On Twitter I once had a long conversation with an American about Smethwick in Birmingham being a "no-go zone for whites". He was insistent, despite the fact that I lived in Smethwick and he'd never set foot on the same continent.

As the Tories promise to review the UK’s commitment to the ECHR, lawyer @davidallengreen.bsky.social says, “Oh no, not again!” www.prospectmagazine...

To be clear this is a proposition by the insanely corrupt and broken EHRC. It's not law, it's not guidance, it would lose in court. Don't panic, don't do it

What Novara has achieved without corporate backing is a testament to technological change and the decline of traditional news. It’s a millennial left response to status quo media, made possible by YouTube and other platforms. @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social, for @battlegroundeu.bsky.social .

If you're interested in Pope Francis's legacy when it comes to tax policy, I recommend this piece by my Law360 colleague @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social

@bphillipsonmp.bsky.social I want you to explain to me why I should suddenly turn my life upsidedown and stop using public spaces - that I need for work and participating in public life - when I've used them every day for the last 10 years. Have you ever even spoken to a trans person before?

Something to watch.

Germany Forms New Gov't With Plans To Cut Corporate Taxes www.law360.com/tax-authorit... @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social

A narrative is recited almost everywhere: that Rachel Reeves is being "forced" to cut benefits, and is faced with "hard choices" or "no choice". This story, a staple of neoliberal doctrine, is completely false, as @richardjmurphy.bsky.social explains: www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/03...

"Even the interviews with the far-right were Hussain’s attempt to de-mystify the men and women who demonised his community. Perhaps this endeavour revealed more about those individuals than 5Pillars." @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social thebattleground.eu/2025/02/24/n...

Britain is more broken than ever. Josh White, on the rise of Nigel Farage’s far-right Reform UK party and how a negligent, neoliberal Labour government opened the door for them. @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social thebattleground.eu/podcast/nati...

Life is a series of disappointments.

We've asked the 'Strong Leader' question eight times in the British Election Study Internet panel since 2016. Not only is the % of Gen Z supporting dictators much lower than reported by the Times (13% in 2024 vs 52%). Gen Z are the *least* likely generation to support a strong leader.

Welcome to Hearing Aid, the new Battleground column dedicated to field recording and found political sounds. Every fortnight, I'll explore new ways of using original audio in political commentary. The first edition focuses on Turkey's troubled relationship with the Kurds.

Saw @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social remark that the UK grooming gangs scandal could be Starmer's equivalent to Corbyn's Labour antisemitism scandal. No matter how much he does/has done to remedy it, it will never be enough for his opponents.

If the Tories were a vegetable, they would’ve been composted years ago. Not in UK politics, where rotten parties stick around long after they’re past due. Announcing Josh White's Tories Are Dead spoken word LP, and why Nigel Farage got the most out of the 2024 election.

To many Italians, Gaza and Giorgia Meloni are increasingly indistinguishable. Even if Italy isn’t involved in the war in the same ways as the United States, it doesn’t have to be. Yours truly on Israel/Palestine protest politics in Torino.

Right-wing critics will claim the platform is unrepresentative of British Jews, but this misses the point: conservative media does not speak for Jews who oppose this war of annihilation. @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social, on why Vashti Media has a growing following.

Israeli and American denials ring hollow in the face of the overwhelming evidence Amnesty presents supporting the case for genocide charges Amnesty International Finds Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza open.substack.com/pub/mitchell...

Anti-Assad protest. Berlin, August 2018.

"Trump won the crucial blue wall states... by 231,000 votes? So if just 116,000 voters across those three swing states – or 0.7% of the total – had switched from Trump to Harris, it is the vice-president who would have won the electoral college … and the presidency" - me for the Guardian:

It's the biggest newspaper in Britain. If you could call it one. @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social, on the peculiar Metro, and why the freesheet tabloid puts its politics in the background.

Difficult to describe what a dangerous moment we are in. The owner of Twitter/richest man in the world/closest adviser to the next US president is promoting a far-right Tommy Robinson (!) documentary to his 200 million followers. This is the mainstreaming of violent, Islamophobic fascism.

Christo Nationalism…..

NEW | Considering press coverage of the farmers' protests... FARM OFFENSIVE Look at how the newspapers describe the farmers' marches and you'll notice a very different attitude to their usual reports on protests. brokenbottleboy.substack.com/p/farm-offen...

@mzc.bsky.social Follow back!

@brokenbottleboy.bsky.social Follow back!

How surprising.

@pieuler.bsky.social Follow back, comrade!

It's the biggest fascist media in the world. @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social, on Elon Musk's X, and why there's no distinguishing the platform from its politics.

The next UK election is still a long way off, but there is a clear shift in public opinion just a few months into Labour's new reign.

"If anything, Elon Musk has shown us the reality of social media: Twitter was never a public square but a wall to graffiti. What matters more is how it’s used to promote fascism." @jtwhitenoise.bsky.social @jschalit.bsky.social thebattleground.eu/2024/11/18/u...

'Farmers' protest. Without any farmers.

Amsterdam mayor takes back 'pogrom' comments following Maccabi-Ajax violence - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/amsterdam-mayor-walks-back-calling-violence-after-maccabi-ajax-match-pogrom

I refuse to join BlueSky - I don’t want to become part of an Umberto Eco chamber.

God help us.

Yet another parsing of the vote: lazy liberals need to look at some data. lbo-news.com/2024/11/15/y...

Who made this? Ahahaha

Eye opening bit in the European Commission's just-released economic forecasts. Apple's €13bn retrospective tax bill sends Ireland to a remarkable 4.4% budget *surplus*

This week’s column on weird politics of wage compression - Britain’s big squeeze: middle-class and minimum-wage www.economist.com/britain/2024...

🚨 New here? Follow The Battleground 🚨 Welcome to Bluesky’s 1 million new users! We joined in March to connect with those who care about truth, equality, and justice. Follow us, share this post, and ask your network to follow too. Let’s build a platform where facts thrive, and hate loses. 💬

Donald Trump’s new Director of National Intelligence

Mark Fisher’s londonunderlondon reveals how social media cuts us off from psychogeographical roots. A haunting exploration of capitalism, memory, and the algorithm’s role in forgetting. #MarkFisher #Londonunderlondon #Hauntology thebattleground.eu/2024/11/13/c...

A tale of two platforms: BlueSky user numbers have hit a new record high in recent days, while the number of people deleting their accounts on X/Twitter has rocketed 🚀

fuck's sake

Just started The Battleground Network, bringing together our contributors in one place. We specialise in political and cultural analysis covering Europe and the US. go.bsky.app/3aaGAtV

‘The Democrats failed because their platform was: Republican, but less crazy.’ If that’s the best alternative, Trump’s grip on America remains strong. When will the cycle end? #USPolitics #2024Election thebattleground.eu/2024/11/08/f...

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