News and Opinion

EEA membership is increasingly looking like the most achievable, and the best we can get, says Labour MP DANIEL ZEICHNER I hate the fact that half our country still seems to want to leave the EU. But if that goes on being the case, we need to find the least worst alternative, and that may […]

The European Parliament is to hold a hearing on citizens who have lost their right to vote in UK elections after living abroad for 15 years. Under the UK government’s “15-year rule” millions of British citizens lose their right after living in another EU nation for more than 15 years. Next week the European Parliament’s […]

Relations between Westminster and the devolved administrations have hit a new low over the Brexit ‘power grab’. The government is to challenge Brexit legislation passed by the Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly in the Supreme Court. The devolved governments brought forward the unprecedented legislation after a row with Westminster over the return of devolved powers […]

Many Remainers believe a second referendum will be the silver bullet that solves everything by sending the issue of Brexit back into the abyss. But unless we can convince a good percentage of the disenfranchised working class who voted Leave, a second vote could stoke up far greater problems than we have now. We would […]

Business leaders might be claiming they feel positive, but some fears still remain. Breathe easy. Nigel Farage has found a new home for all the rubbish in his garage. Plans for the creation of a Brexit museum that celebrates Britain’s 45-year ‘struggle for independence’ were revealed this week. The museum will apparently celebrate Eurosceptic heroes […]

Morrissey has claimed that Brexit is “now a dead issue” as “the people said Leave but the EU said no”. The former Smiths frontman and Brexit supporter used a gushing interview with his own website to claim that “England [sic] is today is a country that is not leaving the EU” and that Hungary, Italy, […]

One of the self-proclaimed bad boys of Brexit has likened campaign tactics used by Leave.EU to the ‘very clever’ Nazi propaganda machine. Andy Wigmore, who was Leave.EU’s communications chief during the referendum campaign said: ‘The propaganda machine of the Nazis, for instance – you take away all the hideous horror and that kind of stuff, […]

The Conservatives have burned away some of their traditional supporters in their pursuit of Brexit, and are heading towards a reckoning in the capital of Remain. In less than over a month’s time, voters across England will be heading back to the ballot box again, for the local elections. And Brexiteers could be heading into […]

TIM WALKER gives The Way of the World at the Donmar Theatre, London, four stars The Way of the World Donmar Theatre, London, May 26 * * * * (Four stars) William Congreve’s The Way of the World is one of those big, sprawling and very, very long Restoration comedies that most theatre directors – […]

The idea of a new centre party is tempting for Remain voters left feeling disenfranchised by the attitudes of the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition. I believe it could succeed despite our electoral system. I have been voting for nearly 40 years and can tell you that even in the late 1970s […]

Brexit hardliner Jacob Rees-Mogg began his new LBC phone-in today. We listened in Jacob Rees-Mogg’s new show on what he almost certainly calls the wireless is titled Ring Rees-Mogg. Which is not only pleasingly alliterative, but fitting as it’s entirely plausible that he, or whoever he employs to make his calls, uses an old-fashioned ring […]

As a long-standing centre-right Tory voter for more than 60 years, I am appalled by the extremist slide which has moved the party too far to the right for my taste. In fact, it has become so right wing that it is similar to the Republican Party in the US, something which is contrary to […]

The corporation’s critics should be wary of following POTUS’ playbook, says Liz Gerard. In some eyes, of course, the BBC gets it wrong on everything. Newspapers have had it in for their state-financed rival for decades. Now Remainers are joining the chorus. For them, it is frustrating that the Corporation seems to regard Brexit as […]

Examining the suspicious industry which spies opportunities, but also senses danger. Environment Secretary Michael Gove. Picture: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/PA Images – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images Despite the presence of Nigel Farage but perhaps because he didn’t throw around discarded haddock this time, last weekend’s nationwide round of fishing port protests against Theresa May’s Brexit transition […]

Protesters are staging a ‘people power’ rally to push for a referendum on the final exit deal. Campaigners including actor Sir Patrick Stewart and politicians from across the political spectrum are demanding a second vote. The People’s Vote campaign will demand voters are given the final say rather than Parliament on the deal secured by […]

As global crises mount, The New European’s Editor-at-Large says Britain’s foreign secretary has nothing to offer. Twenty years ago, I was working for a government that was busy introducing a minimum wage, developing Sure Start, creating jobs for young people through the New Deal, legislating for a Scottish Parliament, fighting to reverse ethnic cleansing in […]

Why those attacking the BBC are picking the wrong target. For almost two and a half thousand years, political leaders have been warned against the dangers of shooting the messenger, and for much of that time the message has gone unheeded. Such is the risk for frustrated Brexit opponents focused on the BBC as a […]

There might seem a certain logic behind talk of a new party, but Zoe Williams argues being in the centre is too soft for UK politics. What is a centrist? If you don’t know, it’s possible that you are one. You should check with your doctor. If you very devoutly are one, it’s most likely […]

The broadcaster’s problem is a bad case of liberal guilt, argues Chris Grey. John Humphrys “inserts his own implicit views about Brexit rather obviously” when conducting interviews, says Chris Grey. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/PA Images – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images I’m a great admirer and supporter of the BBC, and think it one of Britain’s […]

Why being a vocal Remainer, immigrant and woman of colour makes you the definitive enemy of the Brexit cause. Bonnie Greer during a Women in the World conference. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Archive/PA Images – Credit: PA Archive/PA Images After two weeks away in Goa, chilling on quiet beaches, shutting out social media, the country feels […]

Test yourself on your knowledge of European sport with our great quiz Test yourself on the cream of European sport with our fiendish quiz. Caution – it’s harder to solve than Brexit…

This week’s podcast is available now. In the latest episode of The New European podcast Richard Porritt, Steve Anglesey and Geri Scott ask whether Boris Johnson is up to the job and ponder if a new party would be successful. The team also analyse another gaffe-filled week for Labour and crown a Brexiteer of the […]

In this week’s diary column, Hitler’s ghost comes back to haunt the Daily Mail and Mandrake wonders how rehearsals are going for Brexit opponents. Oh dear, it’s turned out Nazi again Just as the Daily Mail was pointing an accusing finger at Jeremy Corbyn over anti-Semitism, Adolf Hitler’s ghost came back to haunt the newspaper […]

Why Brexit is just one of the challenges that the EU will face over the coming years. This autumn will see not only the end of the Brexit negotiations but also the beginning of the process to select the leadership team which will shape the European Union for the next five years. We will get […]

The Daily Mail’s theatre critic has been accused of racism in his review of a play, says BONNIE GREER. He certainly doesn’t understand theatre Twitter has just experienced a first: a theatre critic set it ablaze. That milestone belongs to the Daily Mail’s parliamentary sketch-writer by day and theatre reviewer by night, Quentin Letts. He […]

The Labour politician’s charge against the BBC has been so intense it has drawn criticism from his own side – but he says this is no time to let up. Andrew Adonis discusses Jacob Rees-Mogg and the House of Lords on Brexit. Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire/PA Images – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images I am a […]

With the world suddenly seeming a far more perilous place than it has for many years, the former diplomat assesses the dangerous fissures opening up around the planet. The world is experiencing more dangerous geopolitical tensions, across more regions than at any time since the Cold War ended three decades ago. The informed view in […]

The playwright behind the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? play Quiz has written a Brexit film – due to shoot in the summer. James Graham’s latest play, which is on stage in the West End, tells the story of the TV show’s coughing scandal of 2001. He has written a film about the behind-the-scenes […]

Who is on Question Time tonight and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s your guide… The BBC’s flagship current affairs programme returns tonight from the Black-E cultural hub in Liverpool. But who’s on the panel – and where do they stand on Brexit? Here’s who you can expect… Jo Johnson Who? Minister of state […]

Steve Anglesey names the worst Brexiteers of the week 10. BREXIT MUSEUM CURATORS In a new twist on the stuffy old view of museums as places of enlightenment and learning filled with fascinating artefacts, organisers are planning a permanent display of ‘old speeches, mugs, ties and posters’ to tell the story of our exit from […]

Dismissing anti-Semitic mutterings is going to bite Labour in the ass, writes MITCH BENN I’ve been writing this column now for almost exactly 18 months (I know, doesn’t time fly when you’re mired in existential turmoil). Occasionally I revisit the older pieces to see how times have changed (or not) in the last year and […]

It might be #MeToo, and not the Middle East, which ends Trump’s presidency, writes PAUL CONNEW Will sending scores of Tomahawk cruise missiles thundering into ‘animal’ Assad’s Syrian air bases – risking direct confrontation with Putin’s Russia – be enough to divert attention from a ticking domestic sex scandal timebomb in the shape of porn […]