It’s been a tumultuous period for British politics. Since my return from Pakistan, I’ve been covering events in Britain for Deutsche Welle. In May, I wrote about the election of Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London, the first Muslim mayor of a major capital city – an optimistic moment that already feels like it happened a long time ago.
As the referendum campaign heated up, I wrote numerous pieces, including these interviews with British people living in other European countries, this report on the different Leave campaigns vying for space, this visit to the bizarre UKIP flotilla that sailed to Westminster, this article on what might come next for Nigel Farage and UKIP after the referendum, and this profile of Boris Johnson who, at that point, looked as if he might be the next Prime Minister. (How quickly things change!)
In mid-June, the Labour MP Jo Cox was brutally murdered in her Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen, a devastating incident that sent shockwaves through the country. As I reported, her murder raised questions over the tone of the debate – although sadly little seemed to change afterwards.
Politics ground on, and as Britain took to the polls I spoke to voters from the Remain, Leave, and undecided camps about their views. On Friday 24 June as it became clear Britain was leaving the EU, I spoke to members of the public – some celebrating, some shellshocked – about the surprise vote in favour of Brexit. The political fallout from the vote is just beginning; there was, distressingly, an immediate spike in xenophobic attacks, and both of the main political parties are embroiled in internal power struggles. I’ll be continuing to report regularly for Deutsche Welle as the fallout continues. You can see a full list of my pieces for the outlet here.
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