Why did organisers of Wireless Festival invite Kanye? Ignorance? Lack of due diligence hardly seems credible when so much media coverage of his views. Support for his views? Don't want to believe it but possible. Attempt to separate man from the music? V naive if true.Either way they need to explain

Using Christianity to sow division and target another religious minority is not only unchristian, it's undemocratic too.

Democratic freedoms declined every year since 2000, dissatisfaction with democracy grows as does democratic backsliding/erosion. Low levels of political trust drive voters to elect authoritarian leaders. Democracy has been failed by weak/incompetent/dishonest politicial leaders. What should be done?

I’ve long covered MAGA politics but I was shocked by what I heard at CPAC. It has radicalised yet further. It’s a movement convinced it must not only save the US but Western civilisation. Because in their mind, the UK and Europe has already “fallen” to Islam. Watch 👇 youtu.be/t3Y_ozT_p3g?...

Greater Manchester Police has found "no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting" in the Gorton and Denton by-election, after Reform made a complaint over alleged "family voting" The investigation looked at potential offences under the Representation of the People Act

The things Goodwin got wrong weren’t obscure academic citations or quibbles over statistics. They were objective falsehoods. ...reports that don't exist ..a string of invented quotations ...a claim that Boris Johnson was in Opposition in 2019... www.thenerve.news/p/matt-goodw...

What happened to the Tory party? It is open season to attack Muslims as a whole when hostility is increasing. Muslims contribute to British life, to policing, national security, NHS, to community life. No-one is saying there aren't issues but the Tories are not wanting to uphold the boundaries.

Read the full analysis.

A war of choice, not of necessity - and not consistent with international law - that will unleash chaos, instability and insecurity in our world for I suspect many years to come.

The current scale of attacks on mosques & Muslim institutions in the UK is unprecedented. This is not just an attack on Muslims, it is an attack on freedom of religion & our democratic values www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Guardian/UCL have conducted an in-depth study of all of the immigration debates in parliament over a century. It shows sentiment more mixed, more negative today than in the past. (Though also that parliamentary sentiment historically is more pro than con) www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...

I have spent the past several months studying the cutting-edge research on modern democracies that have defeated authoritarian leaders. I've learned that the conventional wisdom on the topic is wrong — in ways that have clear implications for the US going forward THREAD www.vox.com/politics/479...

When politicians & folk like Tommy Robinson talk about how UK is a 'Christian country' they often do so in opposition & hatred to a group eg Muslims/Islam. It's from a place of othering & weaponisation in contrast to actual Christian leadership who talk about an inclusive & loving Christianity.

Cartoon by Mike Luckovich.

Sadly the Red-Green alliance has been alive and well for decades in the UK. I wrote about this in my book 10 years ago. 5 Pillars is an Islamist website who engage in antisemitism, attack Muslims countering extremism while hypocritically platforming neo-Nazis and anti-Muslim extremists. Peverse.

Jenrick claims the Public Sector Equality Duty is used by GCHQ to discriminate against white working class boys. I could be wrong but there is no legal evidence that PSED has been used against white working class boys or to block employment at GCHQ. Can Jenrick share his evidence for such a claim?

'In 1968 Enoch Powell was sacked from shadow cabinet...today he would be touring podcast studios in UK & America raising money for a new party.' Depressingly true. In a diverse society there have to be non-negotiable democratic norms citizens abide by & the state MUST defend & protect.

Disappointed w BBC for that Mandelson interview. A slap in the face to Epstein victims. He was part of the system of male power which enabled & dismissed abuse. The media went after Mandelson correctly in my view. Now the media is aiding his swift rehabilitation & PR. 1/2

What a wonderful and caring human being Jonny Yaxley is.

Monthly Twitter UK users since Musk 2022 May22: 26.8m May23: 24.3m (-2.5m) May24: 22.1m (-2.2m) May25: 18.9m (-3.2m) Loss of 8 million (30%) in 3 years Daily users on Twiiter after Musk 2022:10.3 m 23: 9.5 (-0.8m) 24: 8.6 (-0.9m) 25: 6.9 (-1.7m) Loss 3.4 million in 3 years (33%) Ipsos/ Ofcom

Interesting how socio-economic issues are simply not a high concern for Reform voters.

“Many who argue for revocation claim that it is necessary to preserve the integrity of citizenship. In fact... to allow the state to annul citizenship so easily is to take its meaning insufficiently seriously.“ My @theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/columni...

For years I've called for the proscription of Patriotic Alternative not under existing terrorisn proscription orders but with a new set of hateful extremism proscription orders. For years successive UK governments have instead allowed such dangerous groups to continue operating with impunity.

If Ofcom as regulator is allegedly reluctant to intervene over politically difficult issues of impartiality, then frankly who will? Ofcom as an independent body is there to provide checks & balances. Our institutions must reaffirm their commitment to this especially during these polarised times.

There are legal limitations/principles about freedom of expression. But that doesn't mean those shouting the loudest about these cases have a principled or consistent approach about free speech.That's the real issue.Ideologues using free speech as a culture war & weaponising it for political reasons

It is right el-Fattah apologised for those extreme tweets but to negate all his other pro-democracy activity is peverse. The UK populist right demanding he should lose his British citizenship is ironically peak cancel culture & extreme, the very thing they always complain about.

Very pleased to hear this. The attempt to censure those who counter hate, extremism & disinformation is dangerous & threatens us, our children, our freedoms & democracy. Following the US' Nat Sec Strategy,it's clear European countries are on a collision course with the US. This is a battle of values

EU Commission response to US sanctions imposed upon advocates of regulating social media ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

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This is a serious escalation of the supposed war against “censorship”: in the name of free speech, five people are now having their visas revoked and are facing deportation. This is a narrative Bari Weiss’s Free Press was heavily involved in pushing, too.

A summons against Reginald D Hunter by the Campaign Against Antisemitism has been quashed after a judge ruled the 'abusive' private prosecution was intended to get the comedian 'cancelled'

In the gloom, there are points of light - and what connects them is courage. Last column of 2025 offers some reasons to be hopeful www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I too was sickened to read arguments made by academics - of who neither they or their daughters will experience FGM - compare what is an act of torture to "designer vaginas." The clue is in the name: "mutilation." Trying to justify FGM for any reason is beyond peverse & an inverted form of racism.

Trump’s dismantling of climate research center is a ‘destruction of knowledge,’ critics say

Again these people aren't patriots. They hate our country and are allied to others who hate it too. Nothing will ever be achieved by seeking to appease them

Very good piece by Sir David Omand on why social cohesion in the face of extremism is a security imperative. In the face of rising extremism and the threat to democracy, the time for a new strategic approach is well overdue.

Ben Jennings on the Bondi beach terror attack – cartoon

Despicable attack on Bondi beach targeting Sydney's Jewish community on 1st day of Hanukkah killing 12, is not only an attack on a religious community it is an attack on democracy & democratic freedoms. Heartbreaking. My thoughts are with victims&families. We must stamp out this antisemitic hatred.

53% Brits think Reform is racist. @theobserveruk.bsky.social "Reform's roll of shame"demonstrates not a case of a bad apple but an institutional problem. The anti-Muslim hate, dangerous obsession with Sadiq Khan, the racism, incitement & support for far right beliefs leaves one fearful about the UK.

Political violence is an attack on our democracy & yet we are seeing more actions like this occuring. Councillors in Kent were "violently intimidated" and "pelted with eggs" at a meeting by "people wearing balaclavas" in the public gallery. www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

Citizens of countries including the UK and France will have to disclose the past five years of their social media history to visit the US even though they are covered by visa waiver schemes, under new proposals by the Trump administration. www.ft.com/content/683b...

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NEW Extremism, conformity, and the problem of law How the law can (attempt to) regulate extremism, but it can really do nothing about conformism. By me emptycity.substack.com/p/extremism-...

Most discussions about “misinformation” treat the problem as if people simply don’t have good enough critical-thinking skills. It sounds intuitive, but it’s not entirely accurate. The problem isn’t just individual ignorance, it’s the structure of the information environment people are placed into.

Piers Morgan's interview of neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes - "Hitler is cool" - shows how the cordon sanitaire is eroding. Extremist groups used to say this stuff privately & if recorded secretly, they'd still deny it. Now? Open, brazen, no apology for such beliefs & PROUD. x.com/i/status/199...

"MAGA is looking for imperial expansion into Europe, promoting 'patriotic parties' on the far-right of our politics," says Jon Sopel. "This needs serious attention." Trump is making a move on Europe – and the UK is looking the other way www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/trum...

Horrifying. Like something out of a horror film. But not surprising. As one of these women describe, the maternity system in Britain is broken. My female friends & family - all had some kind of stressful experience incl NHS doctors. It's the tip of the iceberg. We don't even know the full scale.

Trump crowns himself world king… but kindly lets Russia and China rule their fiefdoms. The new US national security strategy makes clear the US president’s plan to for western hegemony, writes Steve Bloomfield. https://bit.ly/3KCd7HW

Whatever the EU does it must not capitulate to the US Gov or Musk on this issue. The divide between Europe and the US on enlightenment values and protecting democratic freedoms gets bigger everyday. The US' National Security Strategy confirms the disdain the US holds for Europe & those values.

Politicians, media have a responsibility to counter extremist rhetoric. Connor's view is anti-democratic & a rejection of the pluralistic values of our country.We can passionately disagree on issues but his position crosses a red line that I hope all politicians from all parties will publicly reject