The decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union this last June will surely be a pivotal moment in political history. It was both a rejection of the EU and in some ways the broader global community. The result of this referendum seems to be striking for two particular reasons. First, few observers of politics – casual and professionals alike – did not seriously anticipate the success of the leave campaign. While only anecdotal, my colleagues and I were in the United Kingdom about a week in advance of the vote, and the consensus seemed to be that there would be a remain victory – albeit small. Late into the early morning hours of June 24th we realized that the conventional wisdom was no longer conventional. Secondly, it was unexpected because of the insidiousness of exclusionary and sometimes outright racist rhetoric that the Leave campaign espoused. That is not to say that all those who supported the leave campaign are racists – but there is an undeniable motivation of xenophobia also behind some actors regarding the desire to turn inwards.
Thus, I was motivated to study what exactly went wrong in this case. My mention of the consensus around a narrow remain victory notwithstanding, there were evident signs during our time there of a lack of a credible opposition. Particularly Labour, who mounted what can only be described as lukewarm attempt to advocate for the EU. But this, I hypothesize, has more to do with the voters than the party themselves. Labour did
In recent years, it has been increasingly apparent that European Parliament election turnout is on the decline, with just 35.6% of British citizens casting their vote in 2014. This is remarkably low, especially when viewed alongside other national decisions such as the referendum for Britain to leave the European Union, which received a staggering 72.2% turnout. However, this decline was not
Not every member of the public will be interested in politics or in fact have a clear understanding of the political system in Britain and this could affect the voter’s outcome. For example, an individual might not understand the significance of their vote to a political question, and that it can have long term effects that they may not take into consideration whilst voting. Furthering this point, the public may be easily influenced by campaigns of newspapers, notable tabloids, or by wealthy vested interests who can afford to spend large amounts of money on a campaign. This suggests that referendums are not always a true representation of what the public wants an outcome to be.
An analysis of the three most recent Scottish referendums from the years 1979, 1997, and 2014 show that the political atmosphere has become increasingly more receptive to Scottish independence and shifting ideologies regarding nationalism are shaping global democracies.
“President Trump, premier Wilders, it’s time to get used to these words” (Bregman, 2016). With these words Bregman expresses his concerns about the overwhelming success of populist politicians worldwide. Disapproval of establishment, fed by a strong dislike of the nihilistic style of governance relying on economic growth as the cure-for-all-ills, is fuelling populism movements. Non-populistic parties seem to have no answer to the rising cynicism of the people, and populists are using this to push often empty agendas of xenophobia. What can explain this rise of populism, and how can politicians counter the rise of populist parties without
The question I seek to answer in this essay is whether the Scottish Referendum for Independence from 18th September 2014 (hereafter referred as “the 2014 Referendum”) was indeed a process that can give account to legitimacy. This essay will look at legitimacy as being a moral claim set by our own culture. It will also explore the meaning of “overall legitimacy” of the 2014 Referendum and if individual claims of citizens are in conflict with it. Furthermore, it will argued that the political discourse of Alex Salmond and of the Scottish National Party as a whole, was detrimental to the Scottish civil society as it facilitated its division.
There is no doubt that Brexit has caused a divide amongst the UK population, with 52 to 48 percent in favor of leaving. “Take back control” has been at the forefront of the Brexiter’s campaign. It is argued the UK Parliament has lost its power since joining the European Union (EU) in 1973.
As soon as the results of the referendum was called the value of the £ had decreased by the most to the rate it was at 1985, evidently causing one of the biggest economical loss in recent British history. Yet, MP’s have demonstrated immense hard work on trying to argue the cause against leaving the EU.
Until the 1970s, British politics was relatively calm and operated in a manner that was manageable. Despite the cross party rivalry, there was a broad agreement on most issues and voters looked up to leaders and there was respect for enduring institutions. But in the 1970s, this began to change, and this phenomenon of shifting political climate can be best explained by the Overload Thesis.
Adam Walker, with his hands stuffed in his pockets, announces that the British National Party (BNP) is the ‘last line of defence and only hope’ for the people of Great Britain, in the distant hope that they will believe his party can reinforce the unification of their country. Whilst his vaguely rousing voice resonates through the laptops of BNPTV viewers, a question is sprung to mind – is the BNP unifying, dividing or both, the nation we call home?
The European issue was the most problematic issue throughout Major’s governance. Polarized opinions divided not only the country, the Tories, but the cabinet itself. Major failed to manage the government to run effectively on European issues as the government motion had been opposed in parliament (Bale,2011; Cowley and Garry,1998). Yet, he successfully shifted the attitude of United Kingdom towards Europe from Thatcherite ultra-sceptic perspective or Labour’s Europhile perspective to somewhere in-between - while keeping in the European Community in order to gain
Who wanted Brexit? Who voted for Brexit? The main support for Brexit came from a coalition party who was less educated, less financially successful and backed by older conservative voters who saw immigrants as a burden and felt left behind by modern life. These left-behind voters who supported Brexit they did not think of economy of their country. However there is not enough evidence that the leave vote was mainly determined by the desire of taking back the nations control from EU or by the voters who blames EU for their financial and social
The United Kingdom consists of four different countries. England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This is an island nation in Northwestern Europe. Located at 55.371°N, 3.4360°W, this island is 93,628 mi2. This is Europe’s largest island. The official language of the island is English and the capital is London. The major religion is Christianity then Islam and Hinduism. There are multiple different ethnic groups in the United Kingdom some are British African, White/black British, Mixed, and Irish to name a few of them (United Kingdom).
People have created unions many times but not all of them were successful, specifically when we consider alliances among number of countries with different economics, political systems and culture. For instance, last century brought both the biggest collapse and the most promising union in the modern history. Although U.S.S.R has disappeared from geographical maps, some of its members joined another alliance. The European Union (EU) is an economic and political partnership that united 28 countries on the European part of Eurasia and represents a unique form of cooperation among members today.
All throughout history, it can be noted that women have been at a sever disadvantage when compared to their male counterparts. From simple tasks as who is considered the head of the household to even more challenging tasks like ensuring women are equally represented in government, women have always had to work harder to ensure they are being treated as equal. The same can be seen anywhere in the world, especially in Europe. While the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states in Article 20, 21 and 23 that every person is equal and cannot be discriminated against, it would be extremely interesting to research how members of the European Union have taken into account said articles and used it in order to ensure that their legislation and way of government provides the ultimate gender equality within their boarders. I plan on examining how different members differ in their levels of equality for men and women and how their legislation is set up in order to make that happen. How has the European Union taken measures in ensuring women’s rights across the board for members of the Union and how effective has their legislature been in ensuring this equality?
The European Union (EU) was established in order to prevent the horrors of modern warfare, experienced by most of Europe during the World Wars of the 20th century, from ever ensuing again, by aiming to create an environment of trust with the countries of Europe cooperating in areas such as commerce, research and trade (Adams, 2001). The EU has evolved into an economic, trade, political and monetary alliance between twenty-eight European Member States. While not all Member States are in monetary union (i.e. share the currency of the euro), those that are form the ‘Euro-zone’ (Dinan, 2006). The EU can pass a number of types of legislation, with a regulation, act, or law, being the most powerful. Its ‘tricameral’ (European Union, 2007)