For the first time London has achieved the sad distinction of exceeding New York City in homicides. Almost all the killings have been of young adults or juveniles by their peers.
David Stewart
David Stewart, S.J., who was the London correspondent for America from 2014 to 2020, files from his native Scotland, where he now lives and works.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Was the British Government right to attack Syria without Parliament’s approval?
The prime minister authorized Royal Air Force participation in the U.S.-led strike while Parliament was in recess, upending an recent tradition of shared powers.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Cheering and jeering on the European mainland as Brexit doubts emerge
New forms of fascism are undoubtedly on the rise across Europe, but the majority of Europeans look askance at not only the football hooligans but at the possibility that sentiments similar to the ones they express might have driven the decision to leave the union.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Cold War tensions resurface after poisoning of Russian defector
The nerve-agent attack on two Russians in the cathedral city of Salisbury has Britons feeling as though they are back in the pages of a James Bond novel.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Oxfam scandal provokes U.K. political debate on overseas aid
Recent allegations about one of the United Kingdom’s biggest and best-known charities has driven increased demands from some quarters that overseas aid be reduced, if not abolished completely.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Sexism and London: A fundraiser stained by misogyny reaches its end
Reports that dozens of “hostesses” were sexually harassed at the Presidents Club fundraiser led several charities to return donations from the event.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Jesuit Refugee Service report reveals high level of homelessness among London’s refugees
J.R.S. contends that it is deliberate government policy to make life for refugees as difficult as possible.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Brexit fever provokes a colorful and pointless controversy over U.K. passports
Brexit supporters are proclaiming the return to the blue passport design a major victory.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
A battle in Britain as BBC launches war for Christmas & faith coverage
Just before Christmas, the announcement came that religious output on the BBC is to increase, not vanish, in 2018.
Posted inDispatches, Politics & Society
Northern Ireland’s Unionists flex muscles in Brexit talks
Britain and Ireland both want to prevent the return of a “hard border” around Northern Ireland, but that goal is difficult to square with leaving the European Union.