So much for “anti-establishment.” Reform’s high-profile recruitment drive, hoovering up failed Conservative politicians whom the public roundly rejected, reeks of old-era Conservatism.
It is apparently acceptable for Brigitte Bardot to spend decades whipping up racial hatred and still be celebrated as a national icon, perhaps helped by glamour, distance, and nostalgia. But it is unacceptable for Gary Lineker to voice contemporary moral objections to cruelty and injustice.
As ever, responsibility for this alleged civic misery was pinned on a single figure – Sadiq Khan.
Does the far right’s capture of a debased Christianity matter in the UK, where religion holds far less sway than in the US? Given America’s superpower status, and the reluctance of global leaders to challenge Trump, it should concern us all.
Place your bets now. In 2026, don’t be surprised if we’re reading headlines about “woke” fonts being purged from Reform-run councils altogether.
This familiar trope persists in the right-wing media – reduce climate policy to sneering attacks on Ed Miliband and avoid engaging with the substance of the argument.
From Trump to Fox News, Johnson to Fleet Street, misinformation is not a series of isolated failures. It’s a business model, one that rewards outrage, punishes accuracy and treats the public not as citizens to be informed, but as audiences to be manipulated.
For all the talk of “the people,” Musk’s position boils down to a demand that one billionaire, who’s, unelected, unaccountable, and running a global communication platform, should operate above the law. Europe, to its credit, is saying no.
Things could be worse. Piers Morgan could have confirmed the rumours that he might apply for the role of BBC director general. Then we’d really be in trouble.
What should be a conversation about meeting children’s needs has instead become yet another culture war battlefield.
