News and Opinion

Jeremy Hunt has been accused of wanting to turn Britain into “a bargain basement for business” after he said the UK should follow the example of low-tax Singapore after Brexit. In what will be seen as an obvious bid to burnish his leadership credentials with Tory hard Brexiteers, Hunt hailed the south-east Asian city state […]

Jean-Claude Juncker has called on the UK to “get your act together” over Brexit, branding some Britons “entirely unreasonable” for expecting Brussels to put forward a solution. The European Commission president also rejected claims of a plot to keep the UK in the EU “by all possible means” and revealed he fears the majority of […]

It provided the inspiration – and name – for the race, but Greece’s Marathón also has a fascinating linguistic history. PETER TRUDGILL reports. The men’s race at the Athens marathon (marathónios in Greek) was won this year by the Kenyan athlete Misoi Brimin Kipkorir of Kenya, in two hours 10 minutes and 56 seconds; the […]

International trade secretary and Brexiteer Liam Fox has claimed that there is now just a 50% chance of Britain leaving the EU if Theresa May’s deal is rejected. Speaking in the Sunday Times, Fox said that voting for the prime minister’s Brexit plan was the only way to be ‘100% certain’ that the UK will […]

An outspoken Brexiteer who was awarded a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours list says it will have ‘no bearing whatsoever’ in how he votes on Theresa May’s Brexit plan. The controversial decision by Theresa May to give John Redwood an honour has been criticised as ‘desperate’ and has been seen by some as an […]

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 […]

A government department has spent more than £100m on ferries to ease potential problems in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Documents outlining the £107.m agreements say increased border checks in UK ports after Brexit could “cause delivery of critical goods to be delayed” in the event of no deal. The move was described as […]

A pioneering partnership between Google and a leading Dutch museum has brought together every surviving Vermeer painting for the first time ever and exhibited them online. FLORENCE HALLETT considers what it means for art. View of Delft, 1660-61, Mauritshuis. – Credit: Archant Turning towards us, her lips slightly parted as if about to speak, or […]

Theresa May’s decision to award a Brexiteer a knighthood has been branded a ‘desperate attempt to blunt criticism’ in her Brexit plan. John Redwood is one of Parliament’s most outspoken Brexiteers. He was one of the Eurosceptic cabinet ministers branded ‘bastards’ by John Major as he fought to ratify the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, and […]

An artist will plant a weeping willow to symbolise the UK’s ‘sorrow’ on the day that it leaves the EU. Clemens Wilhelm said the Brexit tree will be an ‘ambivalent image for an ambivalent moment’ in history. He will plant the tree on the banks of the River Deveron, close to Huntly Castle in Aberdeenshire, […]

New research has revealed the extent that the public is being kept in the dark over Brexit by the government. The research, carried out by the People’s Vote campaign, found that only 20-25% of all Freedom of Information requests were answered by Brexit-related departments, with the Brexit department refusing to cooperate with more than half […]

Remain campaigners and EU nationals have been angered by a new ‘jolly’ video from the Home Office outlining the application process for EU citizens who want to stay in the UK beyond December 2020. https://twitter.com/ukhomeoffice/status/1078206349148708865 Campaigners have been angered by the ‘cheery’ music and stock images of people smiling as it outlines the government’s EU […]

Jeremy Corbyn is calling for Parliament to be recalled so that MPs can decide the future of Theresa May’s Brexit deal. In an interview with the Independent, the Labour leader said he wanted to ensure the vote took place ‘as soon as possible’ and said that the prime minister was trying to ‘run down the […]

New analysis has found that the Ministry of Defence is losing hundreds of millions of pounds a year in procurement costs because of the fall in the value of the pound due to Brexit. Former Tory defence minister Guto Bebb said it was ‘disastrous’ that the Ministry of Defence is being ‘forced to pay billions […]

For years the pair were at war with each other at the despatch box, but finally the former chancellor and shadow chancellor have found political agreement. George Osborne and Ed Balls were appearing on Robert Rinder’s Good Year, Bad Year due to be aired on Channel 4. When asked whether Brexit was really going to […]

Rule by “populist” politicians like Donald Trump and Hungary’s Viktor Orban has a “highly negative” effect on national political systems, Tony Blair’s think tank has warned. The report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change found that populist leaders stay in post for longer and are less likely to leave office after free and […]

Britain’s most senior police officer has suggested Brexit could put the public at risk if security cooperation with the EU is weakened. Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick said she hoped police would have “as much as possible of the instruments” they currently have, such as database access, or something very similar as quickly as possible […]

At the end of a momentous year, JOHN KAMPFNER surveys the febrile European political scene and finds embattled leaders, emboldened populists and a looming election in which everything could be up for grabs. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Picture: PHILIPPE WOJAZER/AFP/Getty Images – Credit: AFP/Getty Images Sometimes the most obvious statements […]

British productivity following Brexit would fall below the European average for the first time since records began, new research has found. The research – commissioned for the People’s Vote campaign – found that under the prime minister’s Brexit deal, productivity in the UK would be significantly lower than if we were to Remain in the […]

Business leaders’ confidence in the British economy has plummeted as uncertainty about Brexit continues ahead of the March 29 withdrawal date. The cautious optimism shown by company bosses earlier in 2018 has entirely gone, according to a survey by the Institute of Directors (IoD). Overall optimism, which had briefly reached positive territory following the initial […]

It’s one of the most-watched Christmas programmes of the year, but there are fears that Brexit could hamper the programme’s success. Brendan O’Caroll wins an award for Mrs Brown’s Boys. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA. – Credit: PA Archive/PA Images While the nation may be split on whether or not Mrs Brown’s Boys is the best sitcom […]

Captain Scott’s last Antarctic expedition has long been overshadowed by its fateful end. But, says MICK O’HARE, we should also remember his team’s revolutionary research, which changed the way we understood the world and is assisting scientists to this day. Robert Scott and his party finally arrive at the South Pole only to discover the […]

France will overtake the United Kingdom to become the world’s sixth biggest economy next year as the impact of Brexit bites, a reports has said. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said “disruption” to the British economy was inevitable due to lower inward and business investment. The United States remains the world’s largest […]

Jeremy Corbyn responded to questions about an event by saying: ‘I was present (but) I don’t think I was actually involved’… but what was he talking about? We’ve picked 10 moments from the major political events in UK politics in 2018 to test your knowledge. How many can you get right? Share your score in […]

A quadruple whammy of rising flight costs, hotel prices, insurance prices and mobile roaming charges after Brexit will see the cost of winter holidays rocket. New research has found that the average cost of Brits’ winter holidays will increase by up to £113.50 under the government’s proposed Brexit plan. MORE: Lecturer: ‘Why I am considering […]

Stuck for something to do while the turkey cooks in the oven? Try The New European’s Christmas Quiz and share your score! 100 years ago 1 Which poet and soldier died on November 4, 1918, aged 25? His best-known works are Dulce et Decorum est and Anthem for Doomed Youth. 2 The premiere of which […]

X Factor’s advent was shortly to end the traditional fight for the festive top slot. But it went out with a bang in 2003, says SOPHIA DEBOICK. Comedian Avid Merrion launches his bid for the Christmas number one spot with Bo Selecta single “Proper Crimbo”. Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images – Credit: Getty Images Christmas […]

In a new video series, The New European meets some of the 3 million EU citizens living in the UK. Here we meet ALFREDO CASTRO, a university lecturer, who is considering moving back to Spain because of Brexit. There are fewer than 100 days left until the UK leaves the European Union and there is […]

Boney M.’s 1978 just kept on getting better. RICHARD LUCK recalls the German disco outfit’s annus mirabilis and the smash-hit festive No.1 that finished it off. The race for the Christmas No.1 has always been a big deal in the UK. Not that there were too many acts making a special effort to nab the […]

They are the hits you hear every festive season… but they might sound a little different this Christmas. MERRY BREXIT EVERYBODY Are you banging your poor head against the wall? It’s the time that Jacob Rees-Mogg has a ball Does his nanny always tell him That the old songs are the best? So he’s humming […]

Buying and decorating a Christmas tree along with baking 48 mince pies, RACHEL JOHNSON describes her life during the festive season. ‘There are things in this family that only I notice, care about, attempt to deal with or resolve, and I know it’s the same for you in your family, too.’ Thus Caitlin Moran began […]

EMMA JONES​ attends the rather unusual screening of a new movie which shows a different side to Laurel and Hardy – and the story’s leading man As screenings for A-lister films go, this is about the most curious and unpretentious I’ve ever been to. Rain beats down outside on a cold winter’s night, with just […]