News and Opinion

Michael Gove thinks he landed a blow on the EU over banning plastic straws. But, as JANE MERRICK​ discovers, environmental groups remain concerned about Brexit The wild-eyed optimism from Theresa May’s government over how Britain would fare post-Brexit has faded, replaced by something a little closer to reality. A year ago, Brexit secretary David Davis […]

The European Commission president has sent a dire warning to the UK over Brexit: ‘You will regret your decision.’ Jean-Claude Juncker said things ‘cannot remain as they are’ for the UK in its relationship with the EU after leaving the bloc. Addressing the European Parliament, Juncker was cheered by Eurosceptic MEPs as he noted the […]

Fascism arises when people have a yearning for order and peace at any cost, says BONNIE GREER A recent image stands out. It is the sight of Vladimir Putin. He strides across a long expanse of stage to a rapturous standing ovation. He stands at a lectern, a huge backdrop behind him. The image on […]

It might not be getting many column inches, but what is currently happening in the Upper House is encouraging. Peers are conducting their detailed, line-by-line analysis of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill during its marathon committee stage. And so far it has not made pleasant viewing for the government. The bill has been pulled apart and […]

Is the advertising industry obsessed with London over the rest of the UK? EMMA JONES investigates – and tackles youth speak and culture along the way Incongruously, this week I found myself in an urban ‘woke’ situation. I was part of a debate panel IRL (in real life) on the banks of the Thames. I […]

The breathtaking disregard with which some Brexiteers are now treating the Irish peace process show how little they understand the issue, and what is at stake, says PETER MILLAR, who saw the Troubles up close It was a surprisingly sunny Saturday afternoon in Belfast; I was walking with two other teenagers towards our favourite record […]

For all the dedication of its staff, the NHS is a frighteningly defective service, says GEOFF SUTTON, as he recounts a routine hospital experience The unusual mobile number rang in the middle of a Skype call. I ignored it the first time, but answered the second. It was a paramedic and they never have good […]

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has dismissed Number 10’s proposals for people crossing the Irish border to have to pre-register after Brexit. Speaking from the US, where he is conducting a series of St Patrick’s Day engagements, the Taoiseach said: ‘No, it is not a solution that we envisage.’ Vardkar was responding to questions about […]

An advertising campaign aimed at luring entrepreneurs and businesses to cross the Channel after Brexit has been banned from tube stations. The ad urged entrepreneurs worried about the UK’s withdrawal from the EU to ‘vote with their feet’. It was commissioned by the Normandy Development Agency, which promotes economic growth in the region in northern […]

Alan Quinn argues that the Conservatives are putting party before country on Brexit, jobs and manufacturing. The recent article in The New European about the threat to our automotive industry is a stark reminder to us all about the insanity of Brexit. As my union Unite points out, one million well-paid jobs depend on this […]

In this week’s Brexit Deconstructed, JAMES BALL discusses how Trump’s ‘America First’ policy is bad news for the UK The UK is leaving the largest economic union of nations on the planet – which also happens to be right on its doorstep – and pinning its hopes on a new deal with the second largest. […]

MICHAEL WHITE on why the prospect of Trump trade wars takes away all the icing In yet another crowded contest we can each pick our most significant Brexit Development of the Week. Optimists may opt for the German coalition agreement which takes Angela Merkel back from the brink. Pessimists may point to Italian voters preference […]

Chancellor Philip Hammond wants us to believe the era of austerity is over. When he stands up in parliament to deliver his spring statement – expect it to be an update, there won’t be any new policy – he wants to slap Britain on the back: ‘Well done for tightening your belts.’ At the weekend […]

PAUL CONNEW takes a look at the latest turmoil in the West Wing Turmoil. Tumult. Chaos. Confusion. Panic. Pandemonium. Mayhem. Madness. All words which have figured fairly frequently in headlines around Donald Trump’s presidency since the day he took office, but rarely on the intensity scale of the last few days. You could toss in […]

Jeremy Corbyn has been attacked by senior Scottish Labour figures after making ‘incredibly disappointing’ comments on immigration. Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale and Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray rounded on the Labour leader over remarks on leaving the EU in his speech to the party’s conference in Dundee. Setting out his position on the […]

The route ahead for Britain is absolutely clear, argues philosopher AC GRAYLING, the Remainer-in-Chief, in his latest diatribe against the scandal of Brexit There is now an unstoppable, unanswerable and imperative case for a referendum on the facts of Brexit. Despite the best efforts of the UK government to conceal the damaging economic consequences that […]

Almost no one in Gibraltar wanted Brexit. Now, will the territory be sold out by British ministers desperate for a deal with the EU? HARRY RIDGEWELL goes there to find out As soon as you walk out of Gibraltar International Airport and turn onto Winston Churchill Avenue past the red pillar post boxes it’s obvious […]

The Shape of Water might sound like a preposterous premise. But, argues EMMA JONES, it is actually the perfect modern romance Boy-meets-girl on the silver screen is now girl meets fish in a stinky bath. The Shape of Water is an unreal film, in which a mute cleaner falls in love with a sea creature […]

TIM WALKER says Martin Shaw has his vote in this Gore Vidal stage drama Ronald Reagan used to say that politicians shouldn’t merely represent the people, but they should represent them at their best. I look at Donald Trump – and, on this side of the Atlantic, Boris Johnson – and I’ll admit that I […]

To mark International Women’s Day YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN looks at how the EU has made a difference to women International Women’s Day is upon us. There will be celebrations, marches, discussions, a brief but urgent period when females across the world find ways to say we are, we matter, we are half the human population, we […]

He was supposed to be its biggest fan, but Donald Trump has just declared war on Brexit, says ANDREW ADONIS Terrible news for the Brexiters: Trump has declared war on Brexit. The good news is that he has done so in time for us to reassess the value of the EU for our trade and […]

The history and legacy of slavery is what this popcorn-selling blockbuster both fights and mourns, says playwright, author and critic Bonnie Greer Black Panther is on its way to joining an elite society: the Billion Dollar Movie Club. Steeped in Afrofuturism and African American phantasmagoria, this is the film that has defied expectations. And what […]

Rick Llewellyn wrote to his MP one final time before leaving Britain and emigrating to France. Here he quotes the parting words he received from his MP. On February 24 I wrote to my (now ex) Labour MP John Cryer asking to be removed from his mailing list. I explained: ‘As a consequence of Brexit […]

Progressives expect great things from Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau. But can the telegenic leaders actually deliver, asks Paul Knott. Handsome, charismatic, liberal and francophone. French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could be caricatures of a New European reader’s dream political leader. Critics with different perspectives have dismissed the duo as […]

Whatever the truth behind the suspected poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, former diplomat PAUL KNOTT has already seen – at very close quarters – exactly what the Russian regime is capable of. The as yet unexplained sudden collapse of the exiled former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on the […]

This week’s New European podcast is available now. In this episode the team tackle all the big news stories and Geri Scott reveals what the expats in Spain think of Brexit. They also take a look back at a week of warnings from the Lords and poke more fun at Henry Bolton. Another Brexiteer of […]

One reader has started defining the Brexiteers that the BBC and mainstream media continues to roll out as the ‘Dismissers’. I wrote to the BBC, almost daily, during the Referendum of June 2016 complaining of their bias. Then, as now, the Remainer argument is put forward first, to be followed by some standby Brexiteer who […]

David Woodhead wants to remind Eurosceptics what former Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher had to say about Europe. Andrew Adonis refers to Margaret Thatcher’s Bruges speech of 1988. Although this is regarded as having injected the anti-EEC/EU poison into the Conservative party from which we have suffered ever since, it is worth recalling those aspects of […]

Readers cautiously welcome Labour’s shift in position on Brexit – here they explain why. Jeremy Corbyn’s speech does not go far enough for me and I cringed at the ‘Brexit that puts the working people first’ soundbite. However this is a welcome first step. We have moved on significantly from sixth-form dismissals of the EU […]

In this week’s diary column, EU workers find a champion in the Home Office and the plan is laid out for the next phase of the Leveson inquiry The European Union’s managerial class has found an unlikely champion in the Home Office. Mandrake hears that Amber Rudd’s department has not taken kindly to Amnesty International’s […]

The government has been accused of a Brexit power grab amid a furious row with Scottish and Welsh ministers. Details of the devolved powers at the heart of a dispute have now been published. The government want to retain temporary control in areas such as agriculture, fisheries, food labelling and public procurement after Brexit. Ministers […]

It is no secret that Russia attempted to influence the outcome of Brexit. The same is likely true of the US election. And now Moscow is the prime suspect in a targeted hit on British soil. Apart from booting out some Russians and sending them packing back to Moscow what can Theresa May do? She […]