The Forgotten Question: Security Cooperation in a Post-Brexit Europe
It took three arduous years of negotiation between the European Union and the United Kingdom to conclude a withdrawal agreement. However, the ramifications from the loss of one of the EU’s strongest diplomatic and military members are underappreciated. The political declaration on the future relationship features only vague commitment from…
The UK and the infamous ‘Tampon Tax’: A win for Brexit?
As the UK braces itself to leave the EU’s jurisdiction, it bids farewell to everything that goes with it, including the infamous ‘Tampon Tax’. The scrapping of the tax has been hailed as a victory for Brexit. But what are we actually talking about? What is the Tampon Tax and…
The Premier League after Brexit: Loss of competitiveness, revenue and talent
Football experts suggest that a no-deal Brexit, in particular the end of free movement of labour, will have significant effects on the quality of the premier league, with teams outside the top-six facing the most damage. 17.4 million people voted for Brexit and probably had no idea of the impact…
It was only a dream – The reality of a post-Brexit UK-US Deal
Now that the campaigning has finished and reality has struck, it is time to assess the likelihood of post-Brexit trade deals. In the case of the US, the chances are not in our favour. In the aftermath of Brexit, UK PM Boris Johnson released a statement hailing a promising future…
Between a Rock and a Hard Place… The ‘Gibraltarian Backstop’
Much of the Brexit negotiations have focussed on the ‘Irish Backstop’, but the situation in Gibraltar is equally complex and a ‘Gibraltarian Backstop’ seems to be the most likely outcome. Before Brexit, Gibraltar was not an official EU member state but was indirectly a member of the EU under Art.…
Racism and Higher Education Institutions in the UK: meditations from The Black Register
The animation of thought by those who have their humanity questioned presents an ontological scandal. It is here that the human question becomes central, and yet it is still raised as an ire by blacks who are dwelling in blackness. The stance adopted here is the one that undertakes serious…
Did the Lockdown come too late?
The UK's death rate from Covid-19 is currently the second highest in the world, and the largest in Europe*, so what went wrong? Ian Harvey - Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at UEA says if the government had locked down 10 days earlier tens of thousands of lives could…
Trump v Twitter: A watershed moment in American digital democracy
Early Friday morning Twitter added a “glorifying violence” warning label to a Trump tweet about the George Floyd street protests/riots/arson/looting in Minneapolis. Twitter followers could not see any of the Trump tweet without first looking at and clicking through this warning label. “[Twitter warning label of 29 May 2020] This…
The Council of Europe recommends an end to the piecemeal regulation of online hate speech across the continent
The Council of Europe is the continent’s leading international human rights organization. Today it published the results of a 6 month study looking at emerging forms of governance of online hate speech. The European Commission’s Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online, Germany’s NetzDG Act, France’s new Avia…
My experience of the Sweatshop Free campaign and the Activist Campaigning module at UEA
Before the Sweatshop Free campaign, admittedly, I had never considered the possibility that the electronics that universities purchased could be built in a sweatshop which shows my own ignorance on such an intricate issue. At UEA, I chose a module titled ‘Activist Campaigning’ as it wasn’t a typical essay-based module…