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By:Zhanpeng Wang, Ruike Xu
Publisher:Social Sciences Academic Press
ISBN:978-7-5201-9473-0
Publication Date:2022-01-10
Language:Chinese
Under the dual impact of the agreed Brexit withdrawal deal and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic,from July 2020 to July 2021,the UK’s domestic and foreign policies underwent further transformation. During this year,the Johnson government made frequent moves and continued to make major adjustments to the British domestic and foreign policies,which profoundly affected the future direction of the British economy,politics,diplomacy,security and social culture. With the signing of The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement at the end of December 2020,the UK officially entered the “post-Brexit era” on January 1,2021,which has become a key turning point in the development of the country. However,in the post-Brexit era,the Johnson government’s domestic and foreign policies have encountered many difficulties. Under the double pressure of the sequelae of Brexit and repeated outbreaks of COVID-19,the Johnson government is struggling to deal with the overlapping of the old problems and new conflicts in the UK.
In the domestic political sphere,Brexit and the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic still largely dominate the UK domestic politics. In the second half of 2020,the United Kingdom suffered a second wave of COVID-19,and the Johnson government was forced to implement new national lockdown. Its ability to respond to the epidemic was widely criticized by the opposition parties and the public. The mass COVID-19 vaccination in the first half of 2021 gradually improved COVID-19 containment situation in Britain,but the lockdown lifting in July 2021 once again triggered huge domestic disputes,and the support rate of prime minister Johnson hit a record low. Nevertheless,with a stable majority in parliament,the Conservative Party’s position in the UK politics remains strong. The political pattern of the Conservative Party’s “one party dominance” is expected to continue in the next few years,and the Labour Party has little hope of replacing the Conservative Party. Regarding the relationship between the central and sub-national governments,the Johnson government and the devolved governments of Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland have been in constant disagreement over issues such as Brexit and the fight against the epidemic. The threat of national separatism is far from being lifted.