Politics

The UK could have saved the European Union from vaccine disaster.

Fishing has overshadowed discussion of wider issues affecting the environment since Brexit

Brexit wasn't the first time leaders tried to stoke up tensions in the name of 'freedom' 

An immigration crisis is facing Britain now that Brexit reality is hitting

A surprise general election could suit the Tories - and Boris Johnson will have the power to do it.

Readers have their say on the damage Brexit is causing Britain.

What would one mean, and how do we achieve it?

Pro-Europeans thought it was wrong to leave the EU - but they still want to see the UK succeed. 

It is beneficial for Labour to take up the fight for proportional representation.

How can we get PR 'done' to reform our electoral system and British politics?

Europe's leaders are human beings - they are just as fallible as anybody else.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline is descending into the biggest transatlantic diplomatic crisis since the Iraq War. CATHRIN SCHAER explains how we got here

The City was largely overlooked in the Brexit talks. That means an almighty struggle is about to kick off, as London tries to make the most of new opportunities while facing a rearguard action against a covetous Europe. SUNA ERDEM reports. Thirty-five years ago, Margaret Thatcher gave us the Big Bang. Deregulation ushered in the Golden Age […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on legendary literary character from France now enjoying some new exposure thanks to Netflix. Paris, June 1929. A man calls at the Rue Saint Placide apartment of wealthy widow Madame Casanova, who is well-known in the city as a collector of gems and jewellery. He is handsome, about 30 years old and wearing an impeccably […]

He has been kicked out of the White House, but Donald Trump is now trying to create a rival presidency – an independent powerbase that is tearing at the fabric of US society, says BONNIE GREER. Like the ham actor who refuses to leave the stage, Donald Trump left the White House in the full bloom […]

The unravelling of the deal over Northern Ireland exposes an unresolved issue at the heart of Brexit that is no closer to being resolved now than it was four years ago. STEVE RICHARDS reports.  What is the future for Northern Ireland in the context of Brexit? If the question were posed in an A-level examination the British […]

A route to rejoining the EU is possible, says reader Mark Sullivan. Judging from your readers’ letters, they are being too pessimistic on our rejoining the EU. Just because you can’t see the immediate pathway unfolding, doesn’t reduce the inevitability of market forces which resolutely point to this conclusion. How many commentators for example predicted […]

Readers analyse Brexit’s progress one month on and question whether it was worth it. As Mitch Benn humorously points out, in the face of incontrovertible evidence that Brexit is deeply damaging Britain, Remainers and Leavers must now be asking themselves what was the point of it all. Take the Brexit mantra ‘Taking back control’. It’s actually […]

Readers have their say on the EU vaccines crisis – and what it all means for the bloc. I think Paul Knott with his column was particularly prescient in his views about this ongoing debacle. As readers of this great paper are committed Remainers, it is really hard to reconcile the EU’s recent actions about […]

The SNP should not resist the prime minister’s visits to Scotland. Surely Nicola Sturgeon should have welcomed Boris Johnson’s visit to her patch? It’s difficult to think of anything more likely to further bolster support for independence and alienate more Scots. Maybe this is his first shot, and he’ll be back for a booster in […]

The prime minister of the Netherlands took responsibility for his government’s mistakes. Boris Johnson says he takes full responsibility for our 100,000 Covid deaths. Robert Jenrick says he’s proud of the many things the government has achieved in response to the pandemic. Really? Let’s just list a few of the arrant failures: to heed the […]

Without Scotland and Northern Ireland, England and Wales will need its own campaign to rejoin the EU. There us a simple requirement for a new political party with one objective: for England and Wales to rejoin the EU. (Scotland is going to do under its own steam, Northern Ireland has not left.) This is urgent […]

Readers are sceptical momentum behind Rejoin will come before the 2030s. I have just finished reading the excellent Brexitland by Maria Sobolewska and Robert Ford (recommended in TNE some weeks ago). It provides an analysis, often of survey information over decades, of why the UK divided, and continues to divide, into two camps over Brexit. […]

Readers have their say on how to fix Britain after Brexit. I think Ian Dunt’s list has some excellent ideas  (“15 ways to fix Britain”). However, I take exception to the idea that the only issue with British ‘citizenship’ is its prohibitive cost for new applicants. The fact is, that having now ceased to be […]

The theatrical resignation of the PM’s chief adviser takes ALASTAIR CAMPBELL back to a piece of advice given to him by Princess Diana in the 1990s. Let’s start with a couple of people who are good at their job, and then move on to the government. Emma Corrin is an actress. Peter Morgan is a writer, […]

TIM WALKER’s weekly diary reports on a revamp for Rishi Sunak’s Downing Street pad, and Jennifer Arcuri’s views on the Dominic Cummings affair. With a billionaire father-in-law in N. R. Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of the information technology conglomerate Infosys, Rishi Sunak is clearly not a man used to slumming it. Still, the money that appears to have […]

Two-thirds of people in the UK want the government to request an extension to the Brexit transition period in order to focus on the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new opinion poll. There was agreement that an extension to the transition period should be requested across all age groups, social grades and UK regions, as […]

Those caught up in the momentous events of the fall of the Berlin Wall recall its demise 35 years later

Joan Bakewell says Stanley Johnson, like Boris, is unprincipled and he’s not dared to show his face at her book club. Brexit convert Jo Johnson is, meanwhile, trousering £4,167 a month from Switzerland. Joan Bakewell attending the Virgin Media BAFTA TV awards, held at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Picture: Matt Crossick/PA Wire – […]

Drop Project Fear and embrace a joyful, demanding, confident message about EU membership, say New European readers – that’s how we’ll reboot Remain and fight Brexit. At the top of the letters page in TNE #152 was a red bus with a doom-laden message (“UK regions face losing £8.4 billion …”). Do you really think […]

‘If TIG should call by-elections so should the MPs in the ERG or linked to Momentum’ Labour and Tory representatives say MPs in the Independent Group (TIG) should call by-elections in their seats as they were originally elected on another party’s manifesto. If this is the case, why is it that MPs such as those […]

Laudable as they seem, attempts to tackle terrorism with science risk going horribly wrong