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As part of the Brexit Blog we hosted a live recorded podcast in Belfast bringing together a panel of speakers to explore, analyse and debate the impact of Brexit on Ireland, north and south, in the context of austerity, right-wing populism and an organic crisis of politics.
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by Vladimir Simović
The European Union (EU) is perhaps the central issue on which the dominant political discourse in Serbia has focused during the 1990s and the first decade of the new millennium. The EU was one of the main sites where the two dominant political positions collided – the ‘first’ and ‘second’ Serbia, nationalist and liberal. With the rise of the Serbian Progressive Party to power in 2012, this division has lost some of its intensity.
Read more “Serbia and the EU”
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by Dr Stephen Baker
It has been clear for some time that Brexit represents one manifestation of a more existential crisis facing the UK. In the wake of Boris Johnson’s election as Tory leader and British Prime Minister, Dr Stephen Baker explores the prospects for radical change in times of constitutional and political uncertainty, arguing that the Left can and should be setting the agenda.
Read more “After Brexit: the future of the ‘awesome foursome’”
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by Seán Byers & Stiofán Ó Nualláin
Boris Johnson has, as expected, shaken off questions about his character and fulfilled his life’s ambition to become the new Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister, seeing off rival Jeremy Hunt by a two-to-one margin of 92,153 votes to 46,656. Here in the mother of all parliaments he became leader of the country with a vote of 0.13% of the UK population, a diverse electorate comprised of mostly old white right wing men living in southern England.
Read more “The Mother of all Parliaments”
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by Dave Gibney
The question of workers’ rights is a recurring theme in the debate around Brexit. For the most part trade unions in Britain and Ireland are concerned that a hard or no-deal outcome would threaten a regression in the rights and living standards enjoyed by workers across these islands. But, argues Dave Gibney, there is a more complicated set of factors to take into account.
Read more “Brexit, workers’ rights and inequality”
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by Clare Bailey
Europe’s Green parties made historic gains in the recent European elections in a ‘Green wave’ that also hit a number of local, regional and national elections. Here Clare Bailey sets out the Green Party (Northern Ireland)’s argument that a hard Brexit must be avoided because of the threat it poses to the Northern Ireland peace process, to women and to the task of averting climate breakdown.
Read more “Brexit”
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by Seán Byers & Stiofán Ó Nualláin
The contest to replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and British Prime Minister has reached its final stage after Tory MPs selected Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to go head-to-head in a series of hustings, where they will seek to win a majority of votes among the party’s 120,000 members.
Read more “The Tory leadership race”
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by Seán Byers & Stiofán Ó Nualláin
Existential /ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛnʃ(ə)l/ adjective – relating to or dealing with existence (especially with human existence)
Read more “An existential crisis”
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by Stevie Nolan & Seán Byers, TradeMark Belfast
The European elections: Results and prospects
Last week’s European Parliament elections attracted an increased turnout, reflecting the high stakes in member states where governing parties are facing a crisis of legitimacy, as well as the mobilisation of sections of political and civil society around questions such as the climate emergency, the threat of the far right and the battle over the EU’s future direction.
Read more “The European elections: Results and prospects”
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by Andreas Thomsen
The elections
On 24 May, the day after the European Parliament elections were held in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, but before the votes were counted, UK Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation. It is now expected that a general election will be held this year, meaning that the European election results should be of particular interest to politicians in London.
Read more “One step beyond”