Macy
Being from the UK, I’ve had a few people ask me: ‘Macy, why do you care about the US election? It won’t affect us.’ This is completely false, and Joe Biden’s victory offers a lot of changes, not only in America but around the globe. This includes us in the UK.
Personally, I am glad that Biden won the presidential election, as I believe that he is the ‘less of two evils.’ I certainly don’t agree with a number of things that the former President, Donald Trump, has to say and has done in the past, and I hope that Biden can implement some positive change, even if this change is just the absence of Trump.
That being said, a Joe Biden victory will have ‘big consequences for Brexit’, those close to the talks on the EU side have said. This means that UK will have to re-think its approach to Northern Ireland and its threat to disapply the withdrawal agreement. Chris Coons, a loose friend of Biden told the BBC that “I would expect to be concerned about making sure that the Good Friday accords are respected and protected and the ways in which the UK-EU terms are negotiated doesn’t put at risk the stability of the border terms in Northern Ireland”.
In Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin (the largest Irish republican party) say Boris Johnson is jeopardizing the Good Friday agreement which Joe Biden played a part in engineering.
Beth
This blog could just be written as two words:
NO TRUMP!
However, it would be a bit of a disappointment to read.
I actually think that Joe Biden is more than just the man who beat Donald Trump, as he comes across as having empathy and as being a kind person. Today, I watched a recording of him which had been circulated on social media by a relative of mine, who lives in America. In the clip, Joe Biden was being introduced to a boy who had gone along to see him, the boy had a stammer and he knew that Joe Biden also had a problem with stammering, in the past, which he had overcome.
Biden put his arm around the boy (I’m guessing it was before the pandemic) and said “Don’t let it define you. You are smart as hell, now you really are. You can do this”.
He then took the boy’s phone number as he said there were about “25 stutterers I continue to work with. And I can tell you the things that helped me”.
–> What is the Good Friday agreement?
The Good Friday Agreement (‘the GFA’) is both a peace agreement, and the basis for reformed government in Northern Ireland. It is an agreement between the British and Irish governments, and most of the political parties in Northern Ireland, on how Northern Ireland should be governed.
The United Kingdom intends to renege on the Northern Ireland Protocol. The protocol protects the Good Friday agreement, which ensures that there will be no new custom checks at the Border separating Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To put it simply, the Northern Ireland Protocol prevents a hard-Irish border by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market.
–> So, what affect will Biden have on the reunification of Ireland?
Joe Biden is a big supporter of the GFA and keeping the peace. Boris Johnson’s govern in London is adamant to keep a trade deal with the US to illustrate the benefits of leaving the EU’s custom union (Brexit), but was unable to secure one with Donald Trump’s administration previous to the presidential election.
Biden now in presidency is expected to take a more conventional approach to relations with Europe and has threatened to ‘use a US-UK trade deal as a carrot and stick’ to ensure Mr Johnson plays ball on Northern Ireland.
Biden said: “We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit. Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period.”
Four years ago, when Donald Trump first entered the White House, many officials in Downing Street looked to him as an ally. Thanks to his advocacy of Brexit, Trump appeared to be a safer bet for the UK pursuing its ambitions abroad, and most importantly securing a profitable US-UK trade deal.
Since Biden’s presidency, Downing Street has been faced with a challenge. British officials have not been able to meet a single member of Biden’s foreign policy team as part of a campaign strategy to avoid any accusations of foreign interference. With Brexit being on the top of the government’s agenda, MPs are concerned that the US-UK trade agreement could be lost.
Macy, 16, Bexley
Read more from Macy
He explained to the boy how he used to struggle to talk due to a bad stutter, adding that it took “a lot of practice, but I promise you, you can do it. And don’t let it define you. You’re handsome, you’re smart. You’re a good guy. I really mean it…. You know about bullies… it’s going to change, honey, I promise you”. He then asked the father’s permission to call him to offer the boy this help.
Some people may say that this was not genuine, that Joe Biden was a politician and did not mean what he said. Having watched this today, I don’t believe this. This was inspiring for me to listen to.
Joe Biden has also been through personal tragedy. He lost his first wife, who died in a car crash in 1972, with his infant daughter; his two sons, Beau and Hunter, were badly injured but survived. Sadly, Beau Biden later died in 2015. Joe Biden has overcome this, to go on to be President of the United States.
He is not a supporter of Brexit, and, as such, this is something which I, personally, think is a good thing for the UK.
If the question is: what does a Biden election victory mean for the UK?
The answer is: Joe Biden is the opposite of Trump.
Beth, 17, Leicester
Read more from Beth
Comments (0)