It all paved the way for the Jeremy Hunt coup. That nerdy technocrat is hardly Pinochet. He’s an improbable usurper of power. Yet the political and strategic fragility of Trussism meant he could very easily sweep in and take control. He now runs the country. He has stuffed the Treasury with Osbornites and Hammondites and others who, like him, love ‘competence’ above all else. They want to steer the nation from the choppy waters of Brexit and Boris back to the safe shore of technocracy. Even though we didn’t vote for that, and don’t want it. That sappy Remainers could seize the reins of power was further proof of the infirmity of Trussism. One house of cards replaced with another.
Archiv: Spiked (media)
Boris, don’t give in to the neurotic middle classes
Let‘s be real: some people want to live in lockdown forever because they fear and loathe ordinary people.
The free-speech crisis is not a right-wing myth
Too many on what passes for the left today are keen to dismiss the free-speech crisis in universities as a ‘right-wing myth’. They brush off the countless examples of censorship as overhyped. And they ignore concerns about the moral policing of dissenting views.
In short, they effectively deny that a free-speech crisis exists. And they do so by attacking those who are sounding the alarm. As far as these deniers are concerned, the problem is not cancel culture; it is those dishonest myth-makers who are drawing attention to it.
Why we need Free Speech Champions
Free speech is the central principle of a healthy democracy. It is a vital tool for giving a voice to the voiceless, and for ensuring that everyone gets a say without being shut down. We are lucky to live in a country where we are free to criticise those in power, and where the government can be held to account by a young footballer. We must make the most of this.
The government is terrorising the public
The politics of fear is being used to justify another authoritarian lockdown.
Ausgestoßener der Woche: Alles
Seit dem 1. Januar 2021 wendet die britische Medienaufsichtsbehörde „Office of Communications“ (Ofcom) eine neue, erweiterte Definition von „Hassrede“ an. Vor diesem Datum mussten Rundfunkteilnehmer lediglich sicherstellen, dass ihre Sendungen keine „Aufstachelung zu Hass“ auf der Grundlage von „Rasse, Geschlecht, Religion oder Nationalität“ enthielten.
The totalitarian hell of lockdown
Debate, dissent and independent thought are not allowed in Covid Britain.
Freedom of expression fears grow as tough new Ofcom code classes ‚political opinion‘ in its definition of hate speech
(04.01.2021)
Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith said: ‚We are drifting into a totalitarian ‚woke‘ state where nothing can ever be said for fear that somebody will be offended. It‘s madness, and it‘s driven by a small minority. Most people don‘t care.‘
It’s the pro-lockdown lobby that is spreading fake news
This is the stage of lockdown authoritarianism we have now reached: anyone who questions the lockdown will be branded a liar and a hoodwinker who should be expelled from public life, while the cheerers of lockdown, those self-styled saviours of lives, can say whatever they want with very few repercussions.
The Berlin authorities are waging war on Berliners
The other is that too few, until now, are ready to oppose openly the government’s strict new regulations – even in freedom-loving Berlin. Of course, there is a reason for that. For months, those protesting against the lockdowns have been equated with the far right by many media outlets and assorted politicians. This despite a recent study revealing that most participants are not right-wing at all. There have even been calls to have Querdenken, the outfit that has been organising the big anti-lockdown demonstrations, put under observation by Germany’s secret service, the Verfassungsschutz.
As a result, anyone voicing anger over the lockdown risks being discredited as a Covid denier or a right-wing conspiracy theorist. I
Tyranny comes to Hyde Park
‘Can I ask what exercise you’re doing, sir, apart from exercising your thumbs?’ The copper is wearing a perfect sneer. I get the impression he has been waiting his entire jobsworth’s life to be able to reprimand someone for sitting on a park bench and writing a text message.
In defence of the people: The only problem with democracy is that there is not enough of it.
The very word possessed such talismanic power that you could even get away with attacking whole countries and killing all kinds of people just so the ones who survived could have democracy.
Then these gatekeepers of good manners lost a referendum (Brexit) and an election (Trump) and decided that democracy was totally passé. The volte-face they performed was rather breathtaking in its coordination, like a little shoal of well-disciplined fish avoiding troubled waters with mindless accuracy.
This rotten parliament
The spiked team discuss Brexit and the elite’s turn against democracy.
Beyond Brexit: A programme for democratic reform – 1. For democracy – against the EU
In the first piece in our five-part programme for democratic reform, Mick Hume remakes the case for leaving the EU. Read Brendan O’Neill’s introduction to the series here.
Democracy: the unfinished revolution
To that end, spiked is launching a programme of radical democratic reform. Fighting for Brexit remains the priority, but we must also look beyond Brexit and make the case for reforms that will disempower unelected elites and empower the public. Over the next five weeks we will outline our five key cries – listed below – and after that we will publish a series of essays and articles making the case for popular sovereignty, democratic engagement, a philosophy of nationhood and a universalism based on democratic nations, not unaccountable global elites.
To kick off, here are the five reforms spiked thinks we need now to start the process of energising popular democracy.