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SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Identity, Empire & the Culture War
Byline Times explores the weaponisation of Britain’s past as a key tool in a dark project of division and distraction
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Lost At Sea: Untethered Britain in the Age of Emotion
As international leaders gather in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, Hadley Coull and Chris Ogden consider Britain’s unmoored identity in a volatile world
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Luftwaffle: Fantasy Nostalgia Betrays the Past, and the Present
Otto English explores the trend among Brexiters to summon myths about World War Two It’s a day of the week, so right-wingers are busy invoking World War Two again. In a country where virtually no-one goes to church any more, ‘The War’ has become a de-facto religion for many a Brexit-minded Conservative. And several have…
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More Right-Wing Public Appointments As Two GB News Presenters Awarded Culture Roles
Sam Bright reports on the latest in a string of Conservative allies appointed to public bodies
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Rebalancing the History Books: Why Learning About Colonialism Matters
To mark the start of Black History Month 2021, Almaz Ohene meets inspirational leaders in the younger generation fighting back against the Government’s divisive ‘culture war’
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The Real Culture Divides Being Masked by the Government’s ‘Culture War’
Nadine Dorries’ appointment as Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary is said to be turbo-charging the culture war – but a new report has found the real issue facing the cultural sector is structural inequality not ‘wokery’
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Metrified – or Petrified? The Return of Imperial Measures is the Ghost of a Dead Cat
Though it stands no chance of return, trading standards officer Pippa Musgrave explains why the nostalgia for imperial measures is a deflection from the problems of Brexit
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Murdoch and Morgan: The Reunion From Hell
Mic Wright unpicks the announcement of a new right-wing, Rupert Murdoch television station in the UK – and how it may have spotted a gap in the market following events at a certain beleaguered anti-woke news channel
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‘Ready for a Culture War’: Meet the ‘Common Sense’ Conservative MPs Behind the ‘Anti-Woke’ Manifesto
Otto English investigates the MPs behind the Common Sense Group, modelled on the ERG, which seeks to bring the vitriol of Brexit to the ‘War Against Woke’
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Poll Position: Survey on GB News Bias Reveals Bias
As Andrew Neil officially quits the right-wing television channel, Brian Cathcart reveals the spin on a recent opinion poll
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Fake History: The New Brexiter Great Crusade
In the second part of his look at Brexit ‘campaigning’ groups, Otto English explores the attempts of those trying to weaponise their versions of British history and turning it into an orthodoxy which cannot be challenged
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A Royal Cover-Up: The Hidden Hand of Monarchy Blocking the Public’s Right to See Lord Mountbatten’s Diaries
David Hencke reports on the long-running battle of historian Andrew Lownie against the Government over the release of documents which were bought on behalf of the public for millions of pounds by Southampton University The hidden hand of the Royal Family is behind the Government’s determination to stop the publication of some of the diaries…
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The History Racket: Blowing the Whistle on the Official Versions and Perversions of the Past
Peter Jukes and Hardeep Matharu explore the real threats to history – emanating not from ‘wokeists’ intent on rewriting the past but an establishment elite regularly burying inconvenient truths to maintain Britain’s mythic narratives
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Past Imperfect: Astroturfing History
As the battles of Brexit morph into a culture war, Otto English detects a pattern among the ‘concerned citizens’ demanding Britain ‘takes back control’ of its past
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Why We Need New Statues Reflecting Britain’s Diverse History
MP Preet Kaur Gill explains why she is backing a new campaign for public artwork commemorating people who are under-represented and forgotten in the country’s narratives about its past
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The Government is Crying Crocodile Tears Over Free Speech On Campuses
The Government’s Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will limit, rather than protect, academic freedom, argue Liz Fekete and Liam Shrivastava
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‘Deserving’ or ‘Undeserving’ Refugees? Johnson and Patel’s Afghanistan Problem
With a key pillar of the Government’s ‘culture war’ protecting our island nation from unpalatable ‘others’, Hardeep Matharu explores the crass and complex classifications at the heart of the Government’s neocolonial immigration policy
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Right-Wing Media’s Manufactured Fears Over ‘Blasphemy’ are Another Arm of the Culture War’s White Jingoist Agenda
Constructed fears around the return of blasphemy laws enable Islamophobia and distract from a reactionary recasting of British values, says Dr Richard McNeil-Willson
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Kicking Back: Why the Conservative ‘Culture Wars’ Backfired
Jon Bloomfield and David Edgar analyse a historic victory for anti-racism but warn that the ‘War on Woke’ isn’t over and that new alliances are needed
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The National Trust and the Culture War: A Dissection of Dishonest Journalism as a Tool of the ‘War on Woke’
Again and again, newspapers hounding the heritage body refuse to let facts get in their way, reports Brian Cathcart
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The Prime Monger: Johnson’s ‘Culture War’ is a Core Part of his Strategic Racism
Martin Shaw explains how Boris Johnson’s racist remarks are far from casual, and that fighting ‘woke’ anti-racism is an essential part of his ethno-nationalist electoral strategy
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Own Goal: Government Faces the Consequences of its Culture War
In this turning point in the ‘war on woke’ may be the seeds of a new revolution, says Jonathan Lis
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Raising Racism: Are We Witnessing Progress in How Parliament Discusses Race?
Natasha Livingstone looks at the data around the use of the term in Parliament and explores its importance
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Englishness Evolves
Otto English charts the different strands of English identity over the years and how a dark turn may now be giving way to something altogether more inclusive, decent and inspiring
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How Johnson Decries Racism Against Footballers While Implementing Legislation That Fuels a Racist Culture War
Ben Geblum analyses how recent legislation from the Higher Education Bill to the New Plan for Immigration undermines the Government’s recent anti-racist statements
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Government Accused of Being in Breach of UN Human Rights Obligations on Race
A new report undermines the Government’s claims that systemic racism is not an issue in the UK and that accusations of white privilege is undermining white boys’ educational attainment
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Vote Leave’s Tearing Up of the Rules Comes Back to Bite its Leaders
The ‘culture war’ waged by Boris Johnson and Priti Patel relies on fear and silence – which is why Tyrone Mings’ intervention has been so powerful and unprecedented, says Sam Bright
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A Pitched Battle: Johnson and Patel’s Culture War Flaw Finally Exposed
Peter Jukes and Hardeep Matharu argue that the racist abuse targeted at England’s black players has revealed why the Government’s attacks on ‘wokeism’ will not ultimately win out
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Extinguishing Political Fire and Fury: Kim Leadbeater and the Lessons of Keir Hardie
Reverend Joe Haward reflects on the Batley and Spen by-election, and the necessity for a more compassionate political climate
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Euro 2020: Football Cuts Through Westminster Deception to Reveal England’s Real Soul
Sam Bright explores why the Euros, like the 2012 Olympics, has revealed a more tolerant, unified country than vocal voices on the right aim to depict otherwise
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The Desperate ‘Deep Woke’ Attacks on Southgate’s Squad Speak for Themselves
The England football team, under its exceptional manager, has come to embody tolerance, fairness and unity, says Gary Gowers
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From George Orwell to Priti Patel: How Britain Brought its Colonial Policing Home
As the Metropolitan Police is judged to be institutionally corrupt, Hardeep Matharu and Peter Jukes explore how some of the biggest problems still plaguing British policing are embedded in the soil of British colonialism
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The Batley Battleground: A Microcosm of England’s Fractured Political Climate
The divisive, hostile forces that have plagued politics in recent years are now running wild in the West Yorkshire constituency, says Sam Bright
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The Brexit Project’s Appropriation of the ‘Left Behind’
Five years after the EU Referendum, Sam Bright considers how perceptions of Brexit-voting areas have been warped by radical right-wing forces
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Selective Free Speech: Academics Discussing Race Face the Real Cancel Culture
Black, Asian and ethnic minority academics and university staff increasingly encounter a ‘cancel culture’ when discussing race – as the usual free speech advocates stay silent, Sian Norris reports
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Education Committee Consulted Experts who have Dismissed White Privilege and Condemned ‘Feminist Zealots’ for New Report
MPs’ report on the disadvantages faced by white working-class pupils received submissions from people who call discussions of privilege ‘woke dogma’ and believe diversity drives are ‘racist’
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Free Speech: A Beginner’s Guide for Oliver Dowden
The Culture Secretary says he won’t allow Stop Funding Hate to undermine freedom of expression but sadly he just does not understand the concept, says Brian Cathcart
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Colston Reconfigured: A Fulcrum for Future Understanding
Hannah Charlton explores what the journey of the statue of a Bristol slavetrader is revealing about the wider historical moment the country finds itself in
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When Truth Matters More: The Case for Scrutinising GB News
We cannot simply ignore the new network, contends Sam Bright
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Our Young England Players are Using their Privilege to Make a Difference
Footballers have shown that wealth and fame do not have to stand in the way of campaigning for equality and justice, says Nathan O’Hagan
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God Save the Queen: Still Jousting in the Junior Common Room
Otto English doesn’t think the latest skirmish in the culture wars is a ‘dead cat’ but shows a generation of politicians bereft of ideas and obsessed with campus politics
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The Euros Present Another Chance for Conservatives to Advance their Culture War
Shane Thomas explores how notions of race, Englishness and football could be weaponised by the Prime Minister during Euro 2020
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Britain’s Airbrushed History and Its Aversion to Protest
An institutional ignorance towards past protests informs Britain’s modern day antipathy towards radical dissent, says Shafi Musaddique
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‘At Least the Nazis Kept the Lights On’: Brexit Amnesia Airbrushes Out Genocide in the Channel Islands
Yesterday the Channel Islands celebrated Liberation Day. Ben Gidley explains the grim realities of starving islanders and concentration camps
