Free speech! But only for the people on ‘our side'
Another compelling week in the ever-flexible world of free speech. Its great champions, Reform, got in across swathes of England and immediately set about banning all flags bar the Union Jack, the St George's Cross and county insignia from flying over its town halls. Nothing rainbow, nothing woke, nothing in support of Ukraine, obviously. Turns out Reform is very much up for free speech and expression, providing the words and opinions chime with its own.
This is how free speech plays in our illiberal world. The same folk who are outraged by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel shutting down concerts by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead and Israeli musician Dudu Tassa want Kneecap to be removed from the Glastonbury bill
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Leader Live
23 minutes ago
- Leader Live
UK Government ‘betraying Wales' over rail funding, Plaid leader says
Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid, criticised the UK Labour Government for reclassifying the £6.6 billion Oxford to Cambridge line to an England and Wales project. The designation means Wales will not receive the additional rail funding it would get if branded an England-only project. Mr ap Iorwerth called on Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Labour First Minister, to condemn the reclassification. Baroness Morgan agreed Wales was not getting its fair share but said she was expecting to see positive changes in the UK Government's spending review on Wednesday. Mr ap Iorwerth's comments come following reports that revealed the project had originally been listed as England-only from 2020 to 2024. The Treasury told the BBC the classification was a 'publishing error' and insisted it was always considered an England and Wales development. Speaking First Minister's Questions in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mr ap Iorwerth said: 'We were getting our share until Labour actively moved the goalposts. 'Labour went out of its way to make sure Wales wouldn't get the money when the big spending really began.' He added: 'She should be joining me in condemning the UK Labour Government for betraying Wales. Will she?' Mr ap Iorwerth argued the reclassification was a 'new HS2 scandal' – a rail project that has been controversial in Wales. Despite none of the track being laid in the country, it was also designated an England and Wales project by the last UK Conservative government. Plaid has said this designation cost Wales £3.9 billion in funding. Responding to Mr Iorwerth, Baroness Morgan said: 'I've learned to expect nothing but constant negativity from the Plaid Cymru leader. 'I've been clear and I've been consistent when it comes to rail funding that we have not been getting our fair share of funding, in a position that the Tories left us with for over a decade. 'The difference between the Tories and the UK Labour Government is that they've recognised that injustice. 'I don't know what's going to be in the spending review, but the one thing I do know is that if Labour gave Wales a total land of milk and honey, Plaid Cymru would still find fault.' Baroness Morgan added they were 'expecting something positive from the spending review', but the Welsh government would have to keep on making the case for a fair share of funding. In January, the UK government admitted Welsh railways had been underfunded, with spending at 'low levels' in recent years. However, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander did not announce any additional funding at the time.
Glasgow Times
24 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
UK Government ‘betraying Wales' over rail funding, Plaid leader says
Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid, criticised the UK Labour Government for reclassifying the £6.6 billion Oxford to Cambridge line to an England and Wales project. The designation means Wales will not receive the additional rail funding it would get if branded an England-only project. Mr ap Iorwerth called on Eluned Morgan, the Welsh Labour First Minister, to condemn the reclassification. Baroness Morgan agreed Wales was not getting its fair share but said she was expecting to see positive changes in the UK Government's spending review on Wednesday. Mr ap Iorwerth's comments come following reports that revealed the project had originally been listed as England-only from 2020 to 2024. The Treasury told the BBC the classification was a 'publishing error' and insisted it was always considered an England and Wales development. Speaking First Minister's Questions in the Senedd on Tuesday, Mr ap Iorwerth said: 'We were getting our share until Labour actively moved the goalposts. 'Labour went out of its way to make sure Wales wouldn't get the money when the big spending really began.' He added: 'She should be joining me in condemning the UK Labour Government for betraying Wales. Will she?' Mr ap Iorwerth argued the reclassification was a 'new HS2 scandal' – a rail project that has been controversial in Wales. Despite none of the track being laid in the country, it was also designated an England and Wales project by the last UK Conservative government. Plaid has said this designation cost Wales £3.9 billion in funding. Responding to Mr Iorwerth, Baroness Morgan said: 'I've learned to expect nothing but constant negativity from the Plaid Cymru leader. 'I've been clear and I've been consistent when it comes to rail funding that we have not been getting our fair share of funding, in a position that the Tories left us with for over a decade. 'The difference between the Tories and the UK Labour Government is that they've recognised that injustice. 'I don't know what's going to be in the spending review, but the one thing I do know is that if Labour gave Wales a total land of milk and honey, Plaid Cymru would still find fault.' Baroness Morgan added they were 'expecting something positive from the spending review', but the Welsh government would have to keep on making the case for a fair share of funding. In January, the UK government admitted Welsh railways had been underfunded, with spending at 'low levels' in recent years. However, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander did not announce any additional funding at the time.
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Women will no longer be prosecuted for aborting own child at any stage of pregnancy under changes to the law set to be passed next week
Women will no longer face prosecution for aborting their own baby under changes set to be passed by MPs next week that would herald the biggest overhaul of abortion law for half a century. Under the proposals abortion would effectively be decriminalised and women would no longer face prosecution if they ended their own pregnancy after 24 weeks or without approval from doctors. The changes are said to have the backing of more than 130 backbench MPs meaning it is likely to be approved when MPs are given a free vote on amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill next week. Six women have appeared in court in the last three years charged with ending or attempting to end their own pregnancy outside abortion law - a crime with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Last month Nicola Packer, 45, was acquitted of taking abortion medicine at home when she was about 26 weeks pregnant. Under the new proposals she would not have been prosecuted for this. The MPs behind the proposed amendments say that reform is long-overdue as the current law leads to vulnerable women being prosecuted, some of whom may have had a miscarriage or stillbirth. However anti-abortion campaigners have criticised the proposals, which they warn would be the most extreme liberalisation of the law since the 1967 Abortion Act and could allow abortion 'up to birth'. Abortion is a criminal offence in England and Wales unless it takes place under strict conditions, including that it is before 24 weeks into a pregnancy and with the approval of two doctors. New laws passed during the pandemic allow abortion pills to be taken at home in a system known as 'pills by post', however this is only allowed up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy. There are very limited circumstances allowing a woman to access an abortion after 24 weeks, such as when the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability. But two amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill would radically alter abortion law in England and Wales. One of the amendments, by Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, would mean that a woman would no longer be committing an offence by ending her own pregnancy. However under this amendment anybody else, including a medical professional, who assisted a woman in accessing an abortion outside the law could still be prosecuted. Ms Antoniazzi has described it as a 'small change to the law but one that will have a huge impact on the lives of women', adding that it would protect women from prosecution while retaining the criminal law against abusive partners who end a woman's pregnancy without her consent. A second, rival amendment, put forward by Labour MP Stella Creasy, goes further still and would repeal swathes of legislation and make it a human right for a woman to have access to an abortion. The decision to select one or both amendments for a vote, expected on June 17 and 18, lies with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle. However it is expected that Ms Antoniazzi's amendment would receive the backing of MPs after a leading pro-choice group yesterday came out against Ms Creasy's plan, warning it is being rushed through without enough scrutiny. Rachael Clarke, head of advocacy at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said Ms Creasy's amendment does not have the backing of abortion providers whereas Ms Antoniazzi's is supported by more than 50 pro-choice organisations. 'Abortion law is incredibly complex. It governs 250,000 women's healthcare every single year,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'Because of that, it is essential that any huge change to abortion law is properly considered. 'That means involvement with providers, medical bodies, regulators - and proper debate time in Parliament.' 'For us, unfortunately, although we truly believe that we need overwhelming and generational change for abortion law, Stella Creasy's amendment is not the right way to do it,' she added.
