Category: Politics
Political news and discussion items. Includes opinions as well as factual news coverage.
Elon Musk rejects Nigel Farage in favour of Rupert Lowe
The rumours of Elon Musk donating $100m to Nigel Farage and Reform UK turned out to be just rumours. Musk has now further distanced himself from Reform UK by backing Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain Party. Will Reform supporters take Musk’s lead and switch allegiance from Farage to Lowe?
I asked Grok: “Is X good for democracy?”
“While X has shifted rightward and boosted certain narratives, it hasn’t fully prevented democratic impulses”. Read that again slowly. Should the sentence end with “yet”? Grok’s assessment of X as a democratic force for good highlights many concerns that we should be worried about.
Dis-Proportional Representation is not Democracy
Should “the will of the people” be represented proportionally in parliament, or like a Picasso painting, should we accept disproportionality as a design choice?
The American government is on a mission to undermine European Democracy
This is incredible! The US government is officially promoting far-right parties abroad. This is an assault on liberal democracies by an authoritarian American regime under dictator in chief Donald Trump.
Are Labour capable of being a “broad church” movement again?
Despite still holding a majority of over 150 seats in parliament, the Labour government and Keir Starmer in particular are deeply unpopular in the country. The resignation of Morgan McSweeney puts further pressure on the leader. Can Starmer survive and is Labour capable of rebuilding the movement with a new sense of purpose that the public can believe in?
What the Epstein files reveal about Nigel Farage
The main focus of attention on the Epstein files is trafficking and sexual exploitation, but this should not be the only focus. The files raise serious concerns about political corruption among an elite class who consider themselves exempt from moral and legal standards. The truth is that dark money is being funneled to Europe and the UK to undermine our democracy.
Being “Dangerously Reasonable” is a radical act
Politicians and political commentators are almost by definition tribal and highly subjective. They rarely “give an inch” for fear of conceding a mile. Mallen Baker sits outside of this worldview and isn’t afraid of rigorously independent analysis. Is his approach truly radical and “dangerously reasonable”?
MAGA Imperialism and the war against European Democracy
The Trump administration is using the pretext of national security to cultivate resistance to European government policies including the UK. Their “crusade to save Europe” is actually a declaration of war on our democracy.
Can you handle the truth?
Speaking Truth to Power is often seen as a cornerstone of democracy. Citizens must be able to criticize those elected to power without fear of punishment, imprisonment or “disappearance”. But what about the duty of those in power to speak truth to the public, when the public have a preference to believe in beautiful lies?
What do you think of the show so far?
What’s the public’s verdict on the performance of the Labour government after being in power for 18 months? What are the issues that most concern the British public?
