News and Opinion

Boris Johnson has claimed there will be a decade of ‘opportunity’ after his Brexit deal is passed on January 31st. In his New Year message, the prime minister said that with the UK set to leave the EU on January 31, the Government could look to address other priorities. “As we say goodbye to 2019 […]

Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon has announced his intention to stand as the party’s deputy leader, saying Jeremy Corbyn is not to blame for the party’s election defeat. The left-winger and Corbyn ally said the party had lost out to the Tories in a contest where the overriding issue of Brexit had triumphed over traditional […]

Jess Phillips has got social media users talking about the possibility of her running for Labour leader with a tweet saying: ‘2020 watch this space’. ???????????????????????????????????????????????? WATCH THIS SPACE????????????????????????????????????????????????— Jess Phillips MP (@jessphillips) December 31, 2019 Phillips, one of the only Labour backbenchers high-profile enough to attempt to take over from Jeremy Corbyn, acknowledged in […]

There’s been two prime ministers, three elections, and UKIP’s had more leaders than you’ve had hot dinners. If a week is a long time in politics, then we’ve crammed more than a few political lifetimes into 2019. Can you remember all the twists, turns and trivia of another year in Brexit? – Let us know […]

Jeremy Corbyn has used his new year message to say his party is ‘the resistance’ against Boris Johnson and will be ‘on the front line’ and ‘on the streets’ opposing the government. In his address, Corbyn spoke out against billionaires and said Labour “will be on the front line, both in parliament and on the […]

The EU’s trade commissioner has called Boris Johnson’s pledge not to extend the Brexit transition period beyond December 2020 a ‘stunt’ that he will soon renege on. Soon after the election, Johnson amended legislation to rule out any extension to the transition period – a move that Phil Hogan branded as “very odd”. The Fine […]

Sir Ed Davey has said that he hopes the result of the general election will present a ‘huge opportunity’ for the Liberal Democrats in the upcoming year. The acting leader of the party made the comments in a new year’s message pledging to go beyond opposing Brexit and to “shake up the system” by tackling […]

Chancellor Sajid Javid has earmarked £3 billion to spend on farmers in 2020 to help them ‘thrive’ after Brexit. The cash – to be spread over two years – will be used to support farmers when the UK leaves the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) direct payments scheme next year. It will […]

The charity that runs Borough Market have accused the government’s Brexit department of trying to ‘misappropriate’ their values by featuring the world-famous London food hotspot in a video about EU citizens’ rights. No more delay. We're leaving by 31 January. See how the Brexit Bill protects EU citizens ?? pic.twitter.com/gmQzodm10o— Department for Exiting the EU […]

Almost 200,000 people have signed a petition calling on the government not to give Iain Duncan Smith a knighthood in the new year’s honours. The petition, which only started on Friday, said that Duncan Smith as an architect of austerity is “responsible for some of the cruellest most extreme welfare reforms this country has ever […]

Brexiteer and former MP Gisela Stuart has said today that she is still a member of the Labour party, despite urging the public to vote Tory in the general election. Extraordinary revelation on @talkRADIO this morning: @GiselaStuart says that she is still a Labour member - they haven't kicked her out - despite campaigning with […]

The top two petitions to government of 2019, backed by nearly eight million people, were calls to revoke Article 50 and to prevent Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament that was later found to be unlawful. The two petitions on the government’s website had nearly three times as many signatures than the rest of the top […]

Sir Keir Starmer has said that the Labour Party was ‘right’ to have moved to a ‘more radical position’, in speech calculated to appeal to Corbyn supporters in the party. One of several prominent party figures said to be considering a leadership run to take over from Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir said that Labour is […]

Close Corbyn ally Rebecca Long-Bailey has confirmed that she is considering a run at the Labour leadership. Also looking over “options” is former union leader Ian Lavery, potentially tightening competition on the left of the party. Long-Bailey set out her stall with a pledge to champion “progressive patriotism” in a piece for the Guardian, in […]

After John Bercow was passed over for a peerage upon retirement from his post as speaker of the House of Commons, a former black rod has argued that he doesn’t deserve it. The apparent snub to Bercow has sparked comment as he is the first former speaker in 230 years not to be offered a […]

After a dramatic 12 months, here is STEVE ANGLESEY’S lowdown of the losers who ended up winning. 20 CHARLOTTE GILL A Brexiteer journalist for the Sun, Telegraph and Mail on Sunday, Gill appeared to call for the end of satire after the general election, tweeting “I can’t believe Have I Got News For You is […]

Former Remainer MP Anna Soubry has suggested that Nigel Farage should have a place in the House of Lords. The ex-Conservative minister was questioned on LBC Radio about the New Years Honours list in response to a listener’s phone call. Speaking about Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, Soubry claimed that “there’s actually a good argument […]

It has been one of the words to define the decade, as well as his election campaign, but Boris Johnson is now trying to remove references to Brexit from Number 10 operations. In a sign that Johnson wants to talk about anything other than Brexit in 2020, the Tories are looking to remove references to […]

A number of defeated Labour MPs and candidates have stressed that ‘fundamental change’ is needed at the top of the party in the wake of its devastating election defeat. In a letter penned to The Observer, 11 MPs call for an “unflinching” review into exactly what led to the party’s worst election defeat in 84 […]

A tearful Austrian woman has called a radio station to tell Brits that the days of the British Empire are ‘over’ and to stop dreaming. Gabriella called Matt Frei’s LBC radio show to tell him that she believed Brexit was a “silly” thing to do an that it made her want to cry. Asked what […]

John Bercow has been snubbed in the New Year honours – fuelling suggestions that he will become the first speaker in 230 years not to be automatically offered an honour after he stepped down last month. The move would be seen as ‘revenge’ from prime minister Boris Johnson and his predecessor Theresa May over the […]

The New Year Honours list has been met with controversy after Iain Duncan Smith was knighted despite overseeing a ‘legacy of cruelty and failure’. As work and pensions secretary under David Cameron, Duncan Smith was the architect of the government’s controversial Universal Credit welfare reforms. Opposition parties said it “beggared belief” that someone whose policies […]

A former leader of the Tories has claimed some judges ‘distort’ the law to interpret it to ‘reach the result they want to achieve’. The government has refused to rule out changes to the way judges in the court are appointed after it announced plans in the Queen’s Speech for a “constitution, democracy and rights […]

Former Tory leader and Brexiteer Iain Duncan-Smith is to receive a knighthood in the New Years Honours list. Duncan-Smith will receive a knighthood from the Queen after being chosen as the chairman of the Conservatives election campaign, despite losing the election under his own leadership. The Tory MP has been seen as an architect of […]

Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson has said he stood down over the ‘brutality and hostility’ within his party. The ex-minister, who represented the West Bromwich East constituency until the general election earlier this month, said he thought it was “time to take a leap” and “do something different”. In an interview with the Guardian, […]

A top EU official has claimed that the UK should prepare itself for further Brexit delay beyond 2020. Negotiations between the remaining members and the British government on future trade, fisheries, education and transport relations can only begin after the UK has ratified the Withdrawal Agreement and must conclude by the end of 2020. “I […]

As a New European reader, you probably reckon you keep a close eye on the continent’s news. Test yourself with our quiz… Think you’re on top of what’s been going on across Europe in the past seven days? Take The New European’s tricky quiz and find out just how much of a Europhile you are…

Canada’s national broadcaster has defended its decision to cut Donald Trump’s cameo from Home Alone 2: Lost In New York. Trump, at the time a prominent businessman, famously made a brief appearance in the 1992 comedy, giving directions to Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin McCallister in a hotel lobby. However in a recent broadcast by the Canadian […]

Kylie Minogue has donned the mechanics overalls worn by her former Neighbours character to urge people to head to Australia to avoid the political turmoil. The Australian pop star sings and stars in the video alongside comedian Adam Hills, cricketer Shane Warne, world tennis number one Ashleigh Barty and Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe. The nearly […]

Brexit has been cited as one of the reasons more people are experiencing loneliness – with more over 50s saying they feel lonely than a year ago. Research found many of those feeling lonely say it’s because they no longer work, live alone, or have children who have left home. But 3% of those surveyed […]

Boris Johnson has been told that he will have to fund his proposals for a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland. The Irish prime minister did not dismiss the idea of such a bridge, but ruled out paying for it. Last week Johnson revived his calls for the bridge describing it as a “very interesting […]

It has been a record-breaking year for Irish passports as almost a million were issued. The number of first time applicants from the UK peaked around this year’s Brexit deadlines of March and October – leading to a 7% rise. Foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney said: “2019 was another bumper year for the Passport Service. […]