Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

Britain: Get Brexit Done In June 2016, the British electorate voted to leave the European Union (EU) in what became known as ‘Brexit,’ meaning ‘British exit’ from the EU. Yet, after 3 years, the UK still had not left and at times Brexit was even in doubt. Then came Boris Johnson, replacing Theresa May as Prime Minister in July 2019. Having only a majority of one, Johnson faced guerrilla warfare in the Parliament over Brexit. Not only were the opposition parties ‘Brexit-blocking’ Remainers, but even some members of his own Conservative party undermined him, too. This includes the former Speaker of the House, who is meant to be impartial. Some ‘Remainers’ were clambering for a second referendum, since they were unhappy with the results of the first one in 2016. The stalemate came to breaking point. Painted in a corner, the only way out for Mr. Johnson was a national poll, which was held on December 12, 2019. He even had to wrestle with Remainers to get that. The British pu...

Boris Johnson became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in July 2019. He had his work cut out for him. A volatile parliament was saying ‘No,’ ‘No,’ ‘No,’ to the withdrawal agreement hammered out with the European Union and UK, including members of his own party. This agreement would be the intermediate state between EU membership and full-blown ‘hard-Brexit.’ Not only was Johnson cornered regarding the ‘deal,’ he was cut off at the pass regarding a ‘no deal’ Brexit, which he did not really want but was prepared to implement if necessary. With such an impasse, what is a political leader to do? Go to the people in an election! The UK normally has an election every 5 years. Yet, it has had 3 elections in 4 1/2 years (yet spare a lot for Israel, which is facing 3 elections in less than 1 year). Boris Johnson was taking a gamble, since there was not only election fatigue, but it was in the winter just before Christmas. Yet, the Brexit deadline loomed for 31 January 2020, and the elec...

Nations, like individuals, face challenges in life. Yet, it is no exaggeration to say that the United Kingdom is facing its biggest crises since the end of the Second World War. Yes, more than 30 years of trouble in Northern Ireland, or the 1990s scandals that rocked the Royal Family and saw the divorce of Diana and Charles, who is the heir to the throne. As we learned in the last article, challenges include persistent calls for a ‘second referendum’ on Scottish independence. The shifting of the leftists and progressives from the Left to the ‘far Left,’ while some on the right are drifting leftward as well, embracing policies that would have been unthinkable a few years before. The UK election of 2019 offers a solid glimpse into the shifting political sands. Most importantly immediate issue is the Brexit deadlock. Three and a half years after a referendum confirmed that the majority of UK voters wanted to leave the European Union - a ‘divorce’ to a 46 year old union - ...

In our first part, we looked at the unique and powerful contribution Great Britain has made on civilisation. Areas of parliamentary democracy, constitutional monarchy, and even technology, were cited. One article is not enough, thus we continue to explore this important topic. Cause of Freedom : Britain has made 2 major contributions to the cause of freedom. First was the abolition of the slave trade by committed Christian William Wilberforce. Through immense perseverance, Wilberforce was able to turn the tide on this lucrative but iniquitous practice. Yet there is more - twice in the 20th century Britain played a key role in the defeat of euro-fascism, during the first and second world wars. History would have been greatly altered had they lost! The Commonwealth of Nations : This 52 nation association, mostly from former British colonies, cooperates in trade, defence and fraternity. The Queen is the symbolic head and the Secretary-General has executive power. The com...

THE QUESTION: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union  or leave the European Union?’ Remain a member of the European Union   [    ]  Leave the European Union                            [   ] On the morning of June 24, 2016, the United Kingdom and the world woke up to the news that on the previous day the electorate, 52% to 48% with a 72% turnout, voted to leave the 28-member European Union (EU). Britain’s 43 years of membership is coming to an end. A four-month long, bitterly fought campaign between those that wanted to remain in the EU (called Bremain ) and those who wanted to leave ( Brexit - British exit ) has culminated in a shock result - Brexit prevailed, though it was the underdog (BREMAIN had the support of key British political leaders, business leaders, billion...

The British are returning to the ballot box, again. This election, however, is a special one. In 2015, Britain had a national election. Upon winning, Prime Minister David Cameron of the centre-right Tory Party, perhaps under pressure from Euro-skeptics in his own party, fulfilled a campaign promise by calling for a simple ‘In or Out’ referendum on whether to remain or leave the European Union (EU). Currently 28 out of the 50 countries in Europe belong to the EU. Prior to setting the referendum date, Cameron negotiated a ‘special deal’ with the EU, which, he claimed,protected British interests. Britain Goes to the Polls: The date is 23 June 2016. The ‘Vote Leave Campaign’ is also called ‘Brexit’ (British exit). ’Britain Stronger in Europe’ campaign wants to remain in the EU, hence it is called ‘Bremain.’ Mr. Cameron is in the Bremain Camp, as are the leftist political parties like Labour, Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats. Yet, h...