Predictions This year has been dominated by a convergence of authoritarian and illiberal governments, antisystem parties — typically on the far right — and sympathetic private actors coordinating their messaging and lending each other material support. Many people who would historically have recoiled from far-right politics have instead been drawn in through a constant churn … Read more
Living in the Lie There is a moment in the decay of a democracy when truth stops mattering — not because people can’t tell what is true, but because they no longer care. We have passed that point. A growing number of our fellow citizens do not merely believe false things; they want the rest … Read more
Asylum Hotels The Anger People are angry about asylum seekers in hotels. I spent a long time trying to contact people who had expressed concerns online, asking them why they were angry. The most common response was abuse. Many resented being asked to explain themselves and responded with more anger. They seemed genuinely stunned to … Read more
UK Politics 2025 British politics in 2025 has been described as chaotic, unstable and on the brink. That description is everywhere — in headlines, in think-tank briefings, and in the permanent background noise of grievance that now passes for commentary. It is also mostly wrong. What 2025 actually shows is something more unsettling: a government … Read more
The latest idea to send right-wing commentators into a frothing panic is “decolonisation”. Apparently, it represents an existential threat to Western civilisation — an effort to censor traditional Western ideas and replace them with pernicious liberalism and “woke”. This is, of course, nonsense. Empire Didn’t Need Explaining My grandparents were moderate supporters of the British … Read more
Reform UK has received a record £9 million donation from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne — the largest single donation ever made by a living person to a British political party. Harborne, who is based in Thailand and also known as Chakrit Sakunkrit, is not new to UK political funding. He previously donated substantial sums to … Read more
Hysteria about immigration continues to dominate political debate in the UK — in the traditional media and across social platforms. The government is now under intense pressure to introduce tougher asylum rules to “appease public concern”. But that concern isn’t rooted in reality. Since Labour came into power last year, net migration to the UK … Read more
Does immigration increase crime? Every time I log onto Facebook, old school friends share horror stories about crime waves supposedly driven by immigrants. London, apparently, is now a crime-ridden hell hole plagued by gangs of foreign criminals. Other big cities, we’re told, are heading the same way. They’re so convinced this is true that it’s … Read more
Reading the press and the usual on-line outrage factories, you’d think Britain is being ruled by an authoritarian regime deterimed to lock people up posting things on the internet. The story goes like this: Labour got into office, a wave of censorious lefties took over, and suddenly the police are marching into bedrooms at midnight … Read more
The Family Feud Inside Your Party There is more trouble in Your Party, the new left-wing movement led by former Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. Their first annual conference is due to begin in a few weeks, to decide policy and elect the ruling politburo. The party’s foundational documents sketch out a familiar picture … Read more