Twice this week, I found myself wrestling with the same uncomfortable question about use of the label “fascist”. First, it came up in a WhatsApp group with fellow democracy campaigners. Then, listening to the latest episode of ‘The Rest is Politics US‘, I heard hosts Katty Kay and Antony Scaramucci clash over the same issue: […]
Dear Editor, Please can you reassure me? I was reading Alastair Campbell’s diary this week in the New European (now re-named the New World) and I came across this snippet concerning the BBC; “The refrain of a very senior BBC executive is that the Beeb must ‘shed its woke image and reflect the populist anger […]
Democracy’s slow-and-stable safeguards are features, not bugs. Silicon Valley’s defining mantra – “move fast and break things” – emerged from Facebook’s early culture, celebrating rapid iteration, aggressive risk-taking, and a willingness to disrupt in the name of innovation. It revolutionised tech, enabling energetic start-ups with fresh ideas to topple established giants who had grown stale […]
I launched Reform Watch because I’ve seen what happens when movements like Reform UK are allowed to expand without challenge. Across Europe and beyond [most notably in the USA], we’ve witnessed populist parties rise by distorting the truth, attacking democratic safeguards, and presenting themselves as the sole voice of “ordinary people”. What begins as anti-establishment […]
The review commissioned by Plymouth City Council (PCC) in order for them to learn lessons from the Armada Way tree felling fiasco is complete and the report has been published. It is damning. The Armada Way Independent Learning Review (AWILR) panel was tasked with looking into the decision to approve the development of Armada Way […]
Not enough people are linking Reform & MAGA. It’s time to correct that by talking about Nigel Farage, MAGA money, and a US PR firm with direct ties to Bannon. It’s not patriotism and pints. it’s a shared plan and international far-right coordination. Grab a cup of tea and strap in… Farage received logistical, media […]
On June 2, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections held a joint event with Transparency International UK and the APPG on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax. The message was clear: it’s time for anonymous billionaires and oligarchs to stop buying up politics. Britain is long overdue for campaign finance reform: In 2023, the UK reached […]
It is yet another time when I turned out to be right, but it does not bring me any joy. Donald Tusk’s party’s candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, lost the presidential elections to his opponent, Karol Nawrocki, an “independent” candidate supported by PiS. Why did that happen, what do The Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska – PO) make […]
Nigel Farage is making big promises – lower taxes, higher benefits, and sweeping cuts. But behind the soundbites lies a financial black hole. Let’s take a closer look. Last week, the country got to watch a livestream of Farage, leader of a party with only five MPs, telling us about his plans for the future. He […]
I used to work in an environment in which the attitude of some senior colleagues was to disrespect and undervalue the knowledge and skills of those who worked for them, on the basis, apparently, that “I didn’t need it to get to where I am!”. That seems to describe a certain US president. It is […]
George Monbiot’s article in The Guardian (27 May 2025) will resonate with many on the progressive side of politics, and especially with those who are involved in street campaigns to counter the alarming rise of the far-right. When we talk to people on the streets of south Devon’s towns, we consistently pick up a growing […]
Someone commented: “Farage is committing political suicide by aligning with Trump. He needs to distance himself from the ‘orange aubergine’ if he wants British votes.” 𝗠𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿: That’s the paradox. 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 – because his brand is built on the Trump playbook. Nationalism, scapegoating, culture wars, anti-media attacks, climate denial – it’s all […]
The preliminary exit polls published just minutes after the first round of presidential elections surely gave some people in Poland a proper scare. As for me: being a pessimist again paid off. My prediction turned out to be correct again. The most stressed must be those who believed that those elections were to be just […]
It may not look like a major uprising , but this is part of something huge. This was Exeter’s first Tesla Takedown protest against Elon Musk’s assault on democracy and human rights in the US, and his wider support for the far right. On Saturday, 3 May, local activists including Devon-based Americans demonstrated outside the […]
I am writing to express deep alarm and disappointment at your recent announcements opposing a youth mobility scheme and cancelling care worker visas. These decisions are not only irresponsible and damaging — they represent a political miscalculation of staggering proportions. They are accelerating the breakdown of our health and care system in an extremely dangerous […]
Nigel Farage put potholes at the centre of the recent local elections – and he had a point. Potholes are a pain. We’ve all felt it. That jolt as your car hits yet another hole in the tarmac. The grimace that inevitably follows. It’s a tangible irritation, a daily reminder that things aren’t working as […]
May 1 elections brought bad news for Britain’s main political parties but good news for the far-right. As the Financial Times reported, “Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on Friday claimed he now leads Britain’s main opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s government after his party won the Runcorn & Helsby by-election, ousting Labour by just six votes.” Of […]
Reform UK’s boast that they’re ‘the voice of the people’ is quite a claim. Are they performing a combination of mind-reading and ventriloquism? That would bring to mind those unconvincing magicians on 1970s TV variety shows – probably not the image Nigel Farage and his crew are aiming for. No – they mean their party […]
Trump’s Cards Everyone seems to have been shocked by the disgusting, disgraceful conduct of Trump, Vance and their political and journalist cronies in the Oval Office on 28 February; it has been referred to as an ambush, a mugging, an invective-laden attack. I have yet to meet or hear of anyone who disagrees with this […]
Last month, I wrote to the Speaker of the House of Commons asking for confirmation that Trump would not be given the honour of addressing Parliament during any upcoming State Visit. The Speaker replied, confirming that no such request had been received – at that time. Since then, however, Donald Trump has announced that he expects to return to […]
One of the government ministers I worked for in a former life used to say, “For every major political problem, there are at least five solutions that are, a) obvious and common-sense; b) quick and easy to implement; and c) absolutely the wrong thing to do from the perspective of the national interest.” His words […]
Like everyone else, I have been watching and waiting to see what Donald Trump will do next. I have been shocked at his apparently soft approach to Russia and hostility towards Ukraine. I have been amazed at his absurd demands to annex Greenland and make Canada the fifty-first state. I have been appalled and staggered […]
Trump despises the EU. He has historically backed the UK’s departure from the EU, notably during his first term when he praised Brexit saying it would be a “great thing” for Britain. Comprehensive reasons or what? Trump will continue to pressure Starmer that Britain must maintain its independence from the EU economically, as he wants […]
The irony meter must be peaking like one of South West Water’s storm overflow monitors. Former East Devon Conservative MP Simon Jupp, who was an outspoken critic of the utility firm, has taken a job with its parent company, Pennon, advising on community engagement. During his time as an MP Mr Jupp did plenty of […]
Dear Editor, Does anyone else wonder where our diplomats in the US have been over the past six months? All this madness keeps being presented as if it came out literally yesterday. Yet another way of isolating the UK, making Brexit even worse. It’s sobering to think that almost US $5tn [now $9.3tn] has been […]
Britain’s democracy is visibly malfunctioning. A government elected with just over a third of the vote now holds almost two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. Meanwhile, millions of people feel ignored, misrepresented, or completely shut out of decisions that affect their lives. The result? A political system that delivers neither fairness nor results. Our public […]
Dear Editor, Seaton Hospital is an issue in the local elections on May 1. The hospital steering committee submitted a proposal for using the threatened wing to NHS Property Services nine months ago. They have still not given us an answer. We have been fighting to save the hospital since 2016, when they first threatened […]
President Trump calls it “Liberation Day” – but what he’s launching is a global trade war. Sweeping US tariffs are provoking retaliatory ones from around the world. Everyone, including Americans, will end up poorer. Contrast that with the EU’s approach: cooperation, not confrontation. The Single Market offers tariff-free, frictionless trade among its 27 members. It’s […]
“Wherever it is found, hunger highlights the fault lines of inequality that run through that society.” In our society, that could indicate the effects of political austerity measures, including the latest benefit cuts. On a global level, it could point to the people in the world’s poorest nations whose crops are being destroyed by the […]
Our government faces stiff challenges and if it is to meet them and deliver the promised national renewal, it will need a rapid and significant shift in mindset. Before the 2024 General Election, Sir Keir Starmer explained that the UK needed a decade of national renewal. He was undoubtedly correct. The Chancellor recently commented that: “The world […]