Join me and @nafeez.bsky.social at London's Gower St Waterstones on 23 September to explore the rise of the far-right in the political mainstream – the history and connections of which are explored in his revealing book, 'Alt Reich: The Network War to Destroy the West From Within' Tickets here 🔽

Interesting in depth conversation of the complexities, nuances and sometimes problematic issues of identity and belonging really worth listening to.

FROM MAGGIE TO MAGA The new Byline Times print edition has gone to press – exploring how the radical-right are the true heirs to Thatcher. When politicians can no longer offer tangible solutions to people's lives, a constant carousel of scapegoats is required 👇 In shops / subscribe.bylinetimes.com

The far-right's network war – exposed in @nafeez.bsky.social's Alt Reich – is rapidly accelerating. On 23 Sept, Ahmed joins Byline Times editor-in-chief @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social at Waterstones Gower St to unpack his explosive exposé. Tickets: www.waterstones.com/events/alt-r...

"The only time the issues of belonging or community or identity are discussed is around immigration..." @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social says it's time for a different conversation about identity. With @goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social podfollow.com/byline-podca...

"I can be British, English, a Londoner. I can be Indian...even my father's East African heritage." @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social tells @goldbergradio.bsky.social why identity in the UK today isn't black and white. podfollow.com/byline-podca...

LAWLESS BRITAIN? New Byline Times has gone to press on the authoritarian forces – here & abroad – driving this narrative 👇 "Anti-Britain propaganda is clearly working... Where is Starmer's vision of this green, pleasant & multicultural land?" (Sonia Purnell) In shops / subscribe.bylinetimes.com

Powerful words by London Mayor Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk in Byline Times on claims of 'lawless London' 👇 "These people can't stand what London represents... They believe a city as diverse & progressive as ours cannot be allowed to thrive. If it does, it makes a mockery of their entire worldview"

Excellent read and goes a long way to explain much of what we’re seeing and experiencing across many issues.

"David Dinsmore is emblematic of everything that has gone wrong with the relationship between power and the press" Starmer has appointed a former Editor of The Sun – who has a criminal conviction under the Sexual Offences Act – as a communications advisor. Again, as always, the water we swim in.

How far the Tories have moved. Impossible to imagine Badenoch or Jenrick saying that.

Interesting to speak to former Conservative Deputy PM Lord Heseltine for this latest edition... "Oswald Mosley marched against the Jews in the 1930s. Enoch Powell made the 'rivers of blood' speech in the 1960s. And Nigel Farage represents a new incarnation of that degree of prejudice & bitterness"

We need more writing about our humanness, what it lies in, how it challenges us, what it requires of us. We don't think about this enough, in my view. Stephen's book on his journey with his son Joey, who has severe learning disabilities, is for everyone - exploring 'the last taboo among liberals' 👇

We were quite fortunate to have Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham for the closing session of this summer’s #BylineFestival. We were even more fortunate that Byline Times editor-in-chief Hardeep Matharu also sat him down for an exclusive interview on the state of our politics today.

If we want to defend democracy and reduce harm, media literacy must be taken seriously, at school, at home, and across society. The Lords report backs that fully. The time for action is now, while we still have a government who don't call fact checks fake news.

The House of Lords just released a major report on media literacy. Its core message is that the UK is falling behind, and it’s putting democracy at risk. committees.parliament.uk/work/9030/me...

“[Beliefs] serve as signifiers of the group that people belong to, and those beliefs – with this social signaling function – can cause people to believe things which may not be grounded in evidence, simply because that is an indicator of the group of which they’re a part.”

@bylinetimes.bsky.social September edition. Critical & incisive. Not gloomy. Suggests where actions can help make our world better. @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social @peterjukes.bsky.social

"How are our more human needs for recognition, to be heard, to belong, to feel secure, being met in our 21st Century world?" This just might be the most important political problem we need to crack, without which we face a bleak, down-spiralling future driven by the millions unmoored by alienation.

"A former editor of The Sun will take up a senior communications role at the heart of government"

Proud of this pamphlet - our dysfunctional media is at the heart of so many UK policy failures from austerity to Palestine. As @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social puts it: "all too often, journalism in Britain operates as an extension of power rather than a check on it"

Back in April, Byline Times raised the issue that no lessons seem to have been learned after last summer's riots. The Government did not say an inquiry was underway. As agitation & discussion begins again, why didn't Westminster's media-political class keep this on the agenda? The water we swim in.

Loneliness isn’t just an affliction to be cured but an experience that can shape us for the better, Paul Bloom writes. If A.I. companions eliminate the feeling, we might lose something essential about being human.

Will a focus on "social cohesion" in itself be enough? All the deeper issues that led to the Brexit vote in 2016 have still not been addressed in 2025. If anything, things have gotten worse. This is really the (simple) underlying story, with another potentially anti-establishment trajectory.

Some very interesting points in here from Andy Burnham - including this on the Westminster bubble:

“The reason why concern for truth doesn’t dominate in the reasoning process is because that’s not what is actually relevant for the person trying to make sense of the reality in which they find themselves”. Professor J McKenzie Alexander @lsephilosophy.bsky.social

Why do so many people feel completely alienated from politics? And when did politics on the left stop being about helping them with the fundamentals in their lives? I sat down with Labour's Greater Manchester Mayor @andyburnham.bsky.social to find out how he thinks the hard-right can be defeated 👇

Also includes, amongst many other things, my latest column on the disingenuous populist claim that 'we're not allowed to talk about immigration', what lies behind it and how to counter it. Do consider buying or subscribing to @bylinetimes.bsky.social, every issue is packed with interesting stuff.

"Right-wing populists can mobilise sections of the white working-class because it does exist as a social reality. Rather than deny this, the challenge is to create a story of the nation they feel they have a voice in – but alongside, not in competition with, other communities" @jydenham.bsky.social

Delighted to have contributed to this really excellent edition of @bylinetimes.bsky.social

EUROPE IN AN AGE OF CHAOS New Byline Times has now gone to press - featuring interviews with Michael Heseltine & Ed Davey; special reports on Reform UK in local power; and culture with Stephen Unwin, Bonnie Greer & Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Pick up a copy in shops / subscribe: subscribe.bylinetimes.com

A look at the societal mechanisms currently enabling a proliferation of unreliably evidenced beliefs....

"what beliefs do, quite often, they serve as signifiers of the group that people belong to, and those beliefs – with this social signaling function – can cause people to believe things which may not be grounded in evidence, simply because that is an indicator of the group of which they’re a part"👇🏻👏🏼

'Beyond talk of fact-checking, cults, and social media regulation, one question is seldom asked: what is it about the age in which we live that makes evidence-free beliefs attractive to increasing numbers of people?' @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social ,via @bylinetimes.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2025...

I'm fascinated by groupthink, conspiracy theorists, etc. I teach community care for a living and so I think a lot about the ways human beings think and behave to feel accepted, included and in community. I always wrestle with how we call out the Kate Shemiranis without enabling/platforming them.

"Addressing real psychological & sociological needs is something those false, misinformed beliefs are doing. We actually need to try to tackle the underlying social problems, like alienation, people are grappling with" My in-depth essay with brilliant insights from LSE's Prof J McKenzie Alexander ⬇️

"Do we really live in a world where our value as human beings continues to be assessed by what is pulled from us as automatons of profit-making production for the already wealthy?" @penpep.bsky.social's new Byline Times piece on the ongoing impact on disabled people of dehumanising rhetoric 👇

⌛️ Four days to go until we kick off Byline Festival 2025 at Keele University. Journalists, comedians, activists, poets, artists, broadcasters, directors, authors and readers. Come one, come all. Fellowship in dark times. 👉 Bylinefestival.com

That Rachel Reeves tears have caused such a stir shows how devoid of human moments our political culture has become. It is this estrangement, from how things and people really are, which is so damaging in our systems of governance. We are voters/consumers/citizens/politicians – why not humans?

NEW: Keir Starmer's U Turns...a sign of indecision at the top of government? Or a rare politician willing to listen? Assessed by @peterjukes.bsky.social @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social @adambienkov.bsky.social @goldbergradio.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social podfollow.com/byline-times...

📺Today at 5pm. Byline Live. Starmer Steps Back from ‘Island of Strangers’ with @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social @adambienkov.bsky.social and @peterjukes.bsky.social substack.com/live-stream/...

Don’t miss these amazing women journalists & MPs talking about being on the frontline of the information war. Byline Festival, 11-13/7 Keele Uni With @nazshah.bsky.social @dawnbutlerbrent.bsky.social @heidicuda.bsky.social @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social Programme & tickets bylinefestival.com

If you’re on the cover of @bylinetimes.bsky.social it usually means uncomfortable critique. This month it’s Mark Zuckerberg’s turn for scrutiny by @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social for his role in Alien-nation.

🌐What is #truth in changing social & political contexts? 👉At "The Future of Truth panel" our speakers @charliebeckett.bsky.social, @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social, & Jason Alexander discussed misinformation, #AI, & group identity 🎥 Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=biIw... #LSEPhilosophy #LSEFestival

The cost of lies. An important watch and the kind of journalism we need the BBC to be pursuing ⬇️

I interviewed Kate Shemirani during covid. I felt so disturbed by it, it stayed with me for weeks afterwards This is beyond sad. And shows reality ultimately trumps conspiracy/'my truth' Paloma, a Cambridge graduate, "one of the smartest people" her ex-BF met, died after refusing cancer treatment

⏰ Tomorrow!

ALIEN-NATION The new Byline Times has now gone to press: A thought-provoking exploration of how the tech bros created the (social media) world in their own estranged image & why Starmer was right to warn of an "island of strangers" for the wrong reasons. subscribe.bylinetimes.com / buy in shops 👇

Really pleased to be speaking at the LSE Festival this Saturday on a stellar panel exploring truth in the digital age. Free tickets are still available!

📣 Next week!