Research Briefing
The aim of the National Security and Investment Bill is to reform how inward investment in the UK is investigated to ensure hostile governments or other entities do not use this to undermine the UK’s national security. The second reading of the bill is scheduled to take place in the House of Lords on 4 February 2021. This briefing provides a summary of the bill and its passage through the House of Commons.
In Focus
The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration initiative between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. In June 2019, the House of Lords International Relations Committee published a report calling for increased UK engagement with the bloc. The report is due to be debated in the House of Lords on 1 February 2021.
In Focus
The Government has used the phrase ‘Global Britain’ since the EU referendum in 2016 to summarise its post-Brexit foreign policy. It has said the Integrated Security, Defence and Foreign Policy Review, set to conclude early this year, will expand on its vision for the UK’s place in the world. In November 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the first outcome of this review would be an increase in defence spending over the current parliament.
Research Briefing
On 18 March 2020, the Government introduced the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill in the House of Commons. It completed report stage and third reading in the Commons on 3 November 2020. Second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled to take place on 20 January 2021.
In Focus
On 24 December 2020, the UK and the EU reached agreement on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the TCA) setting out their future relationship. The UK Parliament passed the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 in one day on 30 December 2020. The TCA has been provisionally applied by both parties from 1 January 2021. The House of Lords is due to debate the TCA on 8 January 2021.
Current Affairs Digest
Catch up on world affairs with a selection of articles you may have missed from October and November 2020. Articles this month include a look at the American election, and protests in Nigeria.
In Focus
Covid-19 has impacted the work of LGBTI+ organisations around the world. This article looks at a recent report by the Baring Foundation which calls for increased spending by the UK Government on global LGBTI+ rights and outlines the current spending commitments in this area.
In Focus
On 26 November 2020, the House of Lords is due to debate a trade deal, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UK and Japan. This article looks at the deal and the scrutiny it has received from the House of Commons International Trade Committee and the House of Lords International Agreements Sub-Committee.
In Focus
In recent years, there has been extensive international debate about lethal autonomous weapons, referred to by some as ‘killer robots’. With disagreements regarding how they should be defined and if they should be banned, this article explores these issues as well as the UK’s stance on them.
In Focus
On 9 November 2020, the House of Lords voted to remove from the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill controversial clauses relating to the Northern Ireland Protocol. This article explains what these votes were about and considers what might happen in relation to these clauses in the bill’s further parliamentary stages.
Current Affairs Digest
Catch up on world affairs with a selection of articles you may have missed from September 2020. Articles this month include a look at the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev, how an indigenous tribe in Brazil is dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, and Africa's relationship with the EU.
In Focus
It has been 25 years since a peace agreement was reached between the three warring parties in Bosnia, marking an end to an ethno-territorial conflict which killed around 100,000 people.
In Focus
The 2020 US election has been conducted during the coronavirus pandemic. At the start of the year, the candidates’ presidential campaigns had to be halted as many US states issued lockdown orders. Since June, the candidates have taken different approaches to appealing to voters. Donald Trump has tried to emulate his successful 2016 campaign while Joe Biden has been more cautious in his campaigning.
In Focus
Since the passage of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, the Government has been preparing for the UK to implement sanctions once it is no longer covered by the EU’s legal framework. The draft Sanctions (EU Exit) (Consequential Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 would amend existing sanctions regulations made under the 2018 act to ensure that references in other pieces of primary and secondary legislation are up to date.
Research Briefing
This briefing examines the role of the security and intelligence services, law enforcement agencies and several public authorities in authorising covert human intelligence sources to participate in criminal conduct.
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