On Friday morning, news broke that one of Britain’s most recognisable political figures, Ann Widdecombe, had died. By mid-day social media was awash with tributes for a woman whose four decades in public life had taken her from Westminster to Brussels, and, most recently, to Reform UK as the party’s spokeswoman on Immigration and Justice. By mid-afternoon, national newspapers had published obituaries, some admiring and others searing in their criticism of a politician who pos

A few weeks ago, racist thugs overwhelmed Belfast. They set the city alight, assaulted the police and terrorised local communities. They claimed to be protecting the women and children of Northern Ireland, but the hypocrisy of these far-right ‘protectors’ is ridiculous. Similar racist riots occurred in 2024, it subsequently emerging that 48% of people arrested in connection to these riots had a domestic abuse conviction. Their outrage is misdirected. 30 women have been murder

Where just a few months ago Nigel Farage seemed invincible, his political position has grown increasingly precarious in recent months. Nigel Farage’s decision to not declare a £5 million ‘gift’ from the Thailand-based crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne remains the biggest threat to his momentum. The Reform leader claims to have “done nothing wrong”, but his failure to declare the money he received from Harborne, per rule 5 of the House of Commons code of conduct, prompte

If you follow mainstream Irish and Northern Irish press, you may have noticed an uptick this past year in articles referencing “Irish reunification” or “border poll”. There is a push by aligned Irish nationalist parties , academics , and VCS groups for a border poll as soon as possible. Some supporting arguments have been opportunistic – members of the SDLP argued during last year’s “Reform-o-mania” that Northern Ireland needed to exit the UK to escape the prospect of a Far

Drama in Northern Ireland’s devolved legislature reached a fever pitch in recent weeks. Minister for Education, Paul Givan, lost a symbolic vote of no confidence in the wake of a “fact-finding mission” to Israel, using his department’s social media to share photos from a school in annexed West Bank territory. The visit to Israel raises many questions, perhaps chiefly, was it necessary for the Minister of a devolved regional government to go on a so-called fact-finding missi

We’re in a political epoch where no principle, institution, or authority is sacred. Everything is questioned, debated, and assessed within an inch of its life. Sometimes, it's unclear if there’s anything we all universally agree upon – if there is anything hallowed, permitted to go unquestioned. Political change is undoubtedly essential as an agent of progress, but sometimes we broaden debate so much that we lose focus on what matters. I recently spent a lecture entertaining

‘Massacres are carried out during night hours when no-one is there to witness them.’ Full morgues were described by Tanzanian doctors following the country’s elections at the end of October . When President Samia Suluhu Hassan came to power in 2021 following the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, she was hailed for her easing of political repression, and seemed to be a key cog in a journey back to full democracy in Tanzania. Yet here we are, four years later, and she

‘Every democratic politician must be arrested, and the party banned under RICO.’ These were the words of far-right activist Matt Forney...

I do not condone political violence of the kind that ended Charlie Kirk’s life, for both moral and strategic reasons, and my sympathies...

Many on the Left have responded to Charlie Kirk’s assassination by condemning political violence. Former President Barack Obama tweeted ,...

MAGA influencer and CEO of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed during the first leg of his “The American Comeback Tour”...