new authoritarianism

Labour bans NEC members from meeting with Forde

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Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-Commercial use.

Elected representatives told they can’t meet with barrister commissioned to investigate leaked Labour report – who has said party is not tackling racism and treats other forms as less important than supposed antisemitism

As Skwawkbox reported last week, Martin Forde KC has gone public on the Starmer regime’s lack of response to his report – commissioned originally as part of Keir Starmer’s ‘long grass’ tactics after the leak of a party report exposing widespread racism, fraud and sabotage by Labour right-wingers but one that inconveniently confirmed the leaked report’s accuracy and the endemic racism of the Labour right.

Labour has tried to claim that its national executive (NEC) is engaging with the report and to persuade us that everything is in hand as it should be, with the unsurprising collusion of right-wing NEC members. But the nonsense of this claim has been exposed by one of the elected left-wing members still on the NEC, who revealed that the NEC members supposed to be addressing Forde’s report and his recommendations has been blocked from meeting him:

Black Labour MP Dawn Butler confirmed that this refusal to allow a meeting has nothing to do with Forde’s availability or willingness to meet:

The Starmer regime’s whitewash of the deep-rooted and unchecked racism of its faction continues – eagerly aided and abetted by its media allies, who have resolutely ignored every revelation of the Labour right’s racism, war on democracy and the sabotage of the Corbyn leadership, despite the recent and detailed ‘Labour Files’ documentary series by Al Jazeera.

Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-Commercial use.

Continue ReadingLabour bans NEC members from meeting with Forde

Civicus rates UK civil liberties and democracy alongside Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary and Burkina Faso in annual survey, amid government’s war on civil rights – but there will be no improvement under a Starmer government

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Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-Commercial use.

The map of Civicus-rated countries

The UK’s democracy and civil life have been downgraded to ‘obstructed’ in the Civicus annual survey of almost two hundred countries, because of the Tories’ assault on rights of protest and strike. ‘Obstructed’ is just one level above the ‘repressed’ status of countries such as Kazakhstan, Guatemala or Jordan and puts the UK on a par with countries like Burkina Faso, Hungary and Kyrgyzstan.

In fact, the UK’s rating should arguably be worse, as the Civicus index does not appear to take into account the importance of functional political media to hold governments to account and the UK’s media structure is fundamentally broken, with most media acting as Establishment mouthpieces, apologists and cheerleaders on many issues, keeping the public in the dark and suppressing unrest.

Tragically for the people of this country, the situation is likely to get worse rather than better. ‘Opposition’ leader Keir Starmer, a ‘long-time servant of the security state’ has amply demonstrated that is fully on board with the government’s attacks on democratic and civil rights and on proper journalism.

Since the assault on Corbyn’s Labour succeeded, the UK continues to slide into fascism.

Original article republished from the Skwawkbox for non-Commercial use.

Continue ReadingCivicus rates UK civil liberties and democracy alongside Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary and Burkina Faso in annual survey, amid government’s war on civil rights – but there will be no improvement under a Starmer government

Hundreds of experts sign letter against government’s anti-asylum seeker Bill

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Demonstrators protesting against the Illegal Migration Bill in Parliament Square, London, during the second reading of the the bill in the House of Commons this evening. Picture date: Monday March 13, 2023.

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/hundreds-experts-sign-letter-against-governments-asylum-seeker-bill

HUNDREDS of academic experts signed a joint letter today, condemning the Tory government’s anti-asylum seeker Bill as “not evidence based, workable or legal under human rights law.”

More than 300 scholars from mostly British universities warned that the Illegal Migration Bill will not stop small boats crossing the Channel but would increase “the chance of death” as people are funnelled into more dangerous journeys.

The letter – published online and in The Times newspaper – called the legislation, which cleared its first Commons hurdle on Monday, a “deterrence approach” by ministers in response to increasing numbers fleeing war and persecution.

But the experts warned that there is “no evidence that we are aware of to suggest that deterrence-based approaches are effective.”

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/hundreds-experts-sign-letter-against-governments-asylum-seeker-bill

Continue ReadingHundreds of experts sign letter against government’s anti-asylum seeker Bill

The **unofficial** Android update didn’t go well

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Thanks for making my heightened surveillance status so obvious – you couldn’t have made it more obvious really. A dodgy unannounced Android update that refuses to install smoothly, browsers on my lappy refusing to work as before – so that I can’t make purchases from shops that I use regularly. Surely I wouldn’t notice that?

If anyone is overseeing Sue-Ellen Braverman, please ask her why she is putting a political opponent under intrusive surveillance for me.

15/3/23: political opponent is probably the wrong term. The point I’m making is that these actions are for political rather than any legitimate purpose.

Continue ReadingThe **unofficial** Android update didn’t go well

BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of ‘rightwing backlash’

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https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/10/david-attenborough-bbc-wild-isles-episode-rightwing-backlash-fears

Exclusive: Decision to make episode about natural destruction available only on iPlayer angers programme-makers

The BBC has decided not to broadcast an episode of Sir David Attenborough’s flagship new series on British wildlife because of fears its themes of the destruction of nature would risk a backlash from Tory politicians and the rightwing press, the Guardian has been told.

The decision has angered the programme-makers and some insiders at the BBC, who fear the corporation has bowed to pressure from lobbying groups with “dinosaurian ways”.

The BBC strongly denied this was the case and insisted the episode in question was never intended for broadcast.

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Caroline Lucas, the Green party MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: “For the BBC to censor of one of the nation’s most informed and trusted voices on the nature and climate emergencies is nothing short of an unforgivable dereliction of its duty to public service broadcasting. This government has taken a wrecking ball to our environment – putting over 1,700 pieces of environmental legislation at risk, setting an air pollution target which is a decade too late, and neglecting the scandal of our sewage-filled waterways – which cannot go unexamined and unchallenged by the public.

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Chris Packham, who presents Springwatch on the BBC, also criticised the decision. He told the Guardian: “At this time, in our fight to save the world’s biodiversity, it is irresponsible not to put that at the forefront of wildlife broadcasting.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/mar/10/david-attenborough-bbc-wild-isles-episode-rightwing-backlash-fears

Continue ReadingBBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of ‘rightwing backlash’