Almost four years after Britain voted by 52% to 48% to leave the European Union, the day has finally arrived. This Friday leave supporters will head to Parliament Square in fancy dress to celebrate. But for many in the UK, and particularly in Scotland and Northern Ireland, 31 January will be a day of regret.
So how did we get here? Toby Helm was a Brussels correspondent in the early 1990s, when a war over British beef helped light a fire under the (mainly) English Eurosceptic right. That simmering resentment, coupled with decades of political failings, arrogance and bad timing, helped lead Britain to the decisive 2016 vote.
After Helm traces the story of Britain’s long road to Brexit from page 10, our Brussels correspondent Jennifer Rankin reports from the heart of the EU, where the occasion will be marked not with a fanfare, but with sadness. We also explain what the 11-month transition period will mean for Britain and the world. And in opinion, Fintan O’Toole asks what, exactly, is being liberated on the leavers’ Independence Day?
Meanwhile Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate continued this week, with Republican senators making it clear that they’re unwilling to entertain the idea of hearing more evidence or from more witnesses than those already on record. On Sunday, news broke that a new book by John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, undermines the core of Trump’s defence – that he didn’t offer military aid for Ukraine conditional on an investigation of Joe Biden. Whether this will sway movable Republicans to allow new witnesses to be called remains to be seen. But even if they were, it seems unlikely that enough GOP senators would dare vote for Trump to be removed.
So how is a president with historically poor approval ratings and an impeachment hearing hanging over him looking so strong for November’s general election? Well, writes David Smith, it may well be the economy (stupid), but it’s also to do with a potentially lethal combination of a rollicking populist message and a data-gathering machine that’s unparalleled in US political history. Whatever happens in the Senate in the next few weeks, the world ought to be worried.
Finally, health officials are watching nervously as the coronavirus is diagnosed around the world. But how do you stop such an infectious disease? Michael Safi looks back at how diseases such as Ebola and Sars were contained. He speaks to medical professionals who help prevent emergencies from becoming epidemics and pandemics, and learns that the world’s wellbeing is only as strong as its weakest health system.
