Baroness Newlove was an incredible woman. I am desperately sad to hear of her passing. Her struggle and support for victims will not be forgotten. RIP.

21% of the German population voted for the AfD in last German election. The question of which takes precedence: protecting the German constitution from extremism & extremist parties verses the ability of such parties to govern via democratic elections is a question that will be reckoned with v soon.

'We have become careless of what matters. “Never again?” From east to west, bullies dominate. International institutions have been allowed to wither. In the US, powerful voices echo Nazi justifications for overriding democracy....it mustn’t take another war to remind us why [our values] matter.'

Politicial leaders should condemn racist discourse not engage in it. It's one of the reasons we're seeing the Overton window shift. Whatever happened to "I have a dream - one day we'll live in a nation where we'll not be judged by the color of our skin but by the content of our character". MLK

Extremism research suggests there is a growing radicalisation challenge with this generation & will most likely worsen as socio-economic grievances increase, support for conspiracies grows, distrust of institutions rises, exposure to extremist content online & UK identity/cultural fears dominate.

For political hacks like myself, 'put it in the curriculum' is the oldest and hattiest of old hat policy ideas. Why do we think schools should solve all our problems? What if we thought differently about life skills and civic education? howtorunacountry.substack.com/p/schools-ca...

Exclusive: The parents of a man who killed himself are suing the company that created ChatGPT, claiming the product encouraged him to commit suicide.

NEW: The National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism has severed ties with the Heritage Foundation, adding to the tumult at the venerable conservative think tank & underscoring a deepening rift on the right between Israel supporters & America Firsters.

What religious fundamentalists & extremists of all stripes have in common is the control, disempowerment and relegation of women from the public sphere into the private sphere through coercion & where necessary violence. Christian far right nationalists, Islamist extremists, Jewish extremists....

The UK Labour Party defines itself as a "democratic socialist" part in the first sentence of Clause IV. And has since the 1990s. That's how woeful the BBC claiming it's a term with no definition is. Good grief.

I don't say this lightly but Elon Musk and his platform X is not only a national security threat to our country, he is a threat to our democracy, to our institutions, to public order and to the wellbeing of British children. And the UK government should treat him as such.

I note that many of the most vocal who had much to say within minutes of Saturday’s appalling events are rather quieter today. But they’ll be back. I wrote about the radical right misinformation machine centred on X in @theipaper.com inews.co.uk/opinion/a-su...

A total and utter hero

The gap between the white-supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes and the rest of the right is narrower than it has ever been, @alibreland.bsky.social argues.

First they were upset when details were not given. Now they’re upset when they are.

Neo-Nazis White Vanguard organise summer camps, intimidate politicians,engage in book burnings, radicalise online & operate freely. WHY? Why have successive govs allowed neo-nazis to operate with impunity?This was made clear in 2021 that gaps in law exist. Yet zero action. www.gov.uk/government/p...

Horrendous news. My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected. At this crucial time, people should avoid speculating about the motive. Police are due to give an update shortly. What we know about Huntingdon train stabbings - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

One in twenty Reform councillors elected in May 2025 has left by the Autumn - half expelled/suspended - a quarter resigned from council - some defected An "unusual rate" of attrition in 6 months, says Tony Travers www.politicshome.com/news/article...

This is the first major test to see just how effective the Online Satefy Act is and how much teeth Ofcom has in practice. As a platform 4Chan is a sewer of extremist, terrorist and violent content.

🧵 Across the world, democracy isn’t just under pressure, it’s facing epistemic collapse: a breakdown in the shared ability to know what’s true, to reason together and to hold power to account. A new guest paper by @eliothiggins.bsky.social and @drnataliemartin.bsky.social explores how to fix it.

Britons are split on whether the government was right to ban Palestine Action as a terror group Right: 33% Wrong: 27% Net scores Reform: +59 right to ban Con: +49 Lib Dem: -10 Labour: -20 Green: -54 White: +11 Ethnic minority: -21 Pakistani/Bangladeshi: -80 yougov.co.uk/politics/art...

Love her or loathe her one cannot deny Thatcher's intense conviction, moral clarity and courage.

Fascinating new study 📊 "Just over half of people (51%) do not agree with Ofcom’s current rules which allow politicians like Nigel Farage, who has a prime-time show on GB News, to front their own TV programmes." https://bit.ly/47u0A1Y

Films: We need to hack a keycard, obtained by seducing one of the guards. We then need to drop in from the skylight after jumping from a plane, and dodge all of the lasers and traps, carefully switching the jewels for fakes that weigh the same to avoid tripping the alarm. Real life:

Apropos of nothing, I really do think UK journalists and politicians need some reminding that mass deportation of LEGAL immigrants, particularly those with permanent status, is far more extreme than even Trump's America and would basically place Britain completely on its own among democracies.

Music could help ease pain from surgery or illness. Scientists are listening. apnews.com/article/musi...

I listen to a fair few podcasts but the discussion and banter on The Two Matts Podcast is really engaging. Today's Q&A on Israel/Palestine is a cracker. Well worth a listen. @thenewworldmag.bsky.social www.thenewworld.co.uk/podcast/qa-i...

Donald Trump posts a video of himself wearing a crown as he flies a jet with "King Trump" written in gold on it, dumping shit onto protesters in American cities, which rather makes the protesters point for them.

Misinformation poses a chronic, insidious and dangerous threat to social cohesion and democratic resilience in our country. It appears Government are not going to act on this in a world where AI will dominate our lives.Have they carried out a risk assessment of the consequences of NOT taking action?

Counter extremism & counter terrorism work matters. Ensuring we have robust policies, operational plans and strategies must always be a top priority for the UK Government in ensuring the safety and security of British citizens irrespective of their race or religion. Extremism threatens us all.

"A striking theme emerged across the two conferences this year: a return to community as the anchor for rebuilding the social fabric of the nation." Lauren Andres, Pro-Vice-Provost for Inequalities @uclgrandchallenges.bsky.social reflects on Party Conference season. www.ucl.ac.uk/grand-challe...

Sadly, I'm not surprised. When I carried out the last official review into cohesion & threats to democratic resilience I evidenced in the Khan Review 2024 how professions across the board are experiencing such behaviour. We are increasingly become a less tolerant nation. This is a democratic crisis.

Don’t fall for the authoritarian hype – Reform and the hard right can be stopped in their tracks | Gordon Brown

Latest hate crime figures show a rise for the first time in 3 years. Depressingly the latest figures don't yet include recent events such as unrest following protests outside of asylum hotels & reports of hate crimes at anti-immigration rallies & impact of such activity. www.bbc.com/news/article...

The Welsh Equality & Social Justice Committee launched an inquiry into social cohesion & have today published their findings/recommendations for Welsh Gov. I am grateful they drew heavily on the Khan Review & inc the phenomenon of what I term freedom-restricting harassment as a threat to cohesion.

Spot on from @stephenkb.bsky.social. And the other aspect of this nasty turn is the eliding of British ‘culture’ with ‘white British’, which will shock anyone who has watched TV or football, or listened to music, or read a book, or indeed breathed since 1980.

If it's not about colour of your skin or faith then what is it about? There are diverse ethnicities living in Handsworth yet it sounds as if Jenrick sees this through the narrow prism of white v non-white. I wonder if he visits white areas & says he's not seen any Pakistani faces or Black Caribbean?

Neighbours of Manchester attacker say they reported concerns to police

Wrote a piece for the Times. If Gov want to counter antisemitism, protective security on its own is insufficient. Gov need to commit to a counter extremism & social cohesion strategy & address gaps in legislation which is allowing extremists to operate with impunity. www.thetimes.com/article/884d...

As of today 20 mosques and Muslim institutions have been attacked in our country since June. Over three months with very little media or political commentary & condemnation. We have an anti-Muslim crisis in our country. This should disturb every right-minded person who cares about our democracy.

The fire attack at a mosque in Peaceheaven is despicable. Since June there have been 19 attacks on mosques/Muslim institutions. The virulent hatred, stereotyping & dehumanisation of Muslims must stop.The everyday anti-Muslim discourse is fuelling such incidents & will result in serious consequences.

Heseltine making a clear pitch for what the Conservatives should stand for and what they shouldn't, including "to never have any part in the populist extremism of Nigel Farage."

In 2021 the CST rightly labelled Tommy Robinson an extremist.

To see commentators, public figures & others exploit the terror attack in M'cr is reprehensible. Blaming & hating on Muslims another much maligned religious minority, pushing political & ideological points, fueling division.... none of this is new. It is peverse, shameful & is what terrorists seek.

Manchester synagogue terrorist was on bail for alleged rape

The horrific antisemitic attack at a synogogue on Yom Kippur in Manchester today is devastating. My thoughts are with the victims, their families & the entire Jewish community. We have seen eye-watering levels of anti-Jewish hate crime in our country. We must combat this pernicious & vile hatred.

Since 2121, women have gradually lost their rights, freedom & dignity in Afghanistan.The Taliban extremists are waging war against them. As a Muslim woman I cannot express how angry this makes me & the naivety displayed by some UK officials believing their 2021 claim about protecting women's rights.

If we want to protect our country from the risk of corruption & from populist political governments who care little for the role of institutions who provide the necessary checks and balances in our democracy, Labour should fully restore the Electoral Commission's independence not just operationally.

The alleged shooter in Michigan. Weird that Vance and Patel haven’t tweeted out this info. 🤷🏽‍♂️👇🏽 www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...