There is a road south-west of Wigan where the old order is quietly dying. On 18 June, the towns of the Makerfield constituency — Ashton-in-Makerfield, Bryn, Hindley, and Abram — will choose a new MP, and what looks on paper like a routine by-election is really a referendum on whether Britain still has a recognisable…… Continue reading Nothing in the Middle: Makerfield and the Unravelling of Britain
Tag: Society
Why London Manufactures Its Own Extremists
Why the typical urban radical isn’t who you think — and why it matters When we picture a modern extremist, our mental image is often shaped by a familiar story. The “left-behind” white working-class voter from a deindustrialised town. The forgotten resident of a former mill city. Someone whose anger about immigration and identity has…… Continue reading Why London Manufactures Its Own Extremists
The Three Lives of Faragism: How British Populism Reinvented Itself – and Built Its Own Trap
When the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, many commentators assumed Nigel Farage’s political story had reached its final chapter. After all, what use is an anti-EU insurgency once the country has actually left the EU? The assumption was simple: Faragism was a single-issue fever, and the fever would break as soon…… Continue reading The Three Lives of Faragism: How British Populism Reinvented Itself – and Built Its Own Trap
Sunday Reflection: Two Marches, One Country
I’ve been trying to reflect on the march yesterday in London, orchestrated by Tommy Robinson and his ilk, in relation to the ideas of uniting the Kingdom, which seems to be a rerun of what occurred last September in London, where approximately 140,000 people had turned up to become Britain’s largest-ever far-right rally. By all…… Continue reading Sunday Reflection: Two Marches, One Country
The Messy Truth of Golders Green: Antisemitism, Mental Health, and the Politics of the Easy Narrative
It is important to reflect on the recent incident in Golders Green, which has left the Jewish community in a state of shock and despair at what has been recognised as an acute act of antisemitism. When random Jewish community members are targeted on the streets of Golders Green for no other reason than that…… Continue reading The Messy Truth of Golders Green: Antisemitism, Mental Health, and the Politics of the Easy Narrative
Square Zero: Anxiety, Geopolitics, and the Weight of Constant Crisis
I am in one of those really weird moments when one suddenly thinks it’s all going to go really bad, but actually, how much worse can it get? A bit of good political news I’ve heard today is that Hungary is about to elect a centre-right prime minister, shifting the current landscape dominated by Viktor…… Continue reading Square Zero: Anxiety, Geopolitics, and the Weight of Constant Crisis
Branding Birmingham: The Audacity of the Demographic Dividend
We are no longer bankrupt. We are no longer apologising. We are the youngest, most diverse, most audacious city in Europe. It is time we started acting like it.
The “Muslim Threat” Video: How Numbers Lie
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VatuEcSKn4U You’ve probably seen the video or presentation slides. Confident framing, a stark green background declaring “Official UK Government data”, and a simple, dangerous message: Muslims are a burden and a threat. It feels convincing because it borrows the credibility of the Office for National Statistics. But here’s how the presentation actually manipulates you. The…… Continue reading The “Muslim Threat” Video: How Numbers Lie
Goodwin’s World: Manufactured Anxiety, Epistemic Violence, and the Architecture of Islamophobia
In his March 2026 Substack newsletter, Matt Goodwin launched a comprehensive attack on the Labour government’s new official definition of “anti-Muslim hostility”. Goodwin aggressively frames this policy as an authoritarian “assault on our free speech” that will be forced upon taxpayer-funded institutions ranging from schools and universities to the health service and local government. Relying…… Continue reading Goodwin’s World: Manufactured Anxiety, Epistemic Violence, and the Architecture of Islamophobia
The Racialisation of the Ballot: Why Muslim Political Power is Pathologised in Multicultural Britain
The Green Party’s historic victory in the Gorton and Denton by-election on 26 February 2026, represents one of the most dramatic and structurally significant electoral realignments in recent British political history. In capturing approximately 40% of the electorate and overturning a massive Labour majority of over 13,400 votes, 34-year-old local plumber and councillor Hannah Spencer…… Continue reading The Racialisation of the Ballot: Why Muslim Political Power is Pathologised in Multicultural Britain