Sure would be awful if anyone thought we were an island of strangers for whom an experiment in open borders had been a squalid chapter causing incalculable harm

Racism and sexism have become normalised in Britain, says equalities minister

Exclusive: Bridget Phillipson says politicians have helped fuel hatred and that police are not taking violence against women and girls seriously enough

theguardian.com

This week we’re highlighting one of our most popular articles from 2025, “Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming” by @georgenewth.bsky.social, @k8ebrown.bsky.social, and @aurelmondon.com. This article is open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Henry Nowak's murder leaves the Labour government with a choice: move away from its failed strategy of trying to win over Reform UK voters, or continue down a route that risks further normalisation of the far-right's divisive politics. Me, in The Conversation theconversation.com/reaction-to-...

Reaction to Henry Nowak murder shows why the government needs to channel a real ‘common sense’

Trying to outflank Reform UK won’t work – and could just make tensions worse.

theconversation.com

And yet who are “the people” according to the majority of our media?

elia ayoub@ayoub.bsky.social · 4mo ago

oh well

"They had a wide range of views"

Not to be *that* person, but constitutionally, any change to the electoral system almost certainly does need to be in a manifesto, else the Lords will block it. I do think the proposal should be for STV not SV, though.

Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️@leftiestats.bsky.social · 4mo ago

🚨BREAKING | Andy Burnham confirms he will NOT scrap first-past-the-post before #GE2029 Burnham said electoral reform must be "in a manifesto", and revealed he does NOT back proportional representation, instead praising the non-proportional Supplementary Vote (SV). Via @itvnews

Policy study on countering the mainstreaming of the far right, co-authored with some wonderful colleagues 👇

Aurelien Mondon@aurelmondon.com · 5mo ago

🚨New policy study🚨 There must be an alternative: Against mainstream defeatism and towards the rejuvenation of the democratic public space We make seven key recommendations to turn the tide @feps-europe.eu 🧵 1/ feps-europe.eu/publication/...

🚨Publication Alert🚨 Supply & Demand of Regional Populism in Bavaria: Explaining the Regional Success of the CSU & Free Voters in German Politics 📑TL;DR: Regional populism is distinct from AfD's general populism and predicts CSU/FW voting well. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... A short 🧵 1/n

Supply and Demand of Regional Populism in Bavaria: Explaining the Regional Success of the CSU and Free Voters

This article tests the concept of regional populism to explain the electoral success of the CSU and the Free Voters in Bavaria, two parties that together have governed the state since 2018. It brid...

tandfonline.com

Some thoughts below in The Conversation on Starmer's feeble attempt at a 'progressive fightback' against the far right theconversation.com/starmer-has-...

Starmer has enabled the far-right – promises of ‘progressive patriotism’ are no longer enough

After the unite the kingdom rally, the flag raising campaigns of recent weeks now look like astroturfing.

theconversation.com

A generous, well-written, and thorough review of 'Fathers of the Lega' by @amycking.bsky.social 'Richly researched and grounded in scholarly debates [...] Newth’s book reminds us that ideological strands thought to be dormant may yet re-emerge in new contexts' www.jbe-platform.com/content/jour...

My review of Yannis Stavrakakis' 'Populist Discourse: Recasting Populism Research' has been published by Perspectives on Politics. The book is a great read for anybody interested in populism, and politics in general. Review is not Open Access so let me know if you would like a copy lnkd.in/eJxRYe9E

This is of course the logic behind the ban. Proscribing not just a direct action protest group, but the very cause of a free Palestine itself

Annie Kenney@anniekenney.bsky.social · last yr.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Section 28 all over again. Shameful beyond belief

QueerAF@wearequeeraf.com · last yr.

🆕🚨 New statutory Relationships and Sex Education guidance published today will: - Restrict schools from using materials that "encourage pupils to question their gender" - Teaches children the laws about "biological sex" - Removes all references to the word transgender What we know so far 🧵

They never wanted to just proscribe Palestine Action, they want to turn everyone who supports the liberation of Palestine from Zionist settler colonialism into being designated as terrorists

Netpol@netpol.org · last yr.

Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine reports that their bank account has been frozen by Virgin Money (now owned by Nationwide). Two weeks ago, we warned that the ban on Palestine Action would lead to banks becoming nervous about any mention of “Palestine” netpol.org/2025/07/04/p...

Starmer legitimising the most recent far right mobilisations around Asylum Hotels is a new low, but honestly the frequency at which he sinks to new depths is breath-taking. This is why his claim to 'regret' his 'islands of strangers' comments should be immediately discarded

💥New: What Brothers of Italy shares – and does not share – with its neo-fascist and post-fascist predecessors ✍️ @mlorimer.bsky.social & Matteo Cavallaro blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...

What Brothers of Italy shares with its post-fascist predecessors

Does Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy share similarities with its post-fascist predecessors? New research finds a mixed picture of continuity and change.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

How could he, when he is parroting the same hateful rhetoric which adds fuel to the fire?

Claire Mullaly@clairemullaly.bsky.social · last yr.

If you read one line of one article .. let it be this: 'As of Friday, the the UK Prime Minister had not acknowledged the burning of the effigy.' [1/2]

More than 50 protesters across UK arrested for allegedly holding signs supporting Palestine Action www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

More than 50 protesters across UK arrested for allegedly holding signs supporting Palestine Action

‘Dozens’ arrested in Parliament Square on Saturday, with demonstrations across the UK prompting police action

theguardian.com

This comes on the same day as the Health Secretary doubles-down on a refusal to to restore doctor's pay. Whether keeping streets clean or treating patients, workers are only part of Labour's 'Working People' if they play by the rules of Securonomics www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner membership over Birmingham bin strikes

Union, to which deputy PM may not belong, also votes to reconsider ties with Labour if council forces through redundancies

theguardian.com

Exactly. Which is why further to being an inhumane and morally bankrupt policy, it is incredibly stupid. When it fails, Reform and Farage will be able to claim they have the answer, and Starmer will inevitably lurch even further to the right... www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Migrant deal will be seen as failure if numbers don't fall

The

bbc.co.uk

Happy to share my first published article based on my PhD in Party Politics with @journals.sagepub.com in open access! doi.org/10.1177/1354...

There is undoubtedly a lot of truth in this thread, but I would also highlight more structural problems in academic publishing. Not least gatekeeping and/or overly zealous peer-review which, in the “publish or perish” environment of neoliberal academia reinforce many academic writing norms

Catherine E. de Vries@catherinedevries.bsky.social · last yr.

George Orwell warned: bad writing leads to bad thinking. Academia trains us to write for journals, not the public. Clarity feels risky, because it exposes us. But clear communication is essential for democracy. So how do we do it? 🧵 New post 👉 catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/why-clarit...

My full and final PhD thesis can now be accessed online. This is an alt format thesis that explores safety in queer spaces, LGBTQ+ experiences in women's prisons and the concept of 'queering' the prison researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/studentTh...

The Imaginary Queer Prison: The Possibilities and Limitations of ‘Queering’ the Prison

researchportal.bath.ac.uk

Every. Time

John E. Richardson@discodiscourse.bsky.social · last yr.

aaaand like clockwork, Wallace reaches for the 'autism' explanation. I just wish that, once, articles like this would quote an actual expert to state being autistic is neither an explanation nor an excuse for shitty behaviour. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Musk really turned his AI into a Hitlerbot. Wild.

Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social · last yr.

Oh my god

Racism, misinformation and self-serving agendas are a terrible basis for child protection, victim support and justice for survivors. Important interview with @louiseraw.bsky.social for @beyondslavery.bsky.social

opendemocracy.net@opendemocracy.net · last yr.

Are grooming gangs the far right’s golden goose?

Had an amazing time today discussing some of the key findings from my research project on AI and the far-right riots in the UK at #STR2025. Thanks for having me @royalholloway.bsky.social @lizzypearson.bsky.social @ashkingdon.bsky.social @socterres.bsky.social

At Pride in London security came on stage to stop someone from waving a Palestine flag during Chaka Khan's performance on the main stage.

27 people — including a priest, professor and health workers — were arrested today under terrorism laws. Their crime? Peacefully holding signs opposing genocide. This is how we sleepwalk into fascism.