13 years on from when 'Kuan's Wonderland' appeared. This allegorical dystopian tale is now closer than ever to the real world. The question remains - is there a way out? www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Henry-Tam/Ku... @trishburns.bsky.social

Brexiters (so 'proud' that they changed their name to 'Reform') want to keep shrinking the UK's power & influence, and make us a feeble supplicant to Trumerica. What we need is a strong, cohesive Europe that can stand up to the threats & chaos coming from Farage's hero. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The message to all who want to put their trust in Reform UK is this: when elected, Reform politicians break pledges, increase taxes, cut services, and as neatly summed up by the Good Law Project, deliver "a familiar mixture of incompetence and cronyism." goodlawproject.org/reform-counc...

Empowering citizens to share power and resources to help each other attain a better quality of life is key to a thriving democracy and inclusive community development: citizen-network.org/library/putt... @cormacrussell.bsky.social

Why do commentators persist in referring to US peace talks, when it's quite clear that the US is simply pressurising Ukraine to surrender territories to Russia.

One might have thought that egotistic political leaders would put people off with their narcissistic self-aggrandisement, But when those leaders devise cult-like xenophobic & misogynistic movements, we have a revival of far right politics. henry-tam.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-...

Reform UK wins control of councils by telling ppl that they'll cut council tax. Now Reform UK run councils are set to increase council tax. Spread the word: www.bigissue.com/news/politic...

Manchester is doing twice as well economically as the UK as a whole. Its population growth is a sign of its vibrancy. Maybe it's time our country looks to Manchester for a little inspiration? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

To say that we need to strengthen community life is not to call for a return to old hierarchical communities. On the contrary, what we seek is the development of inclusive and cooperative communities that move away from damaging social & economic divisions. www.bloomsbury.com/uk/communita...

Are the media really split by right-wing and left-wing bias? Or is it more the case that many promote the Right with stories that back xenophobic and plutocratic agendas; and a few provide honest reporting that upsets the Right: henry-tam.blogspot.com/2026/02/bias...

What Rubio means by a 'new era in geopolitics' is that the US is now: Soft on the invasion of European territories; Soft on the causes of the invasion of European territories. Be the invaders Russia, or the US for that matter, we Europeans need to protect ourselves. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Vaccine-deniers are not just minding their own business. Their groundless claims put many off getting their children immunised, and now we're facing measles outbreaks, which cannot be ignored. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Tories slash funding for local govt by over 50% over a decade, Farage & Co claim they can turn things around but then having to admit it's a mess & they can't do a thing. Voters beware of the worst double act ever: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Why would xenophobic leaders of 'nationalist' parties side with the likes of Putin and Trump against their own countries and democratic traditions? Because they are banking on the global culture war help them win power: henry-tam.blogspot.com/2026/01/puti...

Same old tactic, Do something vile, delight (in every sense) the base, And then deny all responsibility for it. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Warmth sucked out of society, Hope frozen without reprieve, Too many left shivering in fear. The US has descended into the ICE age. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Perhaps Blue Labour is too obsessed with 'blue' credentials, and Red Tory is too light on 'red' commitments. A politics that is centred on the empowerment of communities and all their members has to be authentically communitarian: blogs.bath.ac.uk/iprblog/2025... @uniofbathipr.bsky.social

Lessons from the May Fourth Movement (1919) on science and democracy - more relevant than ever for the world today: henry-tam.blogspot.com/2026/02/the-...

The UK has to keep conceding to the US, The UK is in a weak bargaining position with China, The UK is left out of the superior trade deal India struck with the EU. Russia backed Brexit because it would diminish the UK - and there's only one way to reverse that. leftfootforward.org/2026/01/new-...

An electoral system that cannot remove someone from the ballot who has been disowned by their own party is not really fit for purpose; Esp when a party can 'disown' one of its candidates and still hope to have that person with those views elected. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Trumputin, Invades Europe from the east, Threatens European sovereignty from the west. Proudly displayed in the White House. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... #trumputin

One of the questions I'm often asked is how can govt bodies engage with citizens effectively without letting it become an unproductive taking shop. The answer is to learn from the many successful practices which have been examined and shared: bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/whose-govern...

People talk about unbridgeable ideological differences, or irreconcilable culture clashes. Why don't we focus on the need for cooperative co-existence - for that points to real solutions for everyone ... henry-tam.blogspot.com/2024/10/coop...

How much is US-arranged talks a means of enabling Putin to escalate his attacks on Ukraine, following the cuts of American support to Zelensky? www.reuters.com/business/aer...

Armed forces across Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others who have fought for democracy in the 1940s and since, take note that when a former ally now denigrates and threatens you, you need to regroup and guard against treachery.

It is the ultimate intimidation to make it clear that anyone approaching ICE agents with a camera, or simply to ask a question, would be treated with deadly force and reported as "threatening". Even '1984' didn't go this far. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Another day, another fatal shooting by ICE agents - killing a man who, on the video evidence, was not holding any weapon, but was held firmly on the ground by a group of masked agents and repeatedly shot. To claim otherwise is not to give a different "narrative", but simply lie.

This is not about the US seeking greater security from Russia. This is the US shrugging off Russian aggression in Europe, While advancing its own aggression in the Americas. See it for what it is. For Trump and Putin, European democracies are the common enemy.

Ideas and practices drawn from government & community experiences of what works (and what doesn't) - distilled with the help of leading experts. 50% off until the end of Jan with code BUP01 when ordered from: bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/henry-tam @policypress.bsky.social @brisunipress.bsky.social

Forget geographical security analysis. Trump has no intention of helping Ukraine, He just wants to help himself to Greenland. As ever the only person finding all this immensely helpful is Putin.

Trump has announced more tariffs to be imposed on the UK & other European countries for showing support towards Greenland. Will the UK & EU realise that there is no placating Trump, and only a much more robust North Atlantic economic & security alliance (with Canada) can give us real protection.

There is no lesson more important in political education than recounting the devastation caused by power inequalities, and setting out how they have been tackled: www.amazon.co.uk/Against-Powe...

Rather than hyping how well Reform UK is doing in recruiting from the ranks of the failed Tory govt, media attention all round should focus on Reform's performance in raising council taxes and closing care homes: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

What do you call politicians who severely damage the country's economy, decimate public services to fund tax cuts for the rich, and fuel social divisions for political gains - but like to do it under a new identity? Defectors to Reform UK, aka the Farage bandwagon.

Plutocratic politics that serves a wealthy elite at the expense of everyone else is the root cause of problems everywhere. 'Money Rules' is their motto, and it's definitely not OK. Check out the countermoves we must make: henry-tam.blogspot.com/2026/01/mone...

Trump wants Ukraine to surrender territories to Putin, & expects Putin to support his takeover of Greenland - which would help to breakup NATO. Geopolitics meets egomania.

Of course Greenland has to be better protected, From Russia and China? Let's face it, the only imminent threats are from the US.

The key difference btw being citizens & being mere subjects is that the former are cooperative problem-solvers in their own governance. It makes effective citizenship education vital for any democratic society. citizen-network.org/library/citi... @moorsee.bsky.social @eddieplayfair.bsky.social

Is the law in the UK saying that a trans woman who is similar in many ways to a woman is not allowed to use facilities for women; But a trans man who is actually similar in many ways to a man must use facilities for women?

When a crime boss takes over a territory and imposes his own protection racket to 'take care' of everybody, These days it's called a 'Venezuelan acquisition'. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Are US threats against Greenland an attempt to distract from its actions in Venezuela, or the prologue to its next phase of hegemonic militarism? This is not just a challenge to Denmark and Europe, but to other NATO allies - Canada and Iceland - on either side of Greenland. #CrumblingWorldOrder

What has Putin's championing of anti-liberalism and support for xenophobic political parties across Europe got to do with the spread of culture wars? henry-tam.blogspot.com/2026/01/puti...

A paperless world is meant to help save trees, But when the ever multiplying info is stored in data centres that have to keep pace, To cool them at a functional temperature, Might we be running out of dependable water supplies ... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', the world came to be dominated by three hegemonic authoritarian regimes. Trump's attack on Venezuela signals another step towards the dystopian future Orwell warned us about ...

Wessex Water denies that £170k bonus paid to its former CEO is performance-related (such pay is officially banned) - of course not, how could such extra payment be linked to heading up a company guilty of criminal pollution failures ... www.theguardian.com/business/202...

When not even the most basic needs are met, the only hope is international community action: www.justgiving.com/page/nicolet... #InternationalChildrensTrust

Irrationalism has been weaponised. More than ever, we need to promote better understanding of how to differentiate between dubious claims and reliable beliefs. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CSYRF8H

Could the current ruling regime in the US be so relaxed about the Russian invasion of Ukraine because it wants to do something similar with Greenland?

It may sound forward-looking to say that we must have fast, unrestrained development of AI technology. If we are to have a sound future, we must make adequate preparations for AI-displaced job opportunities. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"We MUST have trial by jury"? 90% of cases are already decided by magistrates. 7% go before Crown Court & are settled before any trial. 3% are dealt with by a jury trial. The question is when jury trials are most likely to protect the innocent & bring justice to the guilty - and when they are not.