“I hadn’t quite understood the full extent of this but …. we are particularly reliant on the Dover-Calais route.” Dominic Raab, 20 November 2018, subsequently Foreign Secretary 2019 to 2021, revealing his unsuitability for the post. Introduction The formal enactment of Brexit came into force on January 31st 2020, complete [...]
by Dr Andrew Black[*], Associate Director, Global Policy Institute, assisted by Luisa Borras “It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.” Tom Stoppard Introduction Amongst many crises affecting the UK currently, there is one that has a long fuse, has been burning for some time, and has the power [...]
“We are experiencing the brain death of NATO” argued President Macron of France after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Paris, November 28, 2019. Britain’s decision on a future defence strategy appears to contain the seeds of further confusion and torpor, particularly as the country becomes more [...]
“The fabric of democracy is always fragile everywhere because it depends on the will of citizens to protect it, and when they become scared, when it becomes dangerous for them to defend it, it can go very quickly.” (Margaret Atwood) The deadline for ending the “transitional” arrangements for Britain’s relations [...]
President Clinton admonished us that it was “the economy, stupid”. Perhaps, in the current febrile situation this should be amended to being “it’s the politics, stupid”. Faced with a 25% drop in GDP in the UK in quarter 2, this might seem surprising to some. But take a closer look. [...]
A Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35 Lightning II takes off from Keflavík Airport in Iceland as part of NATO’s Air policing mission. Photo copyright: NATO by Dr Andrew BlackSenior Research Fellow at Global Policy Institute; Senior Research Fellow, Brunel Business School 27th May 2020 How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that [...]
Eurogroup President Mario Centeno at the Eurogroup video conference on 9th April. Photo credit: European Union by Dr Andrew BlackSenior Research Fellow at Global Policy Institute; Senior Research Fellow, Brunel Business School 17th April 2020 What I see is European construction drifting towards a free-trade zone, that is to say an [...]
“Getting it done” was the buzz phrase that helped Johnson win the last election, in those days when the world was different. There were promises about trying to level up the poorer regions of the country, whose votes were “borrowed” by the Conservatives from Labour. And some of this resulted [...]
“A week is a long time in politics” according to Harold Wilson, the first Labour Party prime minister to break 13 years of Conservative party rule. A year is an even longer time, and a very great deal can happen during that time, particularly to governments led by the Conservative [...]
Hard Brexit: Passport to Nowhere for British Services With grateful thanks for assistance from E.Piciocchi, J.Kuozas & E.Manias. October 2018 “We're on a road to nowhere Come on inside Taking that ride to nowhere We'll take that ride... ....They can tell you what to do But they'll make a [...]
