I’ll be honest with you. Before writing this post, I had no idea what a “LGBT person” actually was. “In what sort of world is this guy living?”, I hear you ask. Well, I live in the same world as you, but the meaning of this dreadful label that has been tagged on the shoulders […]
Opinion
Read All About It: “In The Media We Trust?”
The British Press: Responsible but not guilty? When the offices of the French satirical journal Charlie Hebdo were gruesomely attacked in January 2015, the world was shocked, and rightly so. The attack focused on the press, one of the most sacred institutions of our democracies. The terrorists also challenged something that most of us […]
Caught Between The Lines: The Fate of British and EU Expats Post-Brexit
This week, the UK parliament approved a bill giving Theresa May the authority to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, in accordance with the EU referendum result on June 23rd last year. Seven months on, and the fate of EU nationals living and working in the UK, as well as British nationals in other […]
Gevangen Tussen de Lijnen: Het Lot van Britse Burgers in de EU en EU Burgers in het VK
What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes. – Cicero Deze week heeft het Britse parlement de eerste stap genomen om het Artikel 50 van het Verdrag van Lissabon te kunnen activeren. Het is nu bijna acht maanden geleden dat het Verenigd Koninkrijk de beslissing heeft genomen de Europese Unie te verlaten. […]
“Pardon My French, Madame Le Pen.”
Have you ever wondered about the origins of the expression “pardon my French”? Some say that it originated in the 19th century and was used as an apology by people who used French words in conversations. Nowadays it’s used apologetically after swearing. How wonderful language can be. I’m sure that Marine Le Pen, leader of […]
La Démocratie Menacée par….la Démocratie
Le référendum ne tient vraiment pas sa place au sein d’une démocratie représentative. Les résultats souvent aléatoires, ajoutés à l’aspect populiste des campagnes référendaires, peuvent nuire à la démocratie même qui lui permet d’exister. En accordant le droit de voter l’application de l’article 50 du traité de Lisbonne au parlement britannique, ce qui déclencherait le processus du « Brexit », la […]
Democracy Menaced by…Democracy
It’s ironic that former prime minister David Cameron put forward a referendum on Europe that now threatens the very nature of the parliamentary democracy that let him propose it in the first place. Of course, whether Cameron had any choice in the matter remains subject for debate. But the fact of the matter is that […]
“What’s up Doc?” – The UK’s Allergic Reaction to Brexit
I thought, at first, that in endorsing the UK parliament’s right to vote for the triggering of Article 50, the High Court ruling was a good thing. Having heard Theresa May’s views that it wouldn’t change her timetable or attitude, and other politicians saying that they were going to vote for Brexit anyway, has made […]
Charles de Gaulle: Why the EU and UK Will Never Understand Each Other
Divorce can be a messy and expensive business. In the same way that people don’t get married with the intention of filing a divorce, I’m convinced that the UK didn’t initially join the EU (or European Economic Community, as it then was), in order to cause chaos and leave it. However, at least one notable […]