Author: Miles Donavan

Their targets are a gentle song about “migrant” Paddington Bear and a reimagined Palestinian lullaby raising funds for humanitarian aid in Gaza. The annual scramble for the Christmas No. 1 spot is underway, and this year’s frontrunners have triggered yet another round of contrived indignation from the culture war-obsessed right. Their targets are a gentle song about “migrant” Paddington Bear and a reimagined Palestinian lullaby raising funds for humanitarian aid in Gaza. “Woke Christmas!” shrieked the Daily Mail, excitedly reporting that the BBC had been “warned” against promoting these tracks, warnings supposedly amplified by the broadcaster’s recent internal controversies over…

At this rate, the paper may as well rebrand itself as Farage News, the Daily Farage, or perhaps more honestly, the Farage Mail, given the unwavering devotion it shows to the Reform UK leader. The Daily Mail’s front page on December 1 delivered one of those genuine double-take moments. “Farage: Reeves must face sleaze probe over budget lies,” the headline declared. At this rate, the paper may as well rebrand itself as Farage News, the Daily Farage, or perhaps more honestly, the Farage Mail, given the unwavering devotion it shows to the Reform UK leader.The story relayed that Chancellor Rachel…

“Reform couldn’t run a tap!” Derbyshire County Council now controlled by Reform UK, is considering scrapping all directly delivered adult education provision and outsourcing the service entirely to private providers. The council’s adult education centres provide a wide range of services including courses for adults, access to apprenticeships for young people, and training for unemployed residents.  Speculation about the service’s future follow the resignation of Jack Bradley, the Reform councillor previously responsible for education and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Bradley, who elected for the first time in May when Reform gained control of the council, stepped down in October for…

“It is unacceptable that bereaved families are expected to subsidise the lifestyle of the man whose decisions led to the deaths of our loved ones.” A petition calling for the withdrawal of all publicly funded support and privileges granted to Boris Johnson as a former prime minister has now attracted more than 42,000 signatures. The petition is being promoted by Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, a group representing over 6,500 relatives who lost loved ones during the pandemic. The campaigners say their aim is to hold the government accountable for the decisions that contributed to avoidable deaths and to help…

Is there any way out of the prospect of a Reform UK government led by Nigel Farage, aided by a well-connected, opaquely funded, MAGA inspired movement? An incoming Reform government would have to “force nasty cough medicine down the country’s throat,” said James Orr, the Cambridge theologian seeking to shape the policy agenda of a party that hopes to govern Britain. Orr, whom one academic colleague described as “more Tommy Robinson than St Thomas Aquinas,” became a driving force behind the pro-Reform think-tank, the Centre for a Better Britain (CFABB). He chaired the group’s advisory board before formally joining Reform…

“We need to make a stand and we need to show that any form of racism is unacceptable, even when dressed up as patriotism.” The borough of Stockport in South Manchester has experienced an increase in racial incidents following the appearance of large numbers of flags and a series of hotel protests, according to social housing provider Stockport Homes. The organisation, which manages thousands of properties across the area, reports an alarming rise in hate crimes. Stockport Homes data shows that in 2024/25 there were 2.4 hate-incident cases per 1,000 homes, more than triple the national median of 0.7 for…

Find out what the right are up t Every Saturday, Left Foot Forward publishes an in-depth look at what the right have been up to. We delve into the political parties, think-tanks, media outlets and influencers on the right and shine a light on their activities, their ideologies and the impact they’re having on the real world. This is Right-Wing Watch, and it’s now available on Substack. Subscribe here to receive Right Wing Watch in your inbox every Saturday – or in the Substack app. Left Foot Forward doesn’t have the backing of big business or billionaires.…

“Electing someone to be leader of your party and thereby making her prime minister is an eccentric way of silencing her.” Just when you thought Liz Truss couldn’t humiliate herself even more, she sinks even lower. The disgraced former Prime Minister, whose premiership ended in disaster, is now being brutally mocked for launching a self-titled YouTube show in a “revolution” against the “deep state”. Rather than accept her mistakes, including her disastrous mini-budget which resulted in the pound collapsing and mortgage bills soaring, Truss has tried to claim repeatedly without proof that it was the ‘deep state’ which was behind…

“It was a really kind of thin-skinned, petulant schoolboy response” Former SNP MP Hannah Kennedy-Bardell tore into Nigel Farage’s “petulant” reaction to a BBC journalist quizzing him over allegations of racism from his school days yesterday. Appearing on Sky News’ Politics Hub, Kennedy-Bardell denied Reform activist Tim Montgomerie’s claim that the BBC questioning Farage about the allegations was evidence of a “bias issue”.  The former SNP MP for Livingston said Farage had been called out for “pretty horrific” stuff and said there was a bit of “just deserts” to it. “He’s probably feeling just a dash of what the person…

The donation made by Claudia Harmsworth has led to some speculation as to who the Daily Mail could back at the next election, It’s been revealed that the wife of the owner of the Daily Mail made a £50,000 donation to Reform UK earlier this year. According to the latest details released by the Electoral Commission, Claudia Harmsworth donated the funds to Nigel Farage’s party on September 30. Harmsworth is the wife of Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail, i and Metro. It comes as it was also revealed that Reform had secured the largest ever single donation by…