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      in US Politics

      From the archive: Welcome to the age of Trump

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      We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
      This week, from 2016: Whether he wins the US presidency or not, his rise reveals a growing attraction to political demagogues – and points to a wider crisis of democracy

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      in UK Politics

      Expert panel explore the government’s pursuit of Brexit opportunities

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      Panellists struggled to identify major benefits of Brexit at an event hosted by The Independent on Wednesday evening.The discussion was chaired by chief political commentator John Rentoul – who put questions from the audience about how Britain was dealing with the exit from the bloc.Anand Menon, the director of think-tank The UK in a Changing Europe, reminded the audience that had Brexit not happened then David Cameron would have remained prime minister.He said Brexit had at least aligned the UK’s political conversation to “left behind” areas and that he doubted this would have happened to the same extent otherwise – one potential bright side.And he went on to argue that he did not think a country the size of the UK would suit an arrangement like the European Economic Area – where it would be a rule-taker and have less say over its governance arrangements.Naomi Smith, the chief executive of internationalist and pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain, said Northern Ireland could have been one of the few places that made a success of Brexit because of its special arrangement giving access to both the EU and UK markets.But this opportunity had been squandered by wrangling over the Northern Ireland protocol, she said, with businesses concerned about how durable the settlement was.Jon Stone, The Independent’s policy correspondent, noted that some of then problems of Brexit were specific to the politics of the Conservative party.He argued that any other party would have been able to easily solve the situation of Northern Ireland – but that the Tories were ideologically and politically committed to avoiding obvious solutions like aligning with EU rules.Stone also stated that it was hard to predict whether the UK would rejoin the EU or move to a closer relationship in the coming decades, claiming there were “too many variables”.Exploring the government’s pursuit of Brexit opportunitiesWatch back the full discussion – Exploring the government’s pursuit of Brexit opportunities – in the video above. More

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      in US Politics

      US ‘will not entertain’ UK trade deal that risks Good Friday agreement

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      US ‘will not entertain’ UK trade deal that risks Good Friday agreement US congressman Richard Neal says peace deal must not be held ‘hostage over domestic politics’ A bilateral trade deal between the US and the UK is “desirable” but will not progress while the Northern Ireland peace deal is being used for domestic political purposes, one of the most powerful American congressmen has warned.Richard Neal, the chairman of the ways and means committee, has told the Guardian: “We will not entertain a trade agreement if there is any jeopardy to the Good Friday agreement.TopicsNorthern IrelandBrexitEuropeIrelandForeign policyEuropean UnionUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      in US Politics

      The BBC’s flat Earth policy should be roundly condemned | Letters

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      The BBC’s flat Earth policy should be roundly condemnedHelen Johnson, Bob Ward, Dr Richard Milne and Piers Burnett on the BBC’s director of editorial policy and his pursuit of impartiality It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry at the BBC’s latest pronouncement rejecting cancel culture, when the example given is the willingness to give a fair hearing to flat-Earthers (BBC does not subscribe to ‘cancel culture’, says director of editorial policy, 11 January). It’s nothing new for the BBC to give a platform to fantasists, of course; but there did seem to be an acknowledgment post-Brexit that it had perhaps been wrong to give equal weighting to fact and delusion. And there must be someone at the national broadcaster who regrets affording quite so many opportunities to Nigel Lawson to deny climate change reality on the airwaves.Which other minority beliefs can we now expect to be expounded in the 8.10am interview on the Today programme? It’s surely time we looked seriously at the view that the Covid vaccine is connecting us to a vast AI network, and that upstate New York was once inhabited by giants. There are also apparently people who still believe that Boris Johnson is a great prime minister, though finding a government minister to represent that view this week may be beyond even the bending-over-backwards, non-cancelling capacity of the BBC.Helen JohnsonSedbergh, Cumbria It was disappointing to read that David Jordan, the BBC’s director of editorial policy, told a House of Lords committee that “if a lot of people believed in flat Earth we’d need to address it more” in order to ensure impartiality. He appears to have forgotten that the BBC’s editorial guidelines also state that the broadcaster is “committed to achieving due accuracy in all its output”. Or perhaps he is genuinely unaware that for the past couple of millennia the shape of the Earth has not been just a matter of opinion, but instead has been established as a verifiable scientific fact.Either way, let us hope that the BBC’s new action plan on impartiality and editorial standards does not lead the broadcaster to promote more of the daft and dangerous views of those who believe that Covid-19 vaccines do not work or greenhouse gas emissions are not heating Earth.Bob WardPolicy and communications director, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment The BBC’s stated policy to “represent all points of view” is worrying on two levels. First, where does the policy stop? There are people out there who think the value of a person depends upon their gender or skin tone – should those views be represented? What about Holocaust deniers? And those who think homosexuality, or marrying the wrong person, should be punished by death?Second, one of the BBC’s worst failures this century has been to present ill-informed opinion as being equal in value to professional expertise – most notably on climate change. At the absolute minimum, it needs to make crystal clear who is and who is not an expert. A lot of misinformation originates from well-funded pressure groups, which need no help getting their message across. So if we must hear ill-informed opinions, let it be from a person on the street – then at least the defence of representing public opinion would have some merit.Dr Richard MilneEdinburgh According to your report, David Jordan, the BBC’s director of editorial policy, told a Lords committee that the corporation does not subscribe to “cancel culture” and that everyone should have their views represented by the BBC, even if they believe Earth is flat, adding that “flat-Earthers are not going to get as much space as people who believe the Earth is round … And if a lot of people believed in flat Earth we’d need to address it more.”I understand that many Americans fervently believe in the QAnon conspiracy theory and most of the Republican party believes that Donald Trump won the last presidential election – and here in the UK there are substantial numbers of anti-vaxxers. I assume that Mr Jordan will now ensure that the views of these groups are given airtime on the BBC’s channels commensurate with their numbers.In fact, it appears that Mr Jordan has no genuine editorial policy – which would require him to make judgments based on facts and values – only a desperate anxiety to appease the cultural warriors on the right of the Conservative party.Piers BurnettSinnington, North YorkshireTopicsBBCHouse of LordsConservativesClimate crisisCoronavirusBrexitQAnonlettersReuse this content More

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in World Politics

      The Value of EU Citizenship in a Post-Brexit World

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      In the 1980s, I was born having freedom of movement across Europe, when Britain was part of the European Economic Community. The concept of EU citizenship was formally established in 1993, as part of the creation of the European Union itself, under the Maastricht Treaty.

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      Freedom of movement in Europe was always something I took for granted. I saw Europe as part of our heritage, despite the grumblings of euroskeptics and sly articles in the British press about the perils of straight bananas and the metric system. 

      I traveled a lot in my youth, but travel was never really the issue. Citizens of many countries from outside the EU can stay in the Schengen zone for up to 90 days without a visa. It wasn’t until 2009 that the benefits of being an EU citizen became obvious to me. 

      Free to Work and Study in Europe 

      I signed up for a master’s degree in Brussels, Belgium. The beauty of this was, as an EU citizen, the entire degree cost me only €500 ($560). It was taught in English and full of students from all over the world.

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      There was no paperwork to deal with, no need to prove income, no need to apply for any student visas. Education in Belgium was as open to me as education in my country of origin. And that would have been the same for education in any country in the EU. 

      I stayed in Belgium for two years. During that time, I could work freely without any authorization. I taught English at the European Parliament. I also did a number of freelance jobs on the side. But I could have worked anywhere, from behind a bar, to the top levels of the European institutions. 

      As an EU citizen, I had the right to live and work in Belgium, just as I did with any other country in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). No sponsorship needed, no work visa, no permission of any kind. 

      I often traveled back and forth between London and Brussels. The Eurostar was, and still is, the best mode of transport. It takes you directly from the center of one capital into the center of the other. With an EU passport, going through immigration was quick and simple. In contrast, passport holders from outside the EU had to wait in a separate queue, all herded together. 

      I didn’t use my EU freedom of movement rights again for 10 years. But that would be for the final time, as a big change was coming. 

      The Vote That Changed Everything

      In 2016, a majority of British voters decided the UK should leave the European Union. Millions of British citizens would soon lose their EU rights. People with Irish or other European relatives were desperately applying for second passports.

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      The next few years were chaotic, full of political turmoil and tribalism. The Brexit referendum had split the country down the middle, and things would never be the same again.

      After the vote, there was a rapidly closing window of opportunity to move to the EU. I knew that was the only option for me. So, in the early weeks of 2020, I moved to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Time was running out by then, with the Brexit transition period in full swing. Within months, UK citizens would be officially relegated to third-country national status. 

      There was no time to waste in securing residency in Portugal. As an EU citizen, it was easy. I landed in Lisbon, took my passport and showed up at the nearest municipal office. Thirty minutes and €15 later, I had a five-year temporary residency document for Portugal. 

      Portugal’s citizenship timeline is five years. All being well, that document will allow me to regain my EU rights sometime in 2025, this time as a proud citizen of Portugal — the country I chose.  

      The EU project is far from perfect. Like any large-scale collaboration of humans, it’s fraught with issues. Yes, there’s corruption. Yes, there’s waste and inefficiency. Despite that, the EU is an ambitious project that emerged out of the devastation of the Second World War. The resulting economic cooperation has kept Europe peaceful ever since. In that sense, it’s doing exactly what it was designed to do.

      Citizen of Another Somewhere

      I don’t like nationalism. It’s too easily misused. And I can’t be proud of something that I didn’t achieve: the coincidence of being born on a certain piece of land. Does that mindset make me a “citizen of nowhere”? If so, that’s good. Thanks for the compliment, Theresa. 

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      As the late John le Carre once said, “If you want to make me a citizen of nowhere, I will become a citizen of another somewhere.” An Englishman all his life, le Carre died an Irish citizen, so disappointed was he at the fallout from Brexit. He was fortunate to have that Irish heritage. Not everyone does. And those that don’t have become second-class citizens in Europe.

      National pride is artificially constructed to hold the nation-state together. It plays on our natural inclinations toward tribalism, which is merely an evolutionary hangover. Benedict Anderson’s classic book, “Imagined Communities,” explains these ideas better than I ever could.

      Perhaps the EU is an “imagined community” too. But countries working together, no matter how flawed the process, is the only route we have to improving the world. It’s a project I’m determined to be part of. And if I can’t do so as a British citizen, then I’ll happily do so as a Portuguese. 

      *[Samantha North is the founder of Digital Émigré, an EU citizenship consultancy.]

      The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy. More

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      in UK Politics

      Brexit: Commentator John Rentoul to host ‘ask me anything’ on Anglo-French relations

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      Boris Johnson claimed that Brexit was finally “done” just under a year ago, when the trade deal was agreed that replaced the transition arrangements on 1 January this year. The Department for Exiting the European Union was wound up and ministers were instructed to stop using the B-word.As the year ends, however, Brexit has failed to retire quietly to the history books. Within months of the new trading relationship with the EU coming into effect, the UK government said it wanted to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement containing the special rules applying to Northern Ireland – because they were not working as British negotiators had expected.David Frost, the prime minister’s chief Brexit negotiator, was elevated to the cabinet via the House of Lords, and began a new round of never-ending talks, punctuated by weekly public statements of the kind that have been issued for five years now, about how progress had been made but that the two sides remain “far apart”.Meanwhile, relations between the UK and the EU, and particularly between the UK and France, have been characterised all year by diplomatic hostilities. At the start of the year the EU resented the UK’s speed in approving and delivering coronavirus vaccines, with Emmanuel Macron, president of France, publicly questioning the efficacy of the British-partnered Astra-Zeneca vaccine.Anglo-French relations worsened over a dispute about post-Brexit fishing rights in Jersey waters, and then degenerated further as both sides appeared to blame the other for the death of 27 people trying to cross the Channel in November. The increase in dangerous small boat traffic from France to the UK was not caused by Brexit, although Britain’s departure from the EU has complicated attempts to solve it. The EU’s attempt to agree a common approach to asylum, known as the Dublin III Regulation, had not worked well, but now there was no mechanism for EU-level cooperation at all.So far, the Anglo-French disputes over fishing rights and unauthorised Channel crossings have not affected the talks on the Northern Ireland protocol – indeed both sides in those negotiations have sounded more hopeful in recent weeks. But there seems plenty of scope for any of these disputes to flare up. One year on, Brexit is anything but “done”.If you have a question about Brexit, the Northern Ireland protocol or the state of Anglo-French relations, submit it now, or when I join you live at 1pm on Tuesday 7 December for an “Ask Me Anything” event.To get involved all you have to do is register to submit your question in the comments below.If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments box to leave your question. Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 1pm as I tackle as many questions as I can. More

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      in UK Politics

      Ask a Brexit economic expert anything about the current situation between the UK and the EU

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      The Brexit heat is still firmly lodged on the government as negotiations and discussions around next steps continue.Only this week it emerged that before Brexit Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator warned that leaving the single market and customs union would cost £1,500 per person.Lord Frost is now among the hardest of Brexiteers in the government – arguing this week that the UK needs to ditch a European-style economy entirely.Meanwhile, French fishermen have said they plan to blockade the channel tunnel in protest at Britain’s refusal to issue them with work licences.The running dispute over the post-Brexit fishing rights is expected to boil over on Friday and cause even more disruption to UK supply chains.The channel tunnel is a vital artery and carried vast volumes of freight and passenger traffic between the continent and the UK.Not only that but in a week when 27 people died while trying to cross the English Channel, it is also clear that Britain leaving the EU’s sphere of cooperation has made it harder to police Britain’s sea border, not easier.So where does all this leave when it comes to the Brexit deal and what is likely to happen next?To answer some of your latest Brexit questions we have got a Brexit economics expert on hand.Victoria Hewson is the Institute of Economic Affairs’ Head of Regulatory Affairs and Research Associate. She will be on hand to answer your Brexit questions in the comments section below on Friday, 26 November, between 1-2pm.Victoria is a lawyer and practiced for 12 years in the fields of technology and financial services, before joining the Legatum Institute Special Trade Commission to focus on trade and regulatory policy. She has published work on the implications and opportunities of Brexit in financial services and movement of goods and the issues in connection with the Irish border. Before entering the legal profession Victoria worked for Procter & Gamble in the UK and Germany.Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they will be hidden until Victoria joins the conversation to answer them.Then join us live on this page from 1-2pm as Victoria tackles as many of your travel queries as she can within an hour. More

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      in UK Politics

      Brexit and beyond: The Independent launches new weekly newsletter

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      The Brexit deal may be done and dusted, but the repercussions are far from over. The UK’s messy exit from the EU continues to cause enormous upheaval.Ten months on from the withdrawal agreement, Downing Street is still wrangling with Brussels over arrangements for Northern Ireland – hoping that some of the signed commitments can be ripped up and rewritten.Britain is struggling with labour shortages and supply chain chaos, European citizens in the UK face unresolved problems proving their legal status, and the mood music from the latest London-Brussels is forever changing. Keeping up can feel like a full-time job.But don’t worry: The Independent is here to help. We are launching a new, weekly Brexit and beyond newsletter to help keep our readers up to date with all the latest news, analysis and opinion.We’ll be updating you every Thursday morning on the latest developments, as well as looking ahead at what’s likely to happen next.Our free email newsletter will fill you in on the latest post-Brexit impacts and what Britain’s status outside the single market and customs union means for our food supplies, bank balances and the business environment.We’ll also be filling you in on the latest from London and Brussels, as Brexit minister Lord Frost threatens to trigger Article 16, suspend the Northern Ireland Protocol and risk an ugly trade war with the EU.As well as providing the crucial details, the newsletter will bring in views from all sides of the debate to give some insight from those who look at Brexit as a positive as well as those who see the downsides.Signing up to The Independent’s Brexit and Beyond email is easy, it takes just one click in the box at the top of this article after filling out your email address or you can click here. Should you ever change your mind, each email comes with a link to unsubscribe. More