section_path: History/21st century
section_name: 21st century
paragraph_text: 21st century
  
  The UK broadly supported the United States' approach to the " war on terror " in the early 21st century. British troops fought in the War in Afghanistan, but controversy surrounded Britain's military deployment in Iraq, which saw the largest protest in British history in opposition to the government led by Tony Blair.
  
  The Great Recession (2007–2010) severely affected the British economy. The Cameron–Clegg coalition government of 2010 introduced austerity measures intended to tackle the substantial public deficits. A referendum on Scottish independence in 2014 resulted in the Scottish electorate voting by 55.3 to 44.7 per cent to remain part of the United Kingdom.
  
  In 2016, 51.9 per cent of voters in the UK voted to leave the European Union. The UK left the EU in 2020. On 1 May 2021 the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement came into force.
  
  The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the British economy, caused major disruptions to education and had far-reaching impacts on society and politics in 2020 and 2021. The UK was the first country in the world to use an approved COVID-19 vaccine, developing its own vaccine through a collaboration between the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, which allowed the UK's vaccine rollout to be amongst the fastest in the world.