Author: Miles Donavan

“The pernicious and insidious currents of racism and hatred underlying these protests are glaring evidence of a failing system. The responsibility to end the divisive politics, racist rhetoric and demonising language of the past is yours.” Refugee and asylum rights organisations across the UK are ramping up their response to what they describe as a rising tide of “racist rhetoric” from politicians and media outlets, in the wake of escalating tensions surrounding the use of hotels to house asylum seekers. The move comes after weeks of unrest in a Epping, Essex, where an asylum seeker was charged with sexually assaulting…

“The results indicate to me that these shifts in political attitudes began during the boycott.” The decades-long boycott of the Sun in Liverpool has long been seen as a moral and cultural protest, but has it also changed the city’s political views? That was the question Lucas Paulo da Silva of Trinity College Dublin set out to explore in a recent study, with the findings published in the Conversation. Drawing on data spanning two decades and over 12,000 respondents, da Silva examined how the boycott of the Sun, dubbed “the Scum” by many locals, may have influenced the city’s political…

“The situation in Gaza is the most challenging I have ever witnessed. We urgently need Manchester’s help.” Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has thrown his support behind an emergency fundraising campaign by UK-Med, the Manchester-based frontline medical charity providing life-saving care in Gaza. Since arriving in Gaza in January 2024, UK-Med has delivered hundreds of thousands of medical consultations to Palestinians enduring unimaginable conditions. Working in one of the world’s most dangerous and under-resourced healthcare environments, the organisation has helped establish and lead operations at two emergency field hospitals in the region, as well as supporting a third. At UK-Med’s…

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…