Starmer has enabled the far right – promises of ‘progressive patriotism’ are no longer enough

By George Newth, Lecturer in Politics and member of Reactionary Politics Research Network, University of Bath

Faced with an insurgent UK far right backed by a billionaire oligarch, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s pledge to lead the progressive fightback is long overdue. If Starmer’s speech, however, is to be anything but empty rhetoric, he must abandon his failed strategy of chasing the Reform vote in favour of a bolder, more hopeful narrative.

Based on his government’s actions and discourse so far, the signs are far from promising. He has helped embolden the very politics he claims to oppose.

Starmer’s speech comes hot on the heels of Britain’s largest ever far-right mobilisation.…

Read complete article

~	Why a study claiming vaccines cause chronic illness is severely flawed – a biostatistician explains the biases and unsupported conclusions

~	Israel/IOPT: Microsoft’s move to block Israeli military unit’s access to its mass surveillance technology is a moment for corporate reckoning

~	The Trump administration’s call to ‘reframe’ the global asylum system would harm people seeking safety

~	UN Security Council: Move Urgently to Protect Haitians

~	Zika virus may raise long-term risks of type 2 diabetes – new study

~	Jimmy Kimmel is back, but how much longer will late-night comedy last?

~	Trump’s love affair with crypto raises worries about presidential conflict and influence

~	Don’t cut them out: lymph nodes may be key to cancer treatment

~	When mental health apps become worry engines: how digital ‘care’ can hijack our anxieties

~	Why Charli XCX might be gen Z’s answer to the Romantic poets