News and Opinion

The historian’s praise for the ‘fruitful’ British Empire is wrong – and we must teach the next generation why, says Andrew Adonis. Poor David Starkey, bemoaning his loss of academic honours and book contracts. A ‘heavy price’, he says, for his revolting comments in a recent online discussion in which he said slavery was not […]

The Scottish government has said it would rather take Boris Johnson’s government to court than allow the imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef into the country. Westminster plans, according to the Financial Times, to seize the ‘UU internal market’ to create new post-Brexit powers that enforce new standards surrounding food, environment and animal welfare […]

Cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has warned that civil service officials have become ‘fair game’ in post-Brexit as he criticised anonymous briefings against him. Sir Mark, the most powerful official in government, is set to step down as cabinet secretary and national security adviser (NSA) in September amid reports of clashes with the prime minister’s […]

Boris Johnson failed to meet his target of having all coronavirus tests completed within 24 hours by the end of June, newly-released data shows. There was only a minimal increase in the proportion of tests completed within the timeframe after the prime minister made his pledge, statistics from the Department of Health and Social Care […]

Thousands of EU nationals could be cut off from support during the coronavirus pandemic because of flaws in the Universal Credit application process, a thinktank has warned. A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) estimates that a growing number of EU citizens are missing out on vital government assistance during the pandemic […]

Keir Starmer faces a barrage of criticism from the hard left – no matter what he does, according to James Ball. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer faces a barrage of criticism from the hard left of the party, says James Ball. Picture: Aaron Chown/PA – Credit: PA When an influential party figure resigns in […]

The cabinet minister for Northern Ireland has been accused of dodging calls to front a scrutiny committee looking at the effects of Brexit on the region after he repeatedly declined requests to attend. The Lords EU committee, set up to scrutinise the Northern Ireland Protocol, summoned Brandon Lewis back in February but the minister declined […]

The New European is celebrating its fourth birthday, and we’re giving you a chance to get an insight into how it launched. We will be hosting a live edition of the podcast to celebrate the fourth anniversary since the pro-European newspaper launched. As well as our regular hosts Steve Anglesey and Richard Porritt, we’ll be […]

A hospital in Boris Johnson’s constituency has been forced to close its emergency department after a wave of staff fell ill with suspected cases of coronavirus. The Hillingdon hospital in Uxbridge in West London has had to close its Intensive Care Unit after 70 staff went sent home suspected to have Covid-19. Ambulances were told […]

The Liberal Democrat leadership hopeful on working with Labour, rejoining the EU and where the party needs to pitch itself Layla Moran is cooped up in her flat as the Liberal Democrats embark on one of the oddest party leadership elections of the modern era. Labour’s recent contest was cut short by Covid-19, but Keir […]

Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox – also sacked by Boris Johnson as trade secretary – has been nominated by Boris Johnson to lead the World Trade Organisation. Praised by the prime minister as a ‘passionate advocate of multilateralism’, reports suggest rival Peter Mandelson, a former Labour minister, was rejected for the role by the […]

The EU could be open to welcoming an independent Scotland into the bloc but is ‘very reluctant’ to readmit the rest of the UK, an expert has claimed. Kirsty Hughes, a former director of thinktank Scottish Centre on Europe Relations (SCER), said Scotland had a better chance of rejoining the EU than other parts of […]

The EU’s chief negotiator has said the EU will ‘continue negotiating in good faith today’, despite Boris Johnson telling German chancellor Angela Merkel he was prepared to walk away at the end of the year without a deal. Downing Street said the PM had told Merkel that the UK ‘would be ready’ to leave the […]

Boris continued to evade calls to apologise for comments he made about the spread of coronavirus in care homes, telling the Commons he didn’t say anything wrong during a fiery session of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called on the PM to apologise for comments suggesting care home staff were to […]

A Tory MP has been accused of stoking ‘ideological warfare’ after suggesting free school meal vouchers were being spent on alcohol and cigarettes. Conservative MP Vicky Ford, who is also the children’s minister, tweeted that parents were misusing the vouchers introduced to help feed school children over the summer break. ‘Saddened to hear of incidents […]

Boris Johnson’s senior political aide has requested ‘secret’ visits to several highly-classified defence facilities amid reports he is preparing to radically shake up the military. Dominic Cummings is planning to visit five of Britain’s top secret defence and security services in a supposed bid to overhaul how those organisations are run. It is understood he […]

Labour-supporting actor David Tennant has thrown his weight behind Keir Starmer’s leadership, praising the fact that ‘a clever grown-up’ was offering opposition to Boris Johnson. Tennant, known best for his appearances as Doctor Who, said that the party’s loss under Jeremy Corbyn at the general election was ‘disappointingly predictable’, branding Labour’s position on Brexit a […]

Suggestions of a modest recovery for support of the government and Boris Johnson’s approval ratings has been counteracted by new polling figures showing another drop in the polls. A new Survation poll found a 15 point reduction in the government’s approval rating compared to polling conducted at the end of June. And Boris Johnson’s ratings […]

The government has told a Labour peer he was being sidelined from the race to become the next head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) because he wasn’t a ‘Brexiter’. The government told Lord Mandelson – a former cabinet member under Gordon Brown – that he would not be nominated as a potential candidate to […]

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been criticised for posing with a £180 ‘smart mug’ as part of the traditional pre-budget photograph. Hours before delivering his mini-budget to the House of Commons on Wednesday Sunak was seen reviewing the documents, alongside his work computer, and an Ember Travel Mug worth £179.95 online. Said to have been a […]

A health minister has provoked a backlash against the government after insisting that free parking for NHS workers ‘cannot continue indefinitely’. Health secretary Matt Hancock announced on March 25 that the government would cover the costs of car parking for NHS staff who he said were ‘going above and beyond every day’ at hospitals in […]

Hot and bothered as a Covid patient, London is split between lockdown, protests, and parties. WILL SELF explores what it is that is pulling the city apart, and what keeps it together. It was sultry on the Wednesday night, and there were helicopters up in the vicinity – two or three that kept circling, hovering, […]

Half-price meals will be offered to diners eating out every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during August, the chancellor has announced, in a bid to boost the hospitality sector. Rishi Sunak said the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme would provide 50% off – up to a maximum of £10 per head – meals at participating […]

With all attention focused on Rishi Sunak’s statement, Boris Johnson can feel lucky nobody noticed his lame attempt to give Keir Starmer a new nickname For once, PMQs wasn’t the star attraction in the House of Commons. With chancellor Rishi Sunak taking to the despatch box to unveil his latest tranche of measures to prevent […]

A Labour MP has accused Boris Johnson of ‘double standards’ over comments he made about British jobs when it was pointed out the new Brexit blue passports were being printed in Poland. Warley Labour MP Peter Spellar told the Commons the prime minister had broken his promise to secure Britons ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ – as […]

Tory Brexiteer MP Mark Francois has warned Britain’s top army general that Dominic Cummings is going to come and ‘sort you out’ if his department does not get itself in order. Francois issued the threat after criticising the defence procurement process during a session of the House of Commons defence select committee. He told general […]

A Tory MP who went on an £8,000 trip to Saudi Arabia paid by the country’s leaders has just been appointed as head of a parliamentary committee on arms exports. Mark Garnier – who served as international trade minister under Theresa May – will head the Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) – an influential […]

Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro says he has tested positive for Covid-19. Bolsonaro confirmed the test results while wearing a mask and speaking to reporters in the country’s capital Brasilia. ‘I’m well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can’t due to medical recommendations,’ Bolsonaro said. The president has often appeared […]

Scepticism of universities has become the Tory party’s ‘new Euroscepticism’, Boris Johnson’s brother Jo Johnson has claimed. Johnson, a former universities minister and ex-Tory MP, was speaking at the Festival of Higher Education when he said higher education scepticism is the ‘new Euroscepticism on the Conservative benches’ due to growing concerns about value for money. […]

The EU’s lead Brexit negotiator and his British counterpart will dine on fish during a private dinner in Downing Street. Michel Barnier and David Frost will kick off the latest round of trade-deal talks over a three course meal consisting of chargrilled asparagus, a fillet of halibut and a terrine of summer fruits. The pair […]

The UK has submitted a formal request to the EU to establish border checkpoints in Northern Irish ports as part of post-Brexit arrangements. The government has asked the EU if it can create Border Control Posts (BCPs) – facilities used to check livestock and food entering the EU single market – in all major Northern […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer is investigating ways to be given the right-to-reply to Boris Johnson after he announced plans to start televising daily press briefings with journalists later this year. Rather than being ronted by the prime minister, Johnson will put forward a political appointee to host the briefings. Downing Street has said it expects […]