News and Opinion

The chancellor’s financial briefing delivered a few Brexit home truths, says ANGELA JAMESON It was renamed the Spring Statement, but there was little to put a bounce in your step. The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s update on the economy and the public finances was certainly shorter than the usual March statement but Philip Hammond seemed […]

The impact of leaving the EU is to be discussed at a conference on Monday. Speakers including New European contributor Professor AC Grayling, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable and Labour’s Chuka Umunna will address delegates at the ‘Brexit: Should I stay or should I go’ conference on Monday at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in […]

Jeremy Corbyn’s response to the prime minister’s action over the Russian spy poisoning scandal was met with condemnation. And it was not just the government benches shaking their heads as he fell short of fully backing the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomatic staff – among other sanctions – but also many on his own side. […]

Even Brexiteers should be appalled at the way the government is mishandling Britain’s trade, says Liberal Democrat MP WERA HOBHOUSE To negotiate our own trade deals is one of the last hopes of the Conservative government to persuade the public that Brexit is a good thing. The term ‘Global Britain’ has been used time and […]

A little-known and little-noticed provision in the European Withdrawal Bill could be the key to triggering a referendum on any Brexit deal, writes ANDREW ADONIS Always read the small print. The monstrous EU Withdrawal Bill, meandering slowly through the Lords, contains a provision which virtually no-one noticed until a few weeks ago. In an apparently […]

MITCH BENN examines tweets from an organisation that claims to be returning conservatism to the grassroots A tweet appeared a few days ago from the group Activate UK; this organisation describes its objective in its Twitter ‘bio’ as ‘Creating a united platform for young conservatives and returning power to the grassroots’. Leaving aside the slightly […]

Whatever else you can say about an assassination attempt with a powerful Russian nerve agent on its soil, it has certainly told Britain who its friends are. The US, the power the Brexiteers and their press supporters told us repeatedly would be our firmest ally after Brexit (party, and curiously, because Donald Trump’s mother liked […]

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 […]