Author: Miles Donavan

Despite Connolly pleading guilty for her vile social media post, Badenoch openly expressed support for her upon her release. The Conservative Party has always prided itself as being the party of ‘law and order’, yet over recent years and especially now under current leader Kemi Badenoch, it has abandoned all pretence of believing in the rule of law. Indeed, in a race to the bottom and in a bid to appeal to Reform voters and its own extreme right wing base, it will say and do anything, even if that means questioning the judiciary, and it’s more than happy to…

Jenrick is now straying into far-right territory… In a tweet yesterday, Robert Jenrick proclaimed that he has been putting up Union Jack flags in his constituency of Newark, in defiance against “Britain-hating” councils.  Meanwhile right-wing media has been lapping up his stunt, with the Daily Mail calling those behind the flag campaign “an army of patriots”. The shadow justice secretary said put up the flags in response to two councils, Birmingham City Council and Tower Hamlets vowing to remove any flags that appeared as part of ‘patriotism campaign’ Operation Raise the Colours.  On X, Jenrick wrote: “Raise The Colours! While…

‘There’s probably slightly more important things we should be concentrating on rather than flags and making a lot of noise about that.’ Lib Dem group leader Jerry Roodhouse has criticised Reform for failing to set out any new policies since they took control of Warwickshire County Council since May. 19-year-old Reform councillor George Finch became council leader last month, after Rob Howard resigned just 41 days into the job. Roodhouse said Reform has made little progress on issues such as funding for adult social care and SEND services, and local government reorganisation. Lack of experience The opposition leader said: “What…

Despite Connolly pleading guilty for her vile social media post, some sections of the right-wing press have tried to portray her as some sort of martyr. The right-wing media is being condemned for trying to make a martyr out of Lucy Connolly, after her release from prison for inciting racial violence. On Thursday, Connolly was released from HMP Peterborough after serving 40% of her 31-month prison sentence for inciting racial violence. Connolly pleaded guilty to sharing a tweet on the day of the Southport stabbings, calling for “mass deportations” and urging people to “set fire” to asylum hotels. On 29…

The guns were confiscated in an armed police raid… Ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe has shared a bizarre photo posing with his guns that were confiscated after Reform reported him to the police for allegedly threatening then party chair Zia Yusuf.  In the picture, Lowe stands smiling with a wheelbarrow containing at least eight shotguns.  When police seized the guns in March, Lowe said: “I have a large collection, so it took some time – a wheelbarrow was required”.  In the post on X yesterday, the Independent MP wrote: “Positive news. After having my guns confiscated in an armed police raid…

Support for Reform among younger voters collapses Despite what the likes of Nigel Farage and Zia Yusuf say about how popular their party is among younger voters, the latest polling shows that support for Reform has collapsed among 18-24 year olds. According to the latest YouGov polling, just 8% of 18-24 year olds say they would vote for Reform if there were a general election held tomorrow. This is a significant collapse from earlier this month, when polling from 4 August had support for Reform among 18-24 year olds at 21%. The Labour Party fares better among younger voters, with…

It had to be pointed out to Badenoch that Connolly pleaded guilty to inciting racial hatred Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has been slammed for posting a tweet in support of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred. Connolly pleaded guilty to sharing a tweet on the day of the Southport stabbings, calling for “mass deportations” and urging people to “set fire” to asylum hotels.  On 29 July 2024, teenager Axel Rudakubana killed three young girls and injured ten others at a Taylor Swift–themed yoga and dance workshop.  Far-right figures then spread misinformation online claiming Rudakubana was an…

Badenoch is bowing to pressure from immigration hardliners Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is bowing to pressure from immigration hardliners in her party, as she is expected to announce an exit from the European Convention on Human Rights as party policy. ​The announcement is expected to be made at the Conservatives’ party conference in mid-October.  Several senior Tories, including shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick and shadow home secretary Chris Philp have repeatedly said the UK needs to leave the convention. Badenoch’s move appears aimed at appeasing these figures and remaining as leader.  It is also a core Reform policy, in another…

He failed to answer the question… The problem with far-right populism espoused by the likes of Reform UK, is it replaces solutions with slogans and soundbites, which begin to fall apart at the slightest bit of scrutiny. Populism at its heart has always been a denial of complexity, favouring simplistic solutions and soundbites instead of offering tangible solutions. This was on full display yesterday, when Reform’s Zia Yusuf was asked on BBC Newsnight about how exactly his party would deport all migrants that arrive illegally back to their countries of origin. The issue of illegal boat crossings has continued to…

“I’ve always thought that the best politicians try and bring people together, and the very worst politicians try and drive them apart.” A government minister has slammed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage as ‘the very worst kind of politician’ over the way he has targeted hotels with asylum seekers. Dan Jarvis accused the Reform UK leader of fanning the flames of division after a number of protests flared up outside hotels housing asylum seekers after Farage celebrated a council’s successful legal challenge against one in Epping. The injunction was sought by Epping Forest District Council to stop migrants being placed…