Opinion

JAMES BALL debunks the ‘Lexit’ argument that the EU prevents Britain from implementing left-wing policies. As we grind ever-closer to the end of the beginning of Brexit, confusion abounds over Labour’s position on leaving. Its members and its voters overwhelmingly support a second referendum, and still overwhelmingly support Remain. Labour party policy, however, does not. […]

BONNIE GREER explains how Phil Collins and Ethel Waters helped her to escape the herd. British Pop and Rock musician Phil Collins of the group Genesis performs onstage at the Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois, June 7, 1980. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) – Credit: Getty Images One of the ways that I use to cause […]

Cowardice and appeasement in the face of thuggery is always deplorable but there’s a specific reason it’s a bad idea in this instance, says MITCH BENN SKZ cartoons – Credit: Archant In a previous column I dealt with the concept of ‘privilege’, in as much the word is used with regard to the concept of […]

Mitch Benn provides a handy guide on how to tackle the most common arguments supporting Brexit. Last week, you may remember, I promised to enumerate some of the most frequently trotted-out arguments in favour of Brexit and against a final deal vote, along with some handy responses, should you wish to, in rhetorical terms, ‘take […]

‘They made a godawful mess, a mess of which only a handful seem to understand even the most basic of elements.’ On Tuesday night, the UK’s members of parliament made once-in-a-century history. More importantly to those of us in the country right now – and the hundreds of millions of people we trade with – […]

Readers of The New European give their verdict on Channel 4’s Brexit film. Forgive me if I don’t join the chorus of approval for Brexit: The Uncivil War. As well as lying about the £350 million and Turkey, Vote Leave broke electoral rules and have been referred to the police by the Electoral Commission. They […]

As things begin to fall apart Bonnie Greer looks back at the late great writers who will define the next 12 months. Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865 – 1939). (Photo by George C Beresford/Getty Images) – Credit: Getty Images Three writers come to mind at the beginning of this momentous year: two who seem […]

It’s not the short-term jolt you need to fear – it’s the years of grind and decline says James Ball. The way most of us talk about no-deal Brexit, you could be forgiven for thinking it would cause only short-term chaos – because we focus on queues at the border, shortages and other elements of […]

There is a new political party in Europe, and this is big news because it is the first truly pan-European party, ever. It is called Volt, and it is set to electrify the political scene in all European countries with its positive message on pan-European cooperation and the strength that will come from a more […]

East Yorkshire born campaigner, CHEVAN ILANGARATNE, sets the stall for how Labour’s leader could get the Leave voters of Hull on side in a second referendum campaign. This amazing city of Hull embodies the Labour traditions just as much as any in England. I’m exceptionally proud to have in my party the talents of your […]

Mitch Benn on why the real 2019 is going to be weirder than sci-fi’s vision of the future My favourite movie is Blade Runner. Specifically the original 1982 theatrical cut. That’s the one I saw when it came out, that’s the version which was the first (and for a while only) movie I owned on […]

Bonnie Greer on the administration-defining showdown awaiting Trump and Mueller in 2019 In the United States, 2019 will be a kind of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral with Washington D.C as Tombstone, Arizona. Special counsel in charge of the investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 Presidential election, Robert Mueller, is the Wyatt Earp figure. […]

James Ball says Chris Grayling’s £14m ferry farce suggests it’s time to stop taking a collective nap and start panicking Transport Minister Chris Grayling. Photo: Getty Images – Credit: Getty Images If it weren’t a portent of the possible collapse of our country in three months’ time – Happy New Year everyone! – the case […]

A People’s Vote – or a second referendum – is the opportunity to give Britons that second chance to stop and think, writes BOB HALE. How many times have we heard someone say ‘in hindsight I would not have said that or in hindsight not done this’? Those of us supporting a People’s Vote are […]

The 1930s and 1940s created a template for festive films which is as powerful now as ever, writes BONNIE GREER. While filming Discovering: Christmas Films, which will be shown on Christmas Day and over the season on Sky Arts, it suddenly became clear to me that it was the Baby Boomer generation that discovered this […]

A grouchy MITCH BENN stays up late hatching a plot to finally put an end to Brexit. Every Leaver in Britain loved Brexit a lot… But the Gritch, who lived just outside London, Did NOT! The Gritch hated Brexit! The whole Brexitshambles! So he sat in his shed and he grumbled and rambled. It could […]

Early in 2018 the chances of no Brexit seemed totally out of reach, but the battle is now between a second referendum or the disaster of no-deal, writes JAMES BALL in this week’s Deconstructed. Let’s start with the good news: over the course of 2018 the chances of stopping Brexit – and the movement for […]

Theresa May’s sense of duty will go only get her so far. MURRAY HAWTHORNE says that she needs to show leadership to end the parliamentary stalemate she created. Theresa May won her vote of no confidence – but only just. Her 200 votes comprise a hollow victory; she herself a leader in purgatory on borrowed […]

There are still many questions to think about when it comes to another EU referendum. Former Conservative party adviser BARNABY TOWNS argues that anti-Brexit campaigners should be pushing to stop the Article 50 clock first. When the history of the Brexit crisis is written, the decision to trigger the Lisbon Treaty’s Article 50, setting the […]

The prime minister has a knack of categorically ruling something out before the opposite happens. BELLA FRIMPONG says a People’s Vote is the only way forward. Looking at the front pages it’s clear there is now only one political issue that is making the running. As a way of distracting from her epic failure at […]

British drama used to operate outside the constricting template of its American cousin. But does it still? If you are not a refugee, or coming for work or marriage, there are times when an immigrant must ask the question why their new nation was chosen. What made you really want to settle, become a citizen, […]

Suffering from Brexit burnout? MITCH BENN takes solace in the world of Doctor Who If, like me, you’re suffering from Brexit Burnout or just so bewildered by the rapidity and randomness of current events, you might find it quite therapeutic to give your aching grey cells a bit of a rest. With that in mind, […]

The European Court of Justice’s announcement earlier this week means the odds of stopping Brexit have changed but now new hurdles loom. The course of Brexit – or of trying to stop it – never runs smooth. This week we saw Theresa May bottle a vote on her deal, John Bercow bottle an effort to […]

For months headbangers in the European Research Group have threatened the prime minister. Theresa May has battled on with the threat of dismissal hanging over her like a hapless, over-promoted manager whose probation period is perilously close to its end. But now the ERG’s sword of Damocles has fallen. And they missed – they couldn’t […]

Young people from across the United Kingdom will gather in the House of Commons as it is packed out with MPs for Prime Minister’s Questions. BELLA FRIMPONG and PHOEBE POTTER explain why. This week, the prime minister abandoned the most important vote in the House of Commons for a generation, because she knows she cannot […]

Labour peer Lord Falconer has claimed that there hasn’t been a change of ‘circumstances’ to warrant a People’s Vote. CHEVAN ILANGARATNE explains why he is wrong. Because all of the problems which have occurred were all predicted, they were inherent in the plan to leave, campaigners argued what the dangers were and there was still […]

As young anti-Brexit campaigners plan to march on Westminster calling for a People’s Vote, JOSHUA CURIEL explains that politicians ignore the youth’s powerful voices at their peril. I believe three things about British politics. One, the public hates Westminster. Two, Brexit will leave my generation with what is arguably the worst inheritence in peacetime history. […]

MITCH BENN discusses how closely politics and Christmas should be linked. I come to report a disturbing development; in previous years (yes, this is now the third December in which I’ve been writing this column – doesn’t time fly when you’re mired in existential despair) I’ve noted that one bit of reactionary idiocy we’ve thus […]

Bonnie Greer’s touching tribute to the Second World War pilot who became an iconic social justice campaigner. ‘Wednesday’s child is full of woe,’ the nursery rhyme goes, and Harry Leslie Smith was born on a Wednesday. What could be called his ‘first life’ began in Barnsley. He was born to a coal miner father who […]

Readers are turning away from the BBC for their Brexit news – CHRIS CLODE explains why they’ve switched over. Having spent my life watching what I took to be BBC’s factual coverage of news, Brexit has cured our family. Now we have switched to Channel 4 for our evening news and for rolling 24-hour news, […]

Following a call from Exmouth, comedian Mitch Benn writes a rock parody song to offer an olive branch of understanding and cooperation to all the regretful Leave voters. I’m typing this while waiting for a video clip to ‘render’ (ie. be saved in a usable form); it’s taking a while, as my wheezy old laptop […]

Adrift and rudderless… It’s a matter of urgency. Bonnie Greer summarises the UK’s draft Withdrawal Agreement. The draft Withdrawal Agreement Theresa May brought back from Brussels should trouble us all. It does two things: it reveals something lurking in the shadows of Brexit – a deep, troubling and dangerous irrationality; and it is also the […]