Opinion

Is the coronavirus reason for the Houses of Parliament to close, or rather a reason for it to remain open? Politics lecturer ALEX PRIOR looks at the significance of Westminster during the outbreak. As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, there is substantial debate around whether the UK parliament should continue to operate. MPs are still meeting […]

There is an assumption life will return to normal once the coronavirus has been combatted. But some changes could well be permanent. JOHANN FORTWENGEL explains how business could be impacted. The realisation that life is going to change for a good while is starting to take hold. To flatten the curve of the COVID-19 outbreak, […]

Singapore’s response to the coronavirus outbreak was swifter because it learned from the SARs outbreak two decades before. DALE FISHER explains the action it has taken. Singapore’s response to the coronavirus has been held up by many around the world as a model. As of this week, the country has had 266 total cases (with […]

BONNIE GREER on an overlooked novel from the past which described a devastating 21st century pandemic. The book cover of Mary Shelley’s 1826 publication of “The Last Man”, a novel set in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by plague. – Credit: Archant He knew that fear and melancholy forebodings were powerful assistants to disease; that desponding […]

Remainers have spent four years promoting the spirit of cooperation, supporting and working together. JAMES BALL says the anti-Brexit movement must not lose sight of these principles during the coronavirus outbreak. You know the world has turned on its head in the space of a few weeks when you realise the UK’s ability to get […]

How can you clean your house to keep it infection-free? Health expert BRETT MITCHELL has tips for cleaning surfaces, your gadgets, clothes and cutlery. How to clean your house to prevent the spread of coronavirus and other infections As the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world, it’s a good time to understand how cleaning can […]

The coronavirus is likely to go down as a significant moment in our history. But how will it change our politics? ANDREW ADONIS looks at what might happen when it’s all over. Have your say Send your letters for publication to The New European by emailing letters@theneweuropean.co.uk and pick up an edition each Thursday for […]

In an era of anonymous sources and divisive press briefings, can the media and journalists rise to the occasion of responsible reporting over the coronavirus outbreak? As COVID-19 spreads globally, so has misinformation about how to counter it. From politicians downplaying the risk it poses to public health to journalists tweeting false claims about who […]

While a number of countries have reported rapidly increasing cases of coronavirus, there are some reported very few to no cases. JEREMY ROSSMAN tries to explain why. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in Wuhan, China in December 2019, we have seen the virus spread to over 160 countries. Several countries have experienced large outbreaks, including […]

Trust in British society has been in short supply – and the Brexit vote did not help. As JON GOULDING explains, businesses have been trying to change public attitudes, but it requires the help of politicians too. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn’t agree that in the run-up to the Brexit vote and […]

Postponing elections can mean politicians not neccessarily good at their job stay in office for longer. But it is impossible to run them without making compromises. TOBY JAMES explains more. Local elections scheduled to take place in England and Wales in the first week of May – including the London mayoral vote – have been […]

With supermarket shelves selling out of hand santiser, it is possible to make your own at home. These scientists give their view on what is required to make it suitable for tackling coronavirus. To slow the spread of coronavirus we’re being told to wash our hands more, preferably with soap and water, or failing that, […]

What effect will the warmer weather have on COVID-19? JEREMY ROSSMAN, a lecturer in virology, explains that it could be beneficial for Britain. As the coronavirus death toll continues to rise, some have suggested that the approaching warmer spring weather in the northern hemisphere may slow or even stop the spread of the disease. US […]

In an age of social media and 24-hour rolling news, fear is spreading faster than the coronavirus. JACK DEBIEC, an assistant professor in psychiatry, says there ways to slow it down. As cases of COVID-19 proliferate, there’s a pandemic of fear unfolding alongside the pandemic of the coronavirus. Media announce mass cancellations of public events […]

LUNA WILLIAM on how Brexit threatens the Romani community from all angles – including their rights, mobility, support and access to services as well as a rise in discriminatory attitudes. The Romani community is one with a long and complicated history. Since its origin, members have faced prejudice, discrimination and persecution across Europe. Now Romani […]

BONNIE GREER explains why African-American women are backing Joe Biden to defeat Donald Trump. Former first lady Michelle Obama and I grew up a few miles away from each other on the South Side Of Chicago, one of the heartlands of African America. The month that Michelle LaVaughn Robinson was born, January, 1964, president Lyndon […]

The failed ideology of sovereignism is sweeping Europe – how will it be tackled? Even in these days of coronavirus panic, what we Italians call sovereignism is the real threat. Countries that lock themselves within their borders, countries that delude themselves they can face the future alone by relying on some theatrical leader. Sovereignism is […]

Government ministers that told us we’d had enough of experts now seem to have performed a sharp u-turn. The government which told us that ‘people have had enough of experts’ now briefs that its strategy on dealing with coronavirus is wholly in the hands of experts like the chief medical officer and the chief scientific […]

Recent news reports the world over have been littered with coverage over panic-buying to prepare for self-isolation, with toilet roll high on the list. MITCH BENN sheds light on how the clear-outs start. I’m a big fan of the ‘discount’ supermarket chain Aldi (other Germanic discount supermarket chains are available. Well one other is anyway). […]

Nigel Farage’s recent media appearances telling Boris Johnson how to run the country and how to deal with coronavirus have annoyed readers. It’s a bit rich of Nigel Farage to lecture Boris Johnson on his leadership, or absence of it. I agree with his criticisms of Johnson’s tactic of hiding from the public and the […]

Brexit has meant some now want their towns to backtrack on their links with Europe, while others are doubling down their commitments. HOLLY EVA RYAN explains more. The Harbury village sign was defaced on January 31st (left). Right is the original version on Google Maps. Photograph: Facebook/Google. – Credit: Archant The practice of twinning towns […]

Readers suggest their ideas for how to keep the United Kingdom together after Brexit hits. Would allowing Britons to keep EU citizenship (Letters, TNE #182-183) help prevent the break-up of the United Kingdom by reducing support among Scottish voters for independence by preserving their freedom to travel, live and work within the EU? Many UK […]

Readers disagree with recent contributions from our columnists that Bernie Sanders cannot beat Donald Trump. As a Vermonter, I take issue with Bonnie Greer and Michael White on Vermont senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders (TNE #184). As Bonnie says, Bernie is rich – total wealth approaching $2 million. But Trump, if you believe him, […]

Some readers are taking a cynical approach to the coronavirus and how the fear will be used by the government. How timely is this coronavirus for our Brexit government? For the next two years they can blame it for all the economic problems caused by Brexit. Of course after that, they will have to find […]

BONNIE GREER on the black swan circling germophobe president Trump. One of the first things that you learn as a scriptwriter is to keep your stories realistic. This means that your tale must be something that so-called ordinary people can grasp fairly quickly. American scripts, no matter how fantastical, are usually rooted in recognisable situations, […]

MITCH BENN says the right-wing media’s reaction to the prime minister’s announcement is hypocritical. So, our prime minister has announced having conceived a child “out of wedlock”, as our recent ancestors might have tersely put it, while still at least technically married to his last wife (one is given to understand that a divorce has […]

JAMES BALL questions whether any of the remaining Democratic party candidates can defeat Donald Trump. The night misleadingly called “Super Tuesday” turned into anything but for the Democratic Party, leaving it with the dismal choice of which of two elderly white men it should pick as its champion to beat the elderly orange man in […]

DON BRIND on why the next Labour leader needs to shift the party position to ensure it has a future. My old boss, the BBC political editor John Cole, had a perceptive test of political leadership. Good leaders, he said, had to be ready to “chip away at the prejudices of their followers”. It looks […]

Readers react to Priti Patel’s new points-based immigration system proposals. My Hungarian mate Ferenc sees a bright future for gangmasters under our new ugly immigration laws. So you can stay in the UK for six months but you’re not allowed to work. That’s really going to stop low-paid illegal work in the unregulated economy! Arrive […]

Tackling the climate emergency a political struggle needs to be won up against right-wing populism. RICHARD CALLAND says the new digital era provides an opportunity to do this. History may in due course record 2019 as the year in which the penny finally dropped about the climate emergency humanity faces. A sense of urgency was […]

It’s not just turning 50 that has made MITCH BENN want to get in shape. He’s dreams of watching the wheels fall off the Brexit bandwagon. I’ve started going to the gym again. There are a few reasons for this: firstly, I’ve found a local gym which is run by and in aid of a […]

Without a change in electoral system the big parties are doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes with their leaders. In Meg Russell’s insightful article (“Why grassroots members shouldn’t choose party leaders”), she says of the move away from MP-only selections, “Labour was the first party to diverge from this… in 1981”. However, the 1976 […]