s special adviser has been the author of his own spectacular downfall says STEVE ANGLESEY At the end of August, Dominic Cummings told the meeting of special advisers (spads) which he chairs each week that the Conservatives planned to rip up precedent and wreck Labour’s conference in Brighton with a […]

The die-hard Republican state is growing frustrated with its leaders, says BONNIE GREER The first time most people in the United States, or probably anywhere else, heard the term ‘the Lower 48’ was around the time that Senator John McCain introduced his running mate, the then governor of Alaska, in the 2008 presidential election. Alaska […]

Like many ALASTAIR CAMPBELL has found anxiety over Brexit impinging on his sleep. He tries to decipher what it all means. There was a time, a few years ago, when I was seeing a psychiatrist regularly, to try to get to the bottom of my on-off relationship with depression. Part of my ‘homework’ was to […]

Now that parliament is back – having returned in such extraordinary circumstances – here is the speech ANDREW ADONIS believes Her Majesty should now deliver My lords and members of the House of Commons, my government is an Etonian revolutionary rabble. My prime minister lied and caused me to suspend parliament like Charles I, not […]

The police complaints body is set to assess whether he should face a criminal investigation over his links with American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri. The Greater London Authority (GLA) said its monitoring officer had recorded a “conduct matter” against Johnson over allegations Arcuri received favourable treatment because of her friendship with him while he was mayor […]

The Lib Dems and Change UK are continuing to oppose Jeremy Corbyn as caretaker PM despite the Greens, SNP, Plaid Cymru and even Ken Clarke supporting the plan. Nicola Sturgeon said she would support the Labour leader as a candidate for caretaker prime minister, though added she was “open minded” about who takes on the […]

In an ironic twist, EU law could be used against Remain campaigners, with the Brexiteer government relying on it to allow Brexit to take place on October 31st. The government has not denied reports that it is considering using the supremacy of European law over UK legislation to take Britain out of the EU without […]

A Tory Brexiteer MP has hinted that he wore blackface, while describing the practice widely criticised as a racist caricature as an ‘entirely acceptable bit of fun’. Sir Desmond Swayne made the comment as he sought to defend Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose re-election campaign was near-derailed by disclosures that he had darkened his […]

Jess Phillips says she is feeling ‘jumpy and worried’ after a man was arrested outside the Labour MP’s office and further threats were sent to her. The Birmingham Yardley MP said her staff had to be confined to her constituency office as a man allegedly kicked the door, tried to smash windows and yelled she […]

CATHERINE BEARDER says it has not been an impressive week for British politics but – while Westminster dithers – the Lib Dems in Brussels are continuing to get on with business. MEPs Catherine Bearder and Judith Bunting sign the Brussels declaration. Picture: supplied by Judith Bunting – Credit: supplied by Judith Bunting This week’s Supreme […]

What’s your take on the events of the week? Give us your views on the key questions that arose for Remainers this week, on everything from the Labour party’s stance to questions of BBC impartiality. – Got other views? Email us at letters@theneweuropean.co.uk

A racecourse company owned by a Brexiteer lord has apologised after someone using its Twitter account made insulting comments about Gina Miller. The Twitter feed belonging to Cartmel Racecourse in Lancashire responded to comments about Miller’s Question Time appearance, calling her an “awkward defiant b***h” and insulting her marital life. Cartmel Racecourse has issued a […]

Marketing industry professionals have skewered the government’s ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ adverts as ‘cynical and sinister propaganda’ in a hilarious review. Campaign magazine, which covers advertising, media and marketing, has named the government’s video advert its “Turkey of the Week”. The government has come under criticism for the £140 million campaign which spans a wide […]

As we head towards another tumultuous month we’ll be recording another episode of The New European podcast live in front of a studio audience. Podcast regulars Steve Anglesey and Richard Porritt will be joined by special guests including TNE columnists Bonnie Greer and an audience as they talk all things Brexit, bring out some of […]

Readers give their verdict on the Lib Dems using conference to pledge to revoke Article 50 – while Labour used theirs to carry on sitting on the fence. MP Jess Phillips talks about traditional Labour voters who back Remain being “parked on the Lib Dems’ drive” because of Brexit, “and they will go into the […]

The costs of a no-deal Brexit could spell bankruptcy for up to a quarter of the UK’s rural businesses, it has been estimated. The president of lobbying group the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Tim Breitmeyer, said that many farmers and other rural businesses were already struggling and for up to a quarter of […]

Jennifer Arcuri, the US entrepreneur whose friendship with Boris Johnson has sparked a conflict of interest row, has criticised Brexit for its impact on business and cited it as a reason for her to leave the UK. Jennifer Arcuri, the businesswoman and close friend of Boris Johnson who received business assistance during his time as […]

MPs have questioned Michael Gove’s suitability to oversee electoral matters as head of the Cabinet Office after raising his part in the Vote Leave campaign. It follows reports that the government is now gathering personal data from the ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ campaign. Ian Lucas, the MP for Wrexham, accused Gove of ducking responsibility for […]

Boris Johnson is running out of options to find a way out of the Brexit mess – but he still has the option of a second referendum. An honourable man would resign his position, but Boris Johnson is not an honourable man. His next-best option is to rescue himself and help bring an end to […]

Former prime minister Sir John Major says Boris Johnson and his ‘Brexit Party tribute band’ have ‘wilfully’ destroyed the prospects of a cross-party agreement on a Brexit deal. Major said Johnson was whipping up “fear and anger” for electoral purposes – a tactic he described as “profoundly un-Conservative”. In a speech to the Centre for […]

Dominic Cummings has said that he is not ‘surprised’ that some voters are angry over Brexit, but said it can be resolved if they ‘respect’ the result of the EU referendum. His comments, at a book launch, came as the prime minister refused to bow to mounting pressure to apologise over his use of language. […]

Gina Miller was praised for her performance on Question Time as she took on Brexiteers in the audience who were angered by the Supreme Court ruling. In one scene she clashed with Brexiteers in the audience, who claimed that MPs were trying to “frustrate” the will of the people and that the law was actually […]

Alan Sugar has described female MPs who criticised Boris Johnson for his comments about murdered MP Jo Cox as ‘ranting women’ and has said it is they who should apologise to the prime minister. Johnson has refused to apologise for saying that the best way to honour the Remain-supporting MP was to “get Brexit done”, […]

Whitehall’s watchdog has warned that the government has a ‘significant amount’ of work to do to ensure a continued supply of medicine in the event of a no-deal Brexit. With just five weeks to go until October 31st the National Audit Office (NAO) said there were still “risks” to the NHS. The NAO said additional […]

A Labour shadow minister confronted Boris Johnson’s chief aide after being told he would be put in a ‘ditch’ following Boris Johnson’s heated Commons exchange. Karl Turner MP. Photograph: John Stilwell/PA. – Credit: PA Archive/PA Images Karl Turner approached Dominic Cummings, the man heralded as encouraging a “people versus parliament” strategy to push through Brexit, […]

Boris Johnson has called for tempers to cool, just hours after he reportedly shouted at Labour MPs during a vote on enabling a recess for Tory party conference. The prime minister refused to apologise for describing attempts to block a no-deal break with the EU as the “surrender act”. But he acknowledged that he would […]

Germany’s complex history has left it with some fascinating features, not least its pockets of Slavic speakers. PETER TRUDGILL reports. The boundary in northern Europe between the areas where Germanic languages are spoken and those which are occupied by Slavic-language speakers has been shifting backwards and forwards on an east­-west axis for at least a […]