Kemi Badenoch is outstandingly bad at her job
With the prime minister pursuing a string of unpopular policies, the Tory leader used PMQs to focus on things Keir Starmer said years ago
The trials and triumphs of Madame Le Trump
Marine Le Pen stands accused of risking her country’s stability to keep herself out of jail. Sound familiar?
Letters: Starmer’s silence on rejoining is deafening
To all the naysayers who doubt we can return to the EU, we have no choice. If Starmer really believes in Britain, it must be done
How to stop brain rot
Oxford University Press’s word of the year suggests social media has become a drug-like distraction from the world
Starmer gets it: this is the age of tough liberalism
Most Labour supporters don’t realise how muscular their own tradition will have to become to survive what’s coming
What Farage told me about Musk, Trump & the Tories
It underlined that he views politics mainly through the lens of personality and rarely bothers with policy
Be afraid, Reform can win
Nigel Farage says his party can win the 2029 election. He is right
Lie of the week: Alex Armstrong on David Hellier, the man in the red jumper
Cartoon: Is Putin’s ‘Grand Master’ strategy working?
Capturing space and time in Kazakhstan
Photographer Andrew McConnell set out to record cosmonauts in Kazakhstan – but found the local people infinitely more fascinating
How Thomas Mann taught Germans to chill out
First published in 1924, his masterpiece Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain) is a highbrow ode to chilling
Is the Church of England doomed?
The next Archbishop of Canterbury must tackle decline, division and the tarnished legacy of Justin Welby
Why the Human Cell Atlas is so important
It may not quite be ‘Google Maps of the human body’, but it’s not far off
‘A digestive tract with a tie’
No matter how the plot of this particular election thriller ends, Romanian institutions must do better in the future
Georgia’s symphony of protest
A fine balance between popular anger and state violence engulfs Tbilisi every evening
Italy’s laughs in translation
Sometimes when you leave the mistakes in, conversation can become even more picturesque
Bernd Rosemeyer, Hitler’s driving ace
The German racing driver’s memorial site is in a fitting location, close to a fast-paced autobahn
Rachel Reeves’s pointless mission
The chancellor headed for Brussels with nothing to offer and asked what Britain could get in return
Starmer’s long-winded road
How can the PM connect with voters when he and his advisers keep spewing out meaningless word salad?
Merkel on Brexit: “I felt disappointed and abandoned”
Britain’s decision to leave the EU “was an incredible event”, says the former German chancellor. David Cameron “delivered himself into the hands” of the eurosceptics, she tells The Rest is Politics
Ukraine is the new Berlin
As the second coming of Donald Trump threatens a sell-out of Kyiv, Europe finds itself pondering events of 75 years ago
The end of a dictatorship
Assad’s survival was Putin’s way of showing he was still a global player. When the collapse came, he was powerless to prevent it
How to fix Britain’s house price nightmare
It’s almost impossible to find any data about the UK’s housing market which is not dreadful in comparison with our European neighbours. There is one place to start
Why Farage is targeting angry young men
Reform have shown no interest in solving their problems – but they definitely want their votes
This poll shows Starmer is wrong about Europe and the USA
Voters believe our economic future lies with the EU rather than with president Trump
Why I challenged Farage – by Question Time’s man in the red jumper
The New European tracks down the Question Time audience member who won plaudits for destroying Reform’s immigration lies
Question Time was a microcosm of the coming battle for Britain’s place in the world
Between the woman in the red jacket and the man in the red jumper, it was the audience who stole the show in the big face-off between Alastair Campbell and Nigel Farage
Badenoch’s hypocrisy is exposed at PMQs
Keir Starmer parries attacks over Louise Haigh by reminding the Tory leader of her party’s reign of shame
Has Notre Dame lost too much?
The success of Notre Dame’s comeback depends on whether we view it as an architectural gem or a functional religious building
The speech Starmer must give
Imagine what Sir Keir Starmer might say if he were to come out in favour of reversing the damage done to Britain by Brexit…
The absurd hysteria over the assisted dying bill
Fears that we are on “a slippery slope” to widespread euthanasia are misplaced
Navalny’s daughter will haunt Putin
The 23-year-old hopes to, one day, return to Russia and help make it a free country. She’s certainly her father’s daughter
Switzerland votes ‘oui’ to Eurovision
After Nemo’s 2024 victory, Eurovision has become increasingly political for the Swiss
The Georgian government versus the people
In Tbilisi, weeks of despair have turned into rage as the authoritarian government ignore Georgians’ cries for EU integration
The pain makes its way to Spain
The old artisanal baker is not as prevalent in France as you might think
Sweden’s trouble with Russian neighbours
Sweden is now a Nato member and Russia is escalating its threats against the country
Putin’s hotline to God
Under Patriarch Kirill, Russia’s Orthodox Church has seen its power restored – but only by debasing
the faith
Letters: Opinion divided on our Shit List
Our annual round-up of the people Britain could do without has stirred up some strong views
Lie of the week: Kemi Badenoch in PMQs
The comeback of Notre Dame
President Macron said Notre Dame would be rebuilt within five years and would be even more beautiful. And so it came to pass
France is on fire, but life goes on
The country is in a tunnel and there is no light at the end of it. But I still need to get my hair cut
Cartoon: Could Musk influence our elections?
US scientists must be ready to face an onslaught
Donald Trump’s picks for the big science and technology jobs seem calculated to spread despair. Scientists need to formulate a robust response
How universities can avoid cancellation
Academic institutions, such as Leipzig University, must learn how to stand firm and not let intimidation become routine
Starmer is kidding himself about the special relationship
Donald Trump will abandon us as soon as it suits him and pretending otherwise is nonsense
The new Brexit time bomb
A refresh of EU product safety standards, GPSR, will be a disaster for the UK’s small exporters, with the government little help
The one big problem with Meet The Rees-Moggs
If the reality show is intended to revive his career, Jacob may end up being disappointed
France, state of delusion
Ridiculous borrowing, impossible promises and an unwillingness to face reality have led to budget deadlock and talk of a Greek-style financial crisis
If Musk wants to give Farage £100m, let him
There’s a good case for shaking up UK campaign finance – but banning one particular donation would backfire
Ireland’s shaky stability
Bucking global trends, voters kept the incumbents in charge and Sinn Féin out of power in the general election. But Trump may be about to throw a spanner in the works.
UK soft power failed with Putin – it’s time for the hard option
Britain and Europe are up against an alliance of evil. Now is the time to resist Russia, and for the UK to lead by example
Prepare for the Trump-Fico bromance
The Slovak prime minister agrees with Trump about everything — well, almost
Can the European car industry survive?
It’s being outdone by China and has failed to transition to electric vehicles. Can the big manufacturers on the continent go into overdrive? Or are they heading for a crash?
The assisted dying debate adds to Starmer’s woes
Victory for Kim Leadbeater’s bill won’t stop legitimate doubts about it – or it becoming a distraction for a PM struggling to define himself
The Louise Haigh affair is a cock-up by Team Starmer
Why has No.10 been so swift to wield the axe now when the PM has known about her conviction for years?
Badenoch’s dangerous lurch into the online swamp
Telling small groups of people that they will be taken seriously if only they shout loudly enough is damaging for democracy
The net migration figures show how Brexit has failed
Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage won a referendum on the lie that leaving the EU would control immigration
Romania’s election chaos
Călin Georgescu is a textbook post-truth politician: a conspiracy theorist, anti-vaxxer, climate change denier, and moon landing sceptic
Inside Norway’s Brexits
The country has twice rejected the chance to join the EU, including in a referendum 30 years ago this week with a 52:48 split. Why did they say no? And how’s it working out for them?
How French corruption turned Lebanon into a warzone
I was there when Chirac asked for money that should have gone to Lebanon’s citizens. Now Macron is struggling to save the country from destruction
Kemi Badenoch is floundering at PMQs
A misjudged call for the government’s resignation and a string of lame jokes made for another poor performance from the Tory leader
Is being our EU negotiator the worst job in Britain?
While Keir Starmer continues to pretend that a worthwhile deal can be done without concessions or going back to the single market, this role is a non-starter
How Trump won the pop culture wars
The president-elect’s embrace of comedians, podcasters and combat sports stars is a lesson for hectoring liberals
The rise of the ‘fuck you’ party
Across the world, a new coalition is growing – of exhausted people on all sides who are gunning for Scholz, Macron… and Starmer
The day John Prescott gave a speech to the sea
In paying their tributes, many people are still underestimating the former deputy prime minister
The Shit List 2024
The sneaky, the snobbish and the snide. The spiteful, the shameless and the downright sinister. They are all shits – and all here in the New European’s annual rundown of 50 people the UK could definitely do without
Letters: Stop blaming boomers for all our problems
People who were born during the postwar ‘baby boom’ are sick of being tarred with the same brush. One size does not fit all
Lie of the week: Robert Jenrick on the ICC
Writing to Putin’s gulag
Following a rise in politically motivated sentences after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, prisoners in Russia and Belarus have come to rely on letters from strangers
How to cause a stink in Switzerland
The country has an obsession with cleanliness but there are some kinks in its food waste system that need to be ironed out
Italy’s Glastonbury for chocoholics
If Umbria is hailed as the heart of Italy, then its capital, Perugia, is the heart of all things chocolatey
Who took Belgium’s national biscuit?
Despite the new globalised name, speculoos, thankfully, still taste like home
Cartoon: Is life tough for landowners?
What the Captain Tom saga says about Britain
There are few things we like better than stories about good people who turned out to be less so
The new Brexit nightmare is GPSR
The EU’s new General Product Safety Regulation system launches on December 13, and will make it even harder for UK firms exporting to Europe
Tusk is the Donald we all need most
We cannot finesse our way out of the problem that the American people have swung isolationist
The return of Merkelmania
The former German chancellor has played it smart again by shrouding her memoirs in secrecy ahead of their release
Putin is about to inflict a refugee crisis on Europe. Here’s how to stop it
Giving frozen Russian assets to Ukraine would save Zelensky and send a defiant message to Trump
Why Labour must free the weed
Legalising cannabis seems an open goal for a government determined to raise cash for public services, ensure social justice and improve public health
My trip to the saddest place in France
The 643 villagers of Oradour-sur-Glane were wiped out by the Nazis. Untouched by order of de Gaulle, the place where they lived and died is now a shrine
What I got wrong about Donald Trump and America
America has become a paranoid nation that wants to insulate itself from the world and I underestimated this
How Brexit made British fashion come undone
An industry worth £110 billion a year is being crippled by red tape, lost access to skilled European professionals and lack of access to the EU market
Hard cheese: How Brexit made British cheesemakers miss out at awards
Red tape stopped up to 250 UK cheeses from making it to the judging in Portugal
Ten things the obituaries of John Prescott won’t tell you
A government colleague remembers a charming, clever pragmatist who had the odd eggy moment or two
John Prescott was a great fighter and a great friend
The public saw his combative side, but those closest to him saw his heart
Will this fiasco be the last Cop?
Baku has been a spectacle of greed and entitlement. A binding agreement on phasing out fossil fuels would be better
Does anyone care about Rachel Reeves’ CV?
The right wing press love it, but this ‘scandal’ will join Angela Rayner’s flat and Keir Starmer’s lockdown beer in being quickly forgotten
Alex Burghart’s 15 minutes of lame
Kemi Badenoch’s stand-in embarrasses himself at PMQs
Britain’s baby doomers
Falling fertility rates mean more immigration is needed to grow the economy. Yet lots of boomers hate the idea
Why Britain can’t afford to ignore X
A social media rumour about Keir Starmer has attracted millions of views – aided by far right figures who amplify conspiracy theories online
Letters: We must counter MAGA with MEGA
We need a military alliance of European nations, which will require the UK to not just cooperate but to be inside the structure
The devastating failure of Justin Welby
The church, both Anglican and Catholic, has conspicuously failed to provide the leadership the UK craves
Cartoon: Who should the UK choose – Europe or Trump?
Is Germany’s economy kaput?
With a declining industrial base, a lack of support for emerging sectors, and a shaky financial landscape, the country’s downturn might be here to stay
The killing field: Where Berlin confronts its Nazi past
An empty square in the centre of the German capital gives a warning from the recent past
How Berlin got under my skin
My first Berlin adventure began at Checkpoint Charlie. My second began in Islington
Lie of the week: Rupert Lowe on healthcare spending
Misunderstanding Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s legacy
Bonhoeffer fought against exclusion and for those who couldn’t fight for themselves
The word I want to get into the dictionary
The ‘trollification’ that happens on X, Elon Musk’s online hellhole, deserves a definition
Putin’s war on the womb
If you love children and happen to live in Russia, the kindest thing you could do would be not to have any