NM's blog

“The number of people who believe “Britishness” is something you are born with has almost doubled in two years, according to research that warns of a rising tide of ethno-nationalism in Britain. “Although a majority of the public still believe being British is rooted in shared values, a growing proportion see it as a product of ethnicity, birthplace and ancestry, according to analysis carried out by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and shared with the Guardian. “About one-third of people (36%) thought a person must be born British to be truly British, up from one in five (19%) in 2023, a YouGov poll carried out this month for the thinktank found. “Supporters of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK held the most  extreme views  of any party backers, with 71% saying that having British ancestry was a prerequisite for someone to be truly British, and 59% saying they believed the nation was an ethnic, not a civic, community.“

“The emphasis on Christian identity is deeply weird in a country where public expressions of belief are slightly embarrassing. It points more to the Americanisation of the European far right than to any national spiritual awakening: Robinson’s reinvention as a “citizen journalist” owes much to  American cash  from outfits like the Daniel Pipes–founded Middle East Forum. Yet this also helps the new far right solve a problem. Christianity as an ethnic rallying point cuts across the old racial lines while sustaining a Kulturkampf against Muslims. “ The Unite the Kingdom rally was the product of years of international networking and funding, backed by wealthy, racist Americans.  But the fact that so many people turned out to Robinson’s fascist jamboree cannot be blamed on his donors, or even the platforms that profit from his propaganda. The UK has been on a course to rightist radicalization for years. “‘Unite the Kingdom’ was built during a summer of racist agitation outside...

Britain, Britons, Brexit, Bonkers ... The conditions are ripe for the biggest backlash imaginable One decline is related to another Why Britain doesn't have a Huawei of its own

" Assange is a man of what I once called the Chomskyan left and what modern critics call the  regressive left . He is against the west, often for good reasons. Like so many of his kind, however, he will then ally with any force, however reactionary, which opposes the west as well." Nick Cohen, the Guardian Yes, I agree that allying oneself with Farage and Trump makes you reactionary. I also conclude from the above that anyone who opposes "the west" is reactionary. For Cohen assumes that "the west" is progressive. I think not.  I think that Cohen is a defender of "the west", which means he allies himself with a history of state imperialism' crimes of western regimes: wars, invasions, plunder of public wealth, huge inequality, tacit backing of theocracies and dictatorships, enslavement through debt, harbouring of oligarchs, exploitation, instituional racism (especially in the US) ...  What is Cohen's "west" if not that global...

N. Farage, the UK Independent Party leader claimed Mal mo, Sweden, is now the "rape capital of Europe".  The BBC has replied .