“For years we’ve been told people are afraid to identify extremism for fear of being branded racist. Perhaps we’ve also grown afraid to call out racism where we see it”
Prevent
The increase in people – a third of them children under 15 – being reported to Prevent, the government’s anti-terrorism scheme is deeply troubling.
But drilling into the figures reveals a picture of British extremism that, to many, will be a surprise. If you listen to Nigel Farage or his ‘Mini Me,’ Matthew Goodwin, you might come away with the impression that the most dangerous and violent threats in the UK were “radical left” and Islamic extremists.
Yet 20% of the total were reported over far-right extremist ideologies – twice as many as links to Islamic extremism. Just 0.3% related to left-wing extremism. It’s a worrying illustration of how the far right has been allowed to fester and grow in Britain.
For years we’ve been told people are afraid to identify extremism for fear of being branded racist. Perhaps we’ve also grown afraid to call out racism where we see it, and that’s at least as big a problem.
Tinderbox
The hottest summer on record is having a devastating impact on Britain’s wildlife, and the countryside habitats where they live.
Beautiful Dunwich Heath, in Suffolk, is now scorched black. A home for home for deer, birds and butterflies reduced to ash by a wildfire that ripped through the National Trust reserve last week.
Some animals escaped in time, but many were too small or slow to outrun the fire. And nobody can say if or when the woodland, heather and vegetation will recover.
Even strict fire-prevention measures weren’t enough to slow down the 130ft high flames as the inferno raced through the heath. And the forecast suggests temperatures could rise again after the weekend.
Many people struggle to get angry about climate change, because it’s hard to imagine the impact it will have on future generations.
Today, no imagination is necessary – the result is here for all to see.
Pubs
Miseryguts Tories in London want to ban standing up and ordering at the bar in pubs.
What next? No drinking? No talking? A crackdown on arguments over who the best Bond was?
At a time when our hospitality industry is struggling to stay afloat, wouldn’t this effort be better spent making it a crime to leave when it’s your round?
