News and Opinion

The Brexit department has been mocked after publishing ‘sectoral analyses’ revealing that electricity is vital for light and heating, fishing is important to coastal communities and postal services are used to supply goods. The reports also explain what an aeroplane is and how they are useful for conducting trade between countries, and features some sections […]

STEVE ANGLESEY adapts a few Christmas classics for New European readers in the mood for a singalong. Altogether now… (To the tune of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) Boris the Bare-Faced Liar Had an ever-growing nose Each time he told a porky It looked like Pinocchio’s All of the Remain voters Used to laugh and call […]

Editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL on how William Shakespeare, the King of Word-Invention, provides us with the language to describe Brexit I learned a terrific new French word recently. I like learning new words. Some new words are awful, like Brexit, which did not exist even a few years ago, and now is one of the most […]

While the Telegraph has never been shy about its politics, it was once known for its tolerance and diversity of views. Not any more, says its former diarist TIM WALKER It seems a comical notion now, but The Daily Telegraph once recommended Gina Miler for a peerage. We’re going back a few years, of course, […]

The big guns – Boris, DD, Farage – all had pleasingly tricky years. But here STEVE ANGLESEY picks out 20 unsung zeroes who brought their side of the argument into even bigger disrepute. 20. FRANCIS BASHIR Leader of the Royal Disciple Church, a Pakistani Christian sect which worships Nigel Farage. Congregants believe that the nicotine-stained […]

He had to go – but it is very bad news for Theresa May. In normal circumstances Damian Green would not have been able to hang on this long. But these are not normal times and the Prime Minister was desperate to cling on to her closest political friend. He is more than that to […]

Anti-Brexit campaigners on Twitter are referencing the hashtag #FBPE in their posts and profile names to help build up a grassroots community of pro-EU posters. The hashtag – which stands for ‘Follow Back, Pro EU’ – was created after campaigners sensed there was appetite for more grassroots networking on Twitter. Campaigners claimed that a pro-EU […]

It’s been another ludicrous year in Brexit politics – but what do you remember of some of the most preposterous moments? 2017 is almost over – a year political scientists are saying was the most ridiculous since 2016. But what can you remember of some of the most outstandingly silly moments? Try our quiz and […]

RICHARD PORRITT with the week’s big stories, including a diplomatic spat between Austria and Italy It is Christmas drinks season in Westminster, when journalists are tempted by cheap white wine and nibbles. The Number 10 event included invites to many of the biggest names in the UK media, to hear Theresa May chatting about her […]

After the death of the scheme’s creator, Erasmus graduate JACK ARSCOTT describes his mind-altering university experiences and why they should not be denied to others Erasmus of Rotterdam is buried in the red sandstone cathedral in Basel, a Swiss city with regional bus lines connecting it with France and Germany and an excavated Roman town […]

What is the likelihood, asks PAUL CONNEW, of the findings of the Mueller probe ever coming to light? Donald Trump is already behind bars in jail. The problem is, he’s an all-too-colluding prisoner happy to lock the cell door behind him. For the last few days have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that […]

As Hull relinquishes its title as the UK’s City of Culture, ANTHONY CLAVANE​ visits and finds a Brexit heartland ​looking to the future – with trepidation. On my way to the light-firing robots, I pass a statue of Philip Larkin, mid-dash, notebook clutched under an arm, overcoat flapping open and hat swinging from a hand. […]

For some companies, says ANGELA JAMESON, Jeremy Corbyn is the biggest bogeyman on the horizon. Train operators, energy suppliers and water companies are urgently trying to restore their battered reputations with the public in the final throes of 2017. For if they fail, the punishment could be far worse than a precipitous slide in their […]

The Brexit ‘war cabinet’ has concluded without senior ministers agreeing a position on what trade relationship Britain should pursue with the EU. The ministers most closely involved with Brexit talks began discussing options for the future UK-EU relationship in a Downing Street meeting which lasted about 90 minutes. Brexiteers Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Liam […]

Russia’s leader might seem to be invincible, but in fact he is less secure than he appears, and 2018 could be the year that proves it, argues PAUL KNOTT. Prime Minister Theresa May held a news conference with the Russian President before the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China. – Credit: PA Archive/PA Images Vladimir Putin […]

The border issue may have been fudged for now, but when it comes to Ireland, much else has become abundantly clear, says DEIRDRE HEENAN. Theresa May is enjoying a rare moment in the sunshine. Last week, when it seemed that she couldn’t find a way to break the logjam in negotiations, many were predicting that […]

Chlorinated turkey, chicken and other poultry washed in chemicals could end up on the menu at Christmas if the UK does a post-Brexit trade deal with the US, food policy experts have warned. A briefing paper prepared by three professors said British shoppers would be safer if the UK kept European Union standards on food […]

A post-Brexit trade deal with the US could result in UK consumers eating ‘dirty’ turkey, chicken and other poultry, food policy experts have said. A briefing paper prepared by three professors said British shoppers would be safer if the UK kept European Union standards on food production and called for future controls to be ‘stricter, […]

PAUL GREGG, one of those to resign from the ​government’s social mobility ​commission recently, gives his own reasons for the decision. How to address inequality in society by redistributing incomes through taxes and benefits has long divided left and right. But equalising opportunities, commonly called social mobility, has wide political credence. The constrained opportunities of […]

Senior Labour figures have clashed over whether there should be a second referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union. Deputy leader Tom Watson was seemingly at odds with shadow home secretary Diane Abbott on the need for a second poll. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics Watson said ‘you shouldn’t rule anything […]

Support for Brexit has plummeted amid chaotic negotiations and a warring cabinet, a new poll has found. The BMG Research poll found 51% favoured staying in the EU while just 41% backed Brexit. After people who said they did not know were pushed for an answer or excluded, the survey found 55.5% in favour of […]

Brexiteers are gearing up for a clash with the Government over the transition period. Leadership hopeful Jacob Rees-Mogg has hit out at the Prime Minister warning EU plans would leave the UK a ‘colony’ of Brussels for two years after Brexit. Philip Hammond said the deal sought by the Government would mean that, although ‘technically’ […]

The Daily Mail’s frontpages make for contradictory reading, writes Liz Gerard. The Daily Mail seems to have crossed its own red lines. – Credit: Archant When Theresa May set out her tough position ahead of her negotiations with the EU, the Daily Mail was in full support for her hardline stance, declaring, in October 2016, […]

Reader Paul Hollands spent a week on a pro-Brexit Facebook group to break out of the Remain social media ‘bubble’. I have spent the last week in a pro-Brexit group on Facebook. I did this to try and break out of my ‘bubble’, but also I went in search of the reason why people voted […]

To understand Trump’s move over Jerusalem, you have to look to his fanbase and his finances, suggests ALBERT SCARDINO Donald Trump may soon be allowed to build his wall, but it won’t be where he wanted it, along the US-Mexican border. It will be around a new US Embassy compound in Jerusalem. Trump has never […]

MITCH BENN asks whether the likes of David Davis and Donald Trump have decided that shame is a sign of weakness. First of all, some sort of apology is order; I have been laid low with bloke-flu since last we spoke. It seems to be one of those annoying colds which wipes you out completely […]

JAMES BALL asks whether we should expect more of a cabinet minister than an 11-year-old at primary school. Should we expect more of a cabinet minister, or an 11-year-old at primary school? This is maybe not a question we expect to ask ourselves, but when faced with the reality of David Davis’s tenure at the […]

Theresa May has reassured the EU27 she will continue to drive Brexit forward despite an embarrassing Commons defeat as they gave the green light for phase two. European leaders have given their approval for Brexit talks to move on to their next phase but European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warned that the transition to a […]

The Prime Minister is doomed even if she survives yet another self-created crisis, writes reader Daniel Hunt. She is weak, lacking vision, and unable to unite her own party, let alone her coalition partners. The reluctance of the Tory plotters to knife her while Brexit remains in the balance is understandable. Less so is why […]

MICHAEL WHITE tries to look on the bright side of the fallout from May’s Brexit fudge. What’s that you say? Donald Trump is coming to Britain in January despite everything he’s done lately to upset us? Don’t we have enough problems, including the Rand Corporation’s treasonable claim that a Hard Brexit could be costing the […]

The EU is currently debating proposals to force internet giants like Google and Facebook to pay more for the millions of news stories they offer their users. Here, the leaders of some of the continent’s biggest news agencies explain why the measure is so urgent. An apparently technical debate has been under way for several […]

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