Brexit Diaries #3 (February 1, 2020)

My trip through the post-Brexit London on this day, 1st February 2020, continues…

11.00 am – I leave the hotel and I walk along Caledonian Road, towards Islington. I’m going to join a community event at Islington Green organised by the local association “Islington In Europe”. They are a voluntary non-political group which has been campaigning over the last three years to keep their country inside the EU, from which their borough has greatly benefited. They are now mainly committed to offering legal support to non-British citizens. The event, unfortunately, is not so crowded, maybe because of a post-31st January disillusionment, which I hope won’t paralyse London’s European core.

12.00 pm – Getting back to the hotel, I pass through the Regent’s Canal’s quarter in Camden. Once upon a time – until a few years ago – the area behind London’s main stations of King’s Cross and St. Pancras was an underused industrial wasteland. Now, it’s completely different: one of European biggest urban regeneration projects has transformed it into a vibrant and enjoyable space of architectural interest. This has been a master-example of the sustainable urban development projects that the European Commission, through URBACT, has funded and recognized. I hope England’s great dynamism will persevere despite Brexit.

Follow a European Generation member Gioele Giussani as he travels to London in the first days after the United Kingdom exited the European Union. What are his impressions of post-Brexit London? How do Londoners and other Europeans feel about entering this new era? Read more from this series to find out.