Category: Society

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Festivities at the foodbank

Niamh Tickner

This December, Bournemouth Foodbank is bringing festive cheer to communities across the town, with a full programme of events and the launch of a brand-new hub in Winton, St Luke’s Hub. Across two weekends — 6–7 December and 20–21 December — from 10am to 4pm, the Foodbank will be hosting Festive Fun at the Sovereign Centre. Families […]

“It’s a question of humanity”

Mike Zollo

A few weeks ago, a Guardian article with this title described how a Spanish town took a very significant decision over the treatment of its migrants. But first, some background. The UK is not the only target destination for migrants seeking a safer or a more prosperous life; in fact, Spain receives considerably more migrants […]

Care4Calais need our help to buy 1,000 winter snug packs

Editor-in-chief

A couple of weeks ago, we published Simon Chater’s account of the work of Care4Calais. Now the weather has changed – cold, wet and brutal and whilst Care4Calais usually see a dip in those needing their help in the winter months, this is not the case this year as war, climate and persecution drive more […]

“Do they look like terrorists to you?” Palestine Action supporters resist the criminalisation of dissent

Philippa Davies

Activists in Exeter will be joining a national wave of protest against the banning of Palestine Action as a ‘terrorist organisation’ this Saturday, November 29. Around 25 protesters will defy the ban by sitting quietly outside Exeter Central Station from 1pm, holding placards stating “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. It’s part of what […]

Starmer’s new best friend – Tommy Robinson

Mark Kieran

Plaudits from Robinson should be a flashing red light on any government’s dashboard. So, it’s finally happened. Tiny Tommy Robinson – or Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as his Irish immigrant mum christened him – has publicly endorsed the Labour government’s new immigration policy. “The Overton window has been obliterated,” he cheered. “Well done patriots!” For those of […]

How a misread statistic became proof of “too many black people” in TV ads

Emma Monk

Last weekend, an elected member of parliament (Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin) went on Talk TV and said, “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people, full of people who are basically anything other than white people.” Let that sink in. We have reached a point in the political discourse […]

Devon quarry plan could put new nature protection laws to the test

Philippa Davies

On the surface it looks like another ‘conservation versus industry’ planning controversy, with the odds predictably stacked against nature and wildlife. A multinational quarrying company wants to expand its operations in Devon, which will mean destroying a large forest. As the company prepares its application for planning permission, a group of local residents are fighting […]

Tell your MP: don’t rip up our rights!

Mark Kieran

Nigel Farage and now the Conservatives want to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – a treaty Winston Churchill helped create in the ashes of the Second World War. This isn’t just a point of principle. This is about retaining the fundamental rights we have to protect ourselves against abuses […]

No, kids weren’t told they’d “all be Muslim by year 6”

Emma Monk

A handful of parents, a far-right outrage machine, and the damage misinformation does to real communities: A simple school assembly in Swansea, where a visitor from a local mosque spoke about her faith, became the latest culture war story fuelled by far-right activists, misinformation, a Reform councillor and GB News. Earlier this month, a small […]

“If you want to be hopeful, do hopeful things” Jane Fonda

Anthea Simmons

The campaign organisation HOPE not hate‘s Weekend of HOPE will see hundreds and thousands of leaflets delivered to houses in the UK and thousands of people will take to the streets with a simple message: communities are stronger together. We live in an era in which certain politicians and oligarchs are hellbent on dividing us […]

Why Reform’s plans would hurt Britain

Jon Danzig

The Telegraph reported on September 22 that Nigel Farage’s Reform Party would expel hundreds of thousands of migrants if it gained power. Reform says it would scrap Indefinite Leave to Remain retrospectively, raise the Skilled Worker salary bar to £60,000 a year, require higher English, restrict access to most benefits and free NHS care for […]

What if…? A group of young people share their vision

Anthea Simmons

We recently organised a free event for young people with activist and campaigner, Rob Hopkins, also of transition town fame and the author of many books, including the inspirational ‘How to Fall in Love with the Future‘. (You can read our review of the book here.) Held in Ashburton Arts Centre, which Andy Williamson generously […]

The ‘crazy idea’ that won a £250,000 Lottery grant

Philippa Davies

There are plenty of very stupid and wasteful consumer shopping habits, but top of the list must be buying something quite expensive for one specific job or activity, using it solely for that purpose, and then storing it away in your shed or garage and forgetting about it. We’re talking about things like carpet cleaners, […]

High time for more integration and less hypocrisy and hate

Mike Zollo

“Bigotry and prejudice are the hallmarks of those who fear what they cannot understand.” (a concise and accurate comment on a post in the Facebook page of ’ORDER! The Sir John Bercow Fanclub’) Migration Like many areas of the world, the British Isles have a long and varied history of absorbing immigrants from elsewhere. Recent […]

From PlayStations to Spanish lessons: debunking the asylum “freebies” list

Emma Monk

The Daily Mail recently ran an article: “List of perks taxpayers are funding for asylum seekers”. The Conservative party then took that list, created a handy little graphic and then posted it on X: REVEALED: The huge list of freebies and perks channel migrants are entitled to once they land in Britain. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves is taxing […]

The racism dog-whistle has become a megaphone

Jeremy Hall

No longer is the right wing in British politics content with dog-whistle antics; we now have dog-megaphone politics.  One of the “best” vehicles used to stir up fear is immigration, and the master conjuror is, of course, N Farage. Last year he made much trouble for the police by riding piggy-back on the rumours that there was […]

The Pilgrims: first undocumented immigrants demonstration in Plymouth Sunday 17 August 1-3pm

Editor-in-chief

WHAT: The Pilgrims: Our First Undocumented Immigrants demonstrationWHEN: Sunday 17 August 2025 1:00pm – 3:00pmWHERE: Mayflower Steps, The Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2LR Protesting immigration raids, detainment camps, and deportation in the USAPlymouth, England – On Sunday, 17 August 2025, Indivisible Southwest and Americans for Action Bristol will join together to host a demonstration at the Mayflower […]

The weather systems of masculinity

Lucas Brendon

Knock on the doors of the manosphere, and what I have discovered isn’t merely a collection of grievances and muscle-flexes – it’s an entire microclimate, its own weather front pressing against the future. Here, in these digital territories, fossil-fuelled bravado becomes the very air young men are taught to breathe, each exhale a small act […]

The deadly ‘logic’ blocking national renewal

Mark E Thomas

Three baseless taboos are derailing national renewal – but they need not The question is not whether the UK needs a decade of national renewal as Sir Keir Starmer claimed. We can see the need in nearly every city in the UK. Shops close and are boarded up; and when they reopen, it is often as charity […]

Peaceful protesters in Exeter demand ‘Stop starving Gaza’

Philippa Davies

Friday, July 25, 6pm in Exeter city centre. Shops and cafes closing their doors for the evening, people heading home from work, others on their way to pubs and bars for the start of  the weekend. None of them could miss the large crowd in Bedford Square, just off the main street, where hundreds of […]

Why banning smartphones in schools needs to happen NOW

Caroline Voaden

I could feel the fear in a hall full of primary school parents in Totnes as they listened to campaigners going through the evidence about the impact of smartphones on kids at secondary school. The statistics are shocking: Nearly one in 10 children aged eight to 14 have watched online pornography Almost half of children […]

10 common myths about asylum hotels explained and debunked

Editor-in-chief

This information is from the Community Integration and Advocacy Centre – vital to counter the manufactured anger that is poisoning society and our political discourse Here are 10 prevalent misconceptions regarding asylum hotels, clarified and refuted with accurate information for you to share, particularly if you are sick of hearing the same tired and often […]