Latest news with #GreatBritishNationalStrike
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Councillor hits out at ‘woke' 'fake news' event
This story is only available to Hereford Times subscribers. Click here to find out why and how to subscribe for exclusive stories. A Herefordshire town councillor has claimed an event to chart the direction of Hereford's new museum will be an exercise in 'woke virtue-signalling'. The latest in a series of events put on by Herefordshire Council's museums and galleries department, 'Contentious narratives' will 'invite local people to discuss how museums should respond to fake news, misinformation and contested histories'. The department's head Damian Etheraads said it would question 'how can we present complex or controversial subjects with integrity, resisting harmful ideologies without becoming dogmatic'. RELATED NEWS: Hereford protest in High Town: Great British National Strike Complaint over Herefordshire town councillor behaviour Councillors 'fail to attend or prepare for' key meetings This will help shape displays in the city's new £18-million museum and art gallery in Broad Street, on which building work is due to begin shortly, 'based on what matters to our communities', he added. But Coun Ewen Sinclair of Ledbury posted on Facebook: Herefordshire Council are funding an event to have an 'open' discussion, then the organiser will tell you what to think. He is going to discuss 'fake' news and 'misinformation'. Anyone who says disinformation and misinformation, is probably lying. Unfortunately I can't be there but can people please attend to question this self promoting, virtue signalling, woke and aggrandising individual. Who is squandering the Council Tax you pay. A council spokesperson said the public assembly is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of its package to support the museum and gallery project. What are your thoughts? You can send a letter to the editor to have your say by clicking here. Letters should not exceed 250 words and local issues take precedence. 'Their aim is to give Herefordshire people the chance to understand how we're approaching the redevelopment of the museum; not just what the plans are, but the thinking, values, and principles behind them,' they said. 'In the upcoming session we won't be telling people what to think.' OTHER NEWS: No takers for mayor role after town council's 'difficult year' Anger as £25K spent on study to boost town's tourism Victory in builder's battle to keep living in caravan The event is being held at the History Store, the council's museums repository in Friars Street, Hereford, on Saturday June 7. It is free to attend with no booking required. In February Coun Sinclair was formally rebuked by Herefordshire Council's standards panel over an altercation with a resident. He claimed at the time that the council 'are trying to cancel me'. This was third time he was found in breach of the town councillors' code of conduct since being elected unopposed to Ledbury West parish ward in October 2021.
The National
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Reform UK are a real and present danger in Scotland
On Saturday, a considerable number of far-right protesters took to the streets in cities across Scotland and the UK as part of what they called 'The Great British National Strike'. They rallied in Aberdeen, Dumfries, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Perth, as well as a number of cities south of the Border, in protest against immigration and net-zero policies, among other issues. In Glasgow, they waved the flag of Israel and the Union flag, as well as banners adorned with slogans including 'free Tommy Robinson'. They were heard chanting 'refugees not welcome here'. The group was met by counter-protesters from a broad coalition of left-wing community groups and political organisations, and the far-right were ultimately outnumbered – but not by much. The far-right bloc was undeniably substantial, and was an unavoidable presence for anyone wishing to make use of our city-centre shops this bank holiday weekend. READ MORE: I went to Glasgow's 'Great British National Strike' — here's what I saw For those who were the target of their hateful ideology – particularly immigrants, Muslims and people of colour – they made the city centre a less safe place to be, and evoked traumatic memories of the violent far-right race riots which plagued the streets of England and the north of Ireland last summer. For me, the protests weren't the only reminder of far-right rise at the weekend. Also on Saturday, I was in Stonehouse campaigning for the brilliant Ann McGuinness, the Scottish Green Party's candidate in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, triggered by the very sad death of my friend, the SNP MSP Christina McKelvie. This is the first Scottish Parliament by-election of the current Holyrood term, and the first parliamentary by-election in Scotland since Keir Starmer's right-wing Labour Government took power at Westminster. It's seen as a test for a struggling SNP, a collapsing Labour Party, and the rise of Reform UK. While Reform are unlikely to win, it's clear they've been dominating the narrative of the campaign. Vox-pops by a number of media outlets asking people how they plan to vote have consistently shown a high rate of support for Reform. But they weren't the winners on the doors I knocked last weekend. By far the winner of the campaign so far, just over a week from polling day, was apathy. A huge number of people made it clear they had no plans to vote, scunnered by a lack of change over several years and declaring 'they're all the same' when asked about the political parties on offer at this election. Voters have tried the SNP, they've tried Labour and they've tried the Tories and none of them have been able to demonstrably and radically improve the lives of ordinary people. That's not to in any way disparage Christina's brilliant work. I know she was a fantastic MSP for the communities she represented. She was a socialist, and she always fought for better for her constituents. But she was one MSP out of 129. She's exactly proof of why we need more socialists elected to Holyrood across multiple parties. Nonetheless, voters are clearly fed up. I spoke to a number of Reform voters on the doors in Stonehouse and very few of them would align themselves with the hateful protesters outside Buchanan Galleries just a couple dozen miles up the M74. Most of them were just people who feel like they've tried every other option and nothing else has worked, so why not give Reform a go? The thing is, I get it. People can see their public services crumbling, their communities falling apart. Nigel Farage tells them it's the fault of immigrants, and then Starmer – a Labour Prime Minister – reinforces that idea. When almost the entire British political and media classes keep repeating the lie, it doesn't matter how untrue it is, people will believe it more and more. It's precisely why Starmer's approach is so dangerous – and so clearly doomed to fail. It's precisely why we need more left-wing, socialist voices who can counter these dangerous ideologies. We know that the real enemy of the working class arrives by private jet, not by small boat. We know that the rich are getting richer, with millionaires and billionaires hoarding the wealth created by the working people whose wages have stagnated over the past several years. We know that it's not good enough to just talk the talk – we have to walk the walk, opposing cuts and fighting for the redistribution of wealth to fund our vital public services, making use of the full powers of devolution to tax the rich, and fighting for an independent Scotland where we have the full capability to build a fairer country. Many of the final seats to be declared on each regional list next year will be closely fought between the Greens and Reform. With both the SNP and Labour moving rightwards (to varying degrees) we need more left-wing voices in the Scottish Parliament who can counter the far-right and their hate. READ MORE: SNP figures believe Nigel Farage's Reform UK will come second in key by-election On the doors in Stonehouse last weekend, there were multiple apathetic voters who were leaning towards voting Reform, or just staying at home. There were multiple who, after a conversation with our activists, will now be strongly considering voting Green. There's little to no overlap in the policy platforms of our two parties, and there's not a huge number of Reform/Green swing voters. But where Reform present themselves as anti-establishment (while being backed by billionaires and city bankers), Greens genuinely are against a status quo establishment which makes the rich richer and offers nothing for ordinary people. Our task, it's clear, is now to get that message out.
The National
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Thank goodness for those who gathered to oppose the far right
Encouraged by the outright racism of the Labour government and the success of Trump, groups that were once on the outer fringes of politics are now jumping at the chance to organise and join Reform, where they find an enthusiastic welcome. The example of Alternative For Germany shows how quickly a small right-wing party can evolve into a fascist party challenging for power. After decades of austerity imposed by Tory, Labour and SNP administrations it is not surprising people seek alternatives. Farage is not a 'skilled political operator', he is facilitated by the British establishment, advised by fascist Steve Bannon, financed by right-wing groups, lies with impunity and ignores his own constituents like many far-right grifters in Europe and America. READ MORE: Protesters poised to target Nigel Farage's visit to Scotland The importance of opposing Reform's dangerous populism was rightly recognised by John Swinney recently, but what is the point of this coalition against Reform if it does nothing to confront the racist mobilisations being attempted in our streets? In Glasgow on Saturday a demonstration by Stand Up To Racism, called at short notice, outnumbered a group gathered under the banner of the 'Great British National Strike'. That group included well-known fascists, racists and anti-immigration bigots. Where was the political leadership countering these dangerous ideas? Thank goodness for the hundreds of young people who sang, danced and chanted alongside more experienced campaigners and humiliated the bigots. As if to underline the acceptance of Reform's ideas by the establishment, the police made the operational decision to allow this small group to hold space in front of a busy shopping centre on a bank-holiday Saturday for more than 10 hours! Any other group would have been forcibly moved away within an hour. Shameful. We urgently need a coalition of groups in Scotland to come together to pose an alternative to Reform and confront head-on the racism and lies that feed off the very real frustrations of ordinary people. Charlotte Ahmed Glasgow AS Starmer continues his none-too-subtle come-hither Reform UK policies, it was left to the SNP's Pete Wishart to speak out against the 'disgusting and racist' spliced-together video misrepresenting Westminster's Labour leader in Scotland Anas Sarwar (regarding the Hamilton by-election). I do not agree with Wishart that Sarwar prioritises Scotland. I believe Anas Sarwar does what he's told by Westminster. However, it was absolutely the right, courageous and decent thing to do. Shame the Labour party are all out of courage and decency. Amanda Baker Edinburgh READ MORE: John Swinney and Katy Loudon warn of 'tight contest' in Hamilton AS we trundle along towards Wimbledon, I have to say 'advantage SNP'. Before you say 'is this the same Old John who bails into the SNP for lack of action on independence?', let me just clarify my thinking. Since the Labour disaster came to power we, the people of Scotland , have had bestowed on us a veritable plethora of free gifts to bash the Changed Labour party. On Sunday morning listening to Times Radio I was astounded to hear a political contributor saying Sir Keir had told the Treasury that he wanted to bin the two-child benefit cap and that the Treasury had to find the money to do it! You can be certain that Rotten Rachel will be raging at the very thought of it. READ MORE: Is the UK Government going to 'scrap the two-child benefit cap'? These two clowns were the the very people who were telling us there would be no U-turns on that. Or, come to mention it, the winter fuel fiasco, or for that matter her benefit cuts. Two things have happened. Such is the disappointment in the Labour Party and the country in general regarding the ridiculously poor performance of the government that the U-turns were inevitable. The next thing was the entrance of the beer-swilling posh boy saying that Reform UK would reinstate the Winter Fuel Payment and drop the two-child cap! It is beyond certainty to surmise that none of the above had anything to do with helping people or care for anyone. These changes are about votes. Your vote. My vote , and everyone else's vote. READ MORE: So, we come back to the point of 'advantage SNP'. We are so atop the moral high ground here that I am feeling renewed hope regarding 2026. These Westminster charlatans are beyond disgusting! To revert to type, I have to beseech the SNP not to waste this opportunity. I notice a Manifesto for Independence is up and running. This is a great idea, but in all sincerity and humility it is regrettable that something like this needed to be done. If the SNP were to do what they should do and tell us that 2026 is going to see their manifesto state that a majority of independence MSPs would see us informing the cesspit that we would be leaving the Union, then that would see a very large SNP majority. Just do it! Old John Ayrshire DAVID Lammy, the UK Foreign Secretary, should resign, if he has any sense of decency and humanity in him. Last week, after months of prevarication, he finally criticised Israel for the genocide it is carrying on in Gaza, then in the afternoon he permitted the RAF to fly a reconnaissance flight over Gaza in order to assist Israel in its genocide. Is that because he did not mean a word of what he said in the morning, or did he think that people are so stupid they would not see how contemptuous his behaviour was? Andy Anderson Ardrossan
New European
26-05-2025
- Politics
- New European
Anti-Starmer strike fails to hit its target
Protest organiser Richard Donaldson told the channel he was 'not prepared to wait four years' for Keir Starmer to be ousted from power, calling for an immediate general election. As it turned out, Starmer can probably call off the removal van for a while yet. Because – possibly as Donaldson called the 'national strike' for a Saturday, a day most people are off work anyway – the event proved the dampest of damp squibs. How went the Great British National Strike, a day of countrywide anti-government protests, which GB News confidently predicted would see 'more than 500,000 people across the country walking out in protest at the state of the UK'? In most cities and towns, fewer than 100 people protested, often outnumbered by anti-fascist demos: in Bristol, for example (population: 483,000), Avon and Somerset Police said that 'an estimated 50 people took part in a protest, with an estimated 100 people taking part in a counter demonstration'. Another 100 people (described by organisers as 'big crowds') turned up outside Downing Street to chant 'Keir Starmer is a wanker'. In Manchester, meanwhile (population: 551,938), organisers claimed around 200 attendees, although photos would suggest this includes a protest by Chagossians protesting against the government's deal to hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius, which was happening at the same time. Supporters of the Great British National Strike were unimpressed, taking to social media to moan: 'No timetable, no speakers, no stage/platform, no PA system. Shambolic. Organisers were early with their excuses for failure, but admitted they'd spent two months arranging this butterfly's fart of a protest.'
The National
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
What I saw at Glasgow's 'Great British National Strike'
As previously reported by The National, far-right group 'The Great British National Strike' held a series of demos across the UK, with seven taking place across Scotland; emergency rallies were held in response on Glasgow's Buchanan Street by groups Stand Up To Racism (SUTR), Cabaret Against The Hate Speech, Afghan Human Rights Foundation and Glasgow TUC. Anti-racism groups involved in the counter-demo descended early on the Buchanan Street steps, the proposed meeting point for the far-right protesters. When I arrived around 10:45am, a small number of police officers were in attendance and the atmosphere was already thick with tense anticipation for what was, unfortunately, expected to unfold. READ MORE: Counter-protesters gather against far-right group in Glasgow city centre Mohammad Asif of SUTR and the Afghan Human Rights Foundation spoke to the Sunday National shortly before the far-right protests began, saying: 'As a Muslim, of course I'm worried, as a brown or black person we're worried, because we are always the targets as we saw in the rioting in England last year. 'But we are here and we are standing with our friends, colleagues, brothers and sisters saying that fascism and racism will not defeat us; it will make us stronger.' Shortly after my conversation with Asif, the Great British National Strike participants climbed the steps and unfurled a Union flag. From there, the still unease promptly dissipated as verbal and physical clashes between the groups began; counter-protesters attempted to snatch the flag, leading to a few scuffles that police tried to break up. The commotion began on the Buchanan Street steps (Image: Lewis McPake)The far-right demonstrators were moved to the top corner of Buchanan and Sauchiehall streets, across from Jessops camera shop, as the counter-protesters mobilised on the steps. The Great British National Strike was initially far outnumbered, with those on the steps chanting 'Nazi scum, off our streets!' and "there are many, many more of us than you" at the opposing side. There were a handful of people waving Union flags, Israel flags and banners featuring King Charles and the Red Hand of Ulster. One of the women who initially held the UK flag on the steps screamed: 'Would you trust them near your children?' As their numbers began to grow, police, who had formed a human cordon which faced the counter-protest, made the decision to move them to the steps of Buchanan Galleries — not that it did much, as the counter-protest was still larger in numbers and split into two groups to follow. Counter-protesters turned out in large numbers despite the gloomy weather (Image: Lewis McPake)Outside the shopping centre, the far-right began waving a Union flag that had an outline of criminal agitator Tommy Robinson, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, emblazoned with the slogan "FREE TOMMY ROBINSON" in bold. Elderly women held signs depicting themselves as 'concerned grandparents'. Someone had brought their young son along, who stood on the frontline as the group began singing Rule Britannia and making choice hand gestures to their counterparts. It was clearly a demonstration full of hatred, further emphasised by a woman who attempted to use a Saltire to erase a chalk-written slogan saying 'Free Palestine' from the pavement — she was told off for it by officers, but their lack of attention to a man who did what looked like a Nazi salute was baffling. Participants in the Great British National Strike called for far-right spokesman Tommy Robinson's freedom and agitated counter-protesters with rude hand gestures (Image: Colin Mearns) While the face-off ensued outside the shopping centre, Cabaret Against The Hate Speech began a singalong at the top of the steps. In what was clearly a wind-up, songs like Abba's SOS and unofficial national anthem Yes Sir, I Can Boogie were blasted through the speakers. Alex, another organiser from SUTR, said: 'It's not a surprise that they're trying to co-opt different movements to try and present themselves as respectable. READ MORE: Anas Sarwar refuses to say if he supports RAF surveillance flights over Gaza 'We know that the far-right performed racist pogroms last year across England. Again, Glasgow turned out to oppose them. We're making sure that will never be allowed to grow in Scotland.' I left around 1pm. The stand-off was still in full swing, and at the time of writing there had been no arrests made. Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.
