Iunno, it's just so weird for me, as somebody who was an out queer in the first couple of decades of this century to see this rewriting of history where the "debate" about gay rights then was this genteel, public spirited conversation. They blamed the gays for hurricanes and earthquakes.
BREAKING: The Met police have raided Westminster Quaker Meeting House.
AGAIN.
Once again the basis of the raid is conspiracy to protest.
It's a violation of freedom of expression & association rights. Not to mention freedom of religion for the Quakers too.
They say:
- the government must not weaken copyright law, and should instead strengthen licensing, transparency & enforcement
- the government should stop prioritising large multinational tech firms
3/5
my first piece (cowritten with Catriona Innes) in a print magazine comes out today: we interviewed 13 people, mostly trans women, about how the Supreme Court ruling has affected them for Cosmo UK
www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a...
'They will get me killed': Mothin Ali slams Starmer and Tory MP over smears in parliament - https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/they-will-get-me-killed-mothin-ali-slams-starmer-and-tory-mp-over-false-smears-parliament
TL;DR Labour's policies:
🚨Increase use of irregular routes
🚨Increase human trafficking
🚨Increase number of people forced to be undocumented
🚨Force people into deprivation
🚨Leave, particularly women and children, at risk
🚨Cost more than current policies
🚨Violate international law
10/ #r4today
Section One Summary What factors affect migrant decision-making? Migration trends and secondary movement towards the UK Since 2017, the number of asylum applications in the UK has been increasing, by 2019 returning to levels seen during 2015-16 although the UK was relatively little affected by the European 'migration crisis'. This recent increase is likely due in part to movement to the UK by those already in Europe. In 2019, at least I in 6 asylum applicants to the UK had made a prior application in a European country. However, only a small portion of secondary movement across Europe is to the UK-in 2019, the UK produced just 6% of Eurodac hits relating to prior applications elsewhere in Europe. While many entering the UK may travel through France, most top nationalities applying for asylum in the UK do not apply in France in large numbers (with the exception of Sudanese, Afghan and Albanian applicants). Social networks, shared languages and diasporas motivate asylum seekers to reach certain destination countries Social networks aid migrant integration to society, acting as facilitators of information relating to life in the destination country. They are considered trusted sources and are likely to influence migration journeys more than information from formal institutions. The presence of diaspora communities can motivate migrants to reach certain destination countries. The proportion of diasporas in the EU+ residing in the UK is correlated with the proportion of asylum applications across the EU+ made in the UK (see slide 21). Armed conflict, human rights abuses, poverty, political & economic instability and violence are factors that forcibly displace migrants The majority (57%) of individuals escaping persecution are internally displaced within their own countries and most refugees displaced abroad stay within their region of displacement, living in countries neighbouring their countries of origin. Of the number of asylum seekers that reach Europe, o…
In fact, the Home Office's own analysis shows that harsher policies, such as those being presented by the Home Secretary, are more likely to force people into more exploitative situations, and being trafficked. 7/
freemovement.org.uk/wp-content/u...
This represents a limit (at least for now) of Farage's stretching of the Overton window.
If he said "I agree with my voters" much of the press would turn on him.
If he said "These views have no place in Reform" he'd alienate the majority of his base.
Cruelty upon cruelty: Labour is banning would-be students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan as well as work visas to Afghans.
These announcements often come with Shabana Mahmood smiling. What an achievement.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Breaking:
*Asif Aziz's mass evictions of Londoners appear to be BACK ON
*Sadiq Khan personally demands immediate response from the landlord
*Leading homelessness charity cuts ties with the Aziz family and refuses donation
*Questions over legality of paperwork
www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-...
A more truthful explanation for the Jewish organisations’ silence comes in private conversations. In those, communal figures will admit that they believe the accusations against Farage are true, but that they have made a pragmatic calculation. “He’s the coming man and right now he’s not hostile to us,” was how one senior official put it to me. They don’t want to make an enemy of a politician who, polls suggest, is heading to Downing Street.
W/ recent Gorton and Denton by-election results demonstrating the strength of the Greens, it’s worth reflecting on leaks that the Board of Deputies refrained from commenting on Nigel Farage’s extreme antisemitic comments since he was a shoo-in, but issued a statement against @mothinali.bsky.social
Mahmood trumpeting her admiration for Danish asylum policy, only to have to distance herself from its architects because they‘re massive racists. Incredible scenes
"From Gaza to Iran, Children Have Always Been Sacrificed by Western Imperial Aims"
A US-Israeli strike on an elementary school in Minab reportedly killed at least 165 – mostly young girls who were only trying to learn, writes Fatima Bhutto for Zeteo:
Keir Starmer when you were running for Labour leader you promised to introduce this legislation to stop the UK being dragged into illegal wars - it's time to show you were serious about that.
Just Nick Robinson casually asking a guest on BBC Today if protests against the war 'should be allowed to go ahead' or 'ought to be banned in this country'.
In the House of Lords today, a government minister refused to rule this out.
To be clear, this would amount to legalising theft. It would fly in the face of public opinion on what is fair, and would mean a surrender of British creatives' work by this Labour government.
3/4
There are rumours it is considering introducing a 'commercial research exception' for AI training. This would be disastrous. It would mean handing the life's work of British creatives to AI companies for free, to train their models on.
2/4
Kemi agrees - this by-election was a resounding defeat for the principle that my friends should be banned from peeing in public toilets
Screenshot of QueerAF article, headline reads: What Trans+ kids say about draft education guidance that could force schools to segregate them. By Sasha Baker - Queer investigative reporter - They/Them - Queer, nonbinary, bisexual, neurodivergent, chronically ill, Jewish
Draft education guidance could force schools to exclude Trans+ children from toilets and changing rooms - raising barriers to social transition at school.
It splits policies into “must” do and “should” dos.
It leaves room for Teachers to be Trans+ supportive (but only if they do the paperwork) 🧵👇
If you live in the Gorton and Denton constituency and spoke to a Reform party member on your doorstep or in the streets then I'd like to speak to you for an article. My DMs are open.
![Ministerial dismissal and suspension
On 8 February 2025, Gwynne was dismissed from the government as health minister and suspended from the Labour Party for offensive comments he had posted in a WhatsApp group used by Manchester Labour politicians. 34] In these messages, Gwynne mockingly suggested a reply to a constituent who had complained about a bin collection: "Dear resident, Fuck your bins. I'm re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you'll have croaked it by the all-outs". 35] Gwynne wrote in the group that Diane Abbott's appearance as the first black woman at Prime Minister's Questions was a
"joke" for Black History Month, and retweeted a tweet making sexualised comments about fellow Labour MP Angela Rayner.136] Gwynne wrote that American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg's name
"sounds too militaristic and too Jewish",
", and asked if
Rosenberg was a member of Israel's intelligence](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2zn7l26mkz7l375d4hrcmbmy/bafkreiff4o4fborh6p42tkbi6tkvha3y5na5tkyflfdzuarrqwxjjqgf5y@jpeg)
Ministerial dismissal and suspension On 8 February 2025, Gwynne was dismissed from the government as health minister and suspended from the Labour Party for offensive comments he had posted in a WhatsApp group used by Manchester Labour politicians. 34] In these messages, Gwynne mockingly suggested a reply to a constituent who had complained about a bin collection: "Dear resident, Fuck your bins. I'm re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you'll have croaked it by the all-outs". 35] Gwynne wrote in the group that Diane Abbott's appearance as the first black woman at Prime Minister's Questions was a "joke" for Black History Month, and retweeted a tweet making sexualised comments about fellow Labour MP Angela Rayner.136] Gwynne wrote that American psychologist Marshall Rosenberg's name "sounds too militaristic and too Jewish", ", and asked if Rosenberg was a member of Israel's intelligence
Worth remembering that the previous Labour MP in Gorton and Denton Andrew Gwynne was suspended for being anti-Black, antisemitic, sexist and mocking and wishing death on a constituent. Labour party for you!
Not denying that. I just think the way the party has repeatedly thrown women to the wolves to protect Starmer is notable to say the least.
I'm glad the public reject Labour's xenophobia.
But this source blaming Mahmoud for what has been a consistent feature of Starmer's premiership? Let's just say Labour isn't beating the internal racism and misogyny allegations...
But it should now be clear that we can have a progressive conversation on migration if people are BRAVE. So if you’ve ever wondered before if it was time to step in - it is. We must not lose momentum, things do not have to be this way. By the next election, everything could be different.
The Green victory in Denton is the result which will have the biggest effect on Labour, far more so than a Reform win.
The blithe assumption progressives have nowhere else to go has been proved catastrophically wrong.
Can’t help thinking of this quote from a Labour minister, a year ago…
Labour, whose whole thing under McSweeney has been "only we understand the proletarian lizard brain", just keep standing the same kind of people they've rated as "the right sort" since the mid-90s (lawyers, management consultants etc.)
Fundamentally, it's just nice that I'll have an MP who skeets stuff like this.
