Tag Archives: Brexit

Spring 2018 Issue XI: Every Picture Tells a Story

My Walk Home

February 13, 2018 hjthompson

The route home was a highlight of my summer job. I love the noise of cities, but Central London during rush hour is a specific kind of organized chaos that I miss while at Smith. I was working for the British government, and was a stone’s throw away from the heart of Westminster. At 5:30 pm I would pass the Abbey, where there was always a constant queue outside, rain or shine. I would turn left and head towards Westminster, a scattering of familiar landmarks in the background. Taking this route every day, I would look up as I walked towards the train station, craning my neck and weaving through the crowd, before descending onto the platform.

The day this photo was taken, I had a slightly different routine. The persistent summer rain was heavier than usual. Huddled under my umbrella, I wasn’t able to look skywards at my normal view. I stood by the side of the road, waiting for the traffic light to change, when a sticker in my line vision caught my eye. London is covered with weird and wonderful stickers—some political, some not—especially in such close proximity to Parliament. This one stood out more than the others; its colors and its positioning were relevant to the divisive turn British politics had taken.

The one-year anniversary of the Brexit vote occurred around this time. The growing uncertainty over the reality of leaving the European Union had resulted in camps of ‘Leavers’ and ‘Remainers’ becoming more vocal and more divided. People were frustrated with the slow pace of negotiations, with the constant barrage of press coverage, and with the politicians still talking in hypotheticals. When we embarked, no one knew what the Brexit process would look like, and one year later, we’d still had no clarification. My job for the Department for Work and Pensions was impacted by this political gridlock—although pension policies and social benefit systems are not the first things that come to mind when thinking about Brexit, I was quickly learning that leaving the EU would affect every aspect of society.

A year later, and the referendum was still splitting opinion; still generating anger; still providing a platform for not-so-fringe extremist groups. I keep myself updated with UK news when I’m at Smith, and I take an interest in following Brexit developments, yet the omnipresent cloud hanging over London upon my return from the U.S. that summer was an adjustment that I hadn’t expected. Placed at eye-level, this sticker offered a pithy retort to the divisive rhetoric to which I wish I hadn’t grown accustomed, and it made me smile. So, I took a picture, the traffic light changed, and I carried on with my journey home.

Helena ’18 is an international student from West London, UK. A Government major and History minor, she studied abroad during her Junior year in Geneva, and she hopes to continue to live and work abroad after Smith.

Special Issue: Views from Abroad on Election

The Wee, the People of Scotland and California, Are Overruled

February 4, 2017 rhull

Around June of 2016, we Americans watched as Britain voted to leave the EU in something they were calling Brexit.

As I was about to start a year abroad as a Master’s student at the University of Glasgow, the referendum was important to me as it would be dictating the political climate I would be submersed in during my time there.

The day after Brexit, many people were shocked that the Leave vote had actually won.

Fast forward to November 2016 – I was finally beginning to feel comfortable in Glasgow. My flatmate, who was from Salisbury in southern England, was turning out to be one of my best friends. We had talked at length about Brexit, about her take on it and her take on Scotland’s vote, and we had talked at length about my election.

That’s what we were calling it – MY election.

But the night of November 8th, I watched as the election changed drastically. All of the hope I had was dashed in a matter of hours. I had thought I wouldn’t really stay up for the results, but it turns out, I couldn’t sleep. I spent the night on the phone with my boyfriend, watching and realizing with a horribly helpless feeling, that this was indeed, not my election.

The morning after the results, my flatmate (a traditional Brit in all ways), broke her personal bubble to give me a hug as I sobbed. I cried as I walked to class, not wanting to go but knowing I needed to drag myself out of my room, if only for a little while.

When I got to class, two Scots began talking about the election. One of them said, “well, we don’t know what Hillary would have been like in office” with an obvious ominous implication. Fueled by lack of sleep and anger, I wanted to punch him.

At the time, as I hid in the bathroom to shed more tears, I had thought he had no room to talk about the election. I was the one grieving! I was the one that was mourning the fate of my country! I was the one who had to pick myself up after a man had won, despite all he stood for (or I suppose, it was rather because of all he stood for) and figure out how to reclaim my place in my homeland.

I realized later, that while him talking about it right next to me the night after may not have been the most sensitive thing, he had the right to because this election would change so much.

Being Americans, we are told about our reputation abroad quite a lot, and it’s not, shall we say, all that positive. I had hoped I would be able to help change that – I promise we aren’t all ignorant, oblivious, loud racists! I had hoped that this election would show we were beginning to put another foot in the direction of progress, of being seen as more than our reputation.

But, clearly, I was wrong.

The Scots seem to get it though. They understand my heartbroken disbelief. A majority of Scotland had voted to remain in the EU in the Brexit vote. Being a part of the EU was one of the strongest arguments that “Remain” voters had had in the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014. They too, had been robbed.

After the Brexit vote, like my native California after the 2016 election, Scotland threw around the idea of jumping ship from a country that seemed xenophobic to its core.

Eventually, my grief and sorrow dimmed enough that my international friends would get the courage to ask me that question we were all burning to know the answer to.

How did this happen?

And I had to give the ugliest truth.

Because Hillary is a woman.

So now, we get to be seen as more than the ignorant, oblivious, loud racists…we also get to be sexist as well.

Riana Hull ’14 is from Irvine, California. After completing her three years at Smith (and one abroad), she worked in California for two years before applying for a Master’s degree at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. She is currently in the UK, completing that degree.

Special Issue: Views from Abroad on Election

A View From Europe: Transatlantic Populism

February 3, 2017 jvouteallen

As a Smithie who has lived in Europe for the past 37 years, I have watched US-European relations wax and wane. Different US Presidents generated differing levels of popular sympathy here. However, at this point in time, Europe and the United States are largely in sync, with both facing a dramatic rise in populism. The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States cannot be seen as an isolated incident, but rather it is the result of broader societal trends including: a rejection of open borders and the free trade policies that facilitate globalization; a related rise in nationalism and isolationism: increasing fear of “the other” including anti-foreigner, anti-migration and anti-refugee sentiment coupled with a real fear of terrorism; anger and resentment particularly amongst low and middle income white men as manufacturing and low-skilled jobs disappear to developing countries, while wealth in the West is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. These trends affect both sides of the Atlantic.

In June of 2016, a referendum was held in the United Kingdom in which the population voted 52% to 48% in favor of leaving the European Union. This outcome of the so called “Brexit” vote (combining Britain and exit) had not been predicted in the polls and was a major surprise to the urban Londoners who voted 75% in favor of staying in the EU. People who voted to leave were on average less educated, had lower income levels, were born in Britain (not foreign born) and lived in more rural areas. Perhaps this sounds familiar.

A general election will be held in the Netherlands on March the 15th where the self declared anti-Islam anti-migration Freedom Party led by Geert Wilders is currently predicted to win a majority in parliament. Then in April begins the first round of voting in the French Presidential election where the socialist incumbent Francois Hollande made the surprise decision not to run for re-election and the right wing National Front candidate, Marine Le Pen has advanced in the polls. Marine Le Pen opposes free trade, advocates protectionism, and blames the European Union and international organizations for the decline in French industry and agriculture.

When taken together, the US Presidential election, the Brexit vote and upcoming elections in the Netherlands and France, a clear picture emerges. Populist leaders are tapping into popular angst. The questions being asked in Europe regarding the US election depend very much on a person’s political persuasion and socio-economic position. Globalization has not benefited all equally and the popular backlash is clear. Here in Switzerland, where I live, the leader of the right wing Swiss People’s Party argues that Trump’s victory should serve as a warning to current world leaders not to ignore citizens’ concerns on issues including migration, while on the left the Swiss Socialist Party raised concern about the election of a “megalomaniac, narcissist and populist who shows contempt for diversity, multilateralism, and human rights, particularly the rights of women.” On a more optimistic note, the leader of the Swiss Liberal Party stated “the presidential role changes a man and forces him to be better.”

The view coming from the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland is that the world urgently needs responsible and responsive leaders, who can stimulate economic growth, build more inclusive economies and societies, adapt to the challenges of extremely rapid technological change, work as global citizens to address climate change and keep peace. Let us hope these leaders emerge on both sides of the Atlantic.

Janet ’75 is the Chairman of the Creating Shared Value Council at Nestle SA and a Non-Executive Director at BUPA, the British United Provident Association. She is also an Ambassador for the International Integrated Reporting Initiative. Previously she held the position of Global Head of Public Affairs at Nestle SA and was a member of the Board of Bamboo Finance, a social impact/private equity firm. Her career has spanned the public and private sectors, have spent 8 years as CEO of the World Heart Federation, as well as 10 years as a partner in the corporate strategy consulting firm, Bain & Company.