United Kingdom Archives

Amnesty International protesters (front) call for a change in Northern Irish abortion law as they walk past a counter demonstration at Parliament Square on February 26th, 2019, in London, England. Northern Ireland is currently the only country in the United Kingdom where it is illegal to have an abortion. Each protester with Amnesty International carried a suitcase containing sheets of paper with the names of 62,000 people calling for the decriminalization of abortion in Northern Ireland. The counter protesters each held a box containing 10,000 names symbolizing the 100,000 people who are alive today because of Northern Ireland's abortion laws.

Viewfinder: A Face-Off Between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life Protesters From Northern Ireland

Amnesty International protesters call for a change in Northern Irish abortion law as they walk past a counter demonstration at Parliament Square on February 26th, 2019, in London, England.

Pacific Standard Staff

A sculpture made from over 2,500 plastic bottles recovered from beaches, rivers, and streets from around the United Kingdom is seen outside the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs as part of a stunt by environmental campaign group Greenpeace on February 25th, 2019, in London, England. The sculpture was delivered to DEFRA to apply pressure on Environment Secretary Michael Gove to move forward with a proposed deposit return scheme for bottles and cans bought in the U.K.

Viewfinder: Greenpeace Campaigns for a Deposit Return Scheme in the U.K. With a Giant Plastic Bottle

A sculpture made from over 2,500 plastic bottles is seen outside the Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs on February 25th, 2019, in London, England.

Pacific Standard Staff

The remains of a railway bridge between the villages of Blacklion in the Republic of Ireland and Belcoo in Northern Ireland can be seen on February 22nd, 2019, in Belcoo, Northern Ireland. The bridge was blown up by the British army in the 1970s during the Troubles. Along the winding 499 kilometers of the Irish border are vestiges of a harder boundary: derelict customs houses, "dragon's teeth" bollards and two-toned tarmac. These relics evoke a time when movement between the countries was less free, and underscore what is at stake as the U.K. negotiates its exit from the E.U. Both parties have vowed to avoid a physical border, but, as the Brexit deadline approaches on March 29th, a final agreement has so far eluded them.

Residents Fear the Return of an Ireland–U.K. Border (in Photos)

Questions remain over what will happen at the border after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

Kelley Czajka

Viewfinder: Protesters Gather Outside the Houses of Parliament During Tuesday’s Brexit Amendment Vote

Pro-European Union and pro-Brexit protesters discuss the vote and ongoing political processes as they demonstrate near the Houses of Parliament on January 29th, 2019, in London, England.

Pacific Standard Staff

$The roadside near Cuadrilla's operations is covered in anti-fracking art and posters.$

‘We Bloody Live Here, and It’s Not Fair’: How Communities in the U.K. Are Taking on Fracking

The Conservative British government has rallied behind fracking, but in Lancashire and beyond, locals are pushing back.

Sophie Yeo

Passengers wait at the North Terminal at London Gatwick Airport, south of London, on December 20th, 2018, after all flights were grounded due to drones flying over the airfield.

Unidentified Drones Shut Down a Major London Airport (in Photos)

A series of drone sightings at London's Gatwick Airport caused over a hundred flights to be canceled or delayed as authorities struggled to respond to the potential danger.

Jack Herrera

Viewfinder: Climate Activists and Police Clash in Westminster

A climate activist is arrested after spray-painting on the gates outside the Houses of Parliament on November 14th, 2018, in London, England.

Pacific Standard Staff

Viewfinder: London Deals With Knife Attacks

On November 7th, 2018, a police officer lets a member of the public out of a crime scene near "Billy Fury Way," where a teenager was stabbed the previous evening in London, England.

Pacific Standard Staff