United Kingdom

1918 flu pandemic killed 12 million Indians, and British overlords’ indifference strengthened the anti-colonial movement

By Maura Chhun | – In India, during the 1918 influenza pandemic, a staggering 12 to 13 million people died, the vast majority between the months of September and December. According to an eyewitness, “There was none to remove the dead bodies and the jackals made a feast.” At the time of the pandemic, India […]

Eastern Europe

Britain got its Brexit, but will it also Get an Economic Depression and Lose Scotland and N. Ireland?

John Feffer

By John Feffer | – Edinburgh, Scotland (Foreign Policy in Focus) – If I were the European Union, I’d be wiping my hands, sighing in relief, and slamming the door after the United Kingdom’s long-delayed departure. Britain had been a noisy, pushy houseguest for 47 years, and it was only growing ruder. It spent the […]

United Kingdom

We Can Do it: In 10 Years, even Tory Britain Dumped Coal and went to 21% Wind

The Conversation

By Grant Wilson, Iain Staffell and Noah Godfrey | – In 2010, Great Britain generated 75% of its electricity from coal and natural gas. But by the end of the decade*, these fossil fuels accounted for just 40%, with coal generation collapsing from the decade’s peak of 41% in 2012 to under 2% in 2019. […]

United Kingdom

Is 2020 the Year Britain Breaks up or can Boris Johnson hold the United Kingdom Together?

British Policy and Politics

Michael Kenny and Jack Sheldon discuss how Boris Johnson should approach intergovernmental matters in relation to Scotland and Northern Ireland. ( British Politics and Policy) – Boris Johnson used his [post-election] victory speech to restate his intention to lead a ‘one nation’ government. But, rather notably, he made no direct reference to either Scotland or […]

United Kingdom

The Disunited Kingdom

Farhang Jahanpour

The General Election in the United Kingdom on Thursday 12 December produced a major earthquake in British politics. Although opinion polls had shown either a narrow majority for the Conservative Party or a hung parliament, and the gap between the Conservative and the Labor parties had narrowed during the last few days of the campaign, […]

European Union

Britain Votes Overwhelmingly to Leave Europe Now with Boris Johnson Landslide

The Conversation

By Laura Hood | – Results are still rolling in but it looks as though Prime Minister Boris Johnson has secured a big victory in the British general election. He looks set to have gone from a minority government to a very large parliamentary majority. Projections based on exit polling and early results indicate his […]

Donald Trump

Amerexit? Trump and the End of the Anglo-American Order

Tom Engelhardt

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Donald Trump may prove to be the ultimate Brexiteer. Back in August 2016, in the midst of his presidential campaign, he proudly tweeted, “They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!” On the subject of the British leaving the European Union (EU) he’s neither faltered nor wavered. That June, he was […]

European Union

Britain’s Trump: The Further Failure of Right Wing Populism

Farhang Jahanpour

(Informed Comment) – After only six weeks in office, Johnson’s grand plan to leave the European Union with or without a deal by 31 October has collapsed like a pack of cards and, instead, he may have the shortest term as prime minister in British history. So, unlike the United States, the cause of right […]

Brazil

Burning Down the House: Far Right Nihilism in US, UK & Brazil Menaces the Planet

John Feffer

By John Feffer | – (Foreign Policy in Focus ) – Far-right governments in the U.S., UK, and Brazil are laying bare their nihilistic roots and full destructive potential. Doesn’t idiocy ever take a vacation? As August wound down, the populist troika of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, and Jair Bolsonaro proved once again that the […]