Sep 4Member-onlyWhy ‘homosexual’ is loaded with stigmaThe English language is a funny thing. It lacks consistent rules. The meaning of a word can vary wildly dependent on context, and who is saying it. The meanings and implications of words can shift dramatically in relatively short spaces of time. And this brings me on to the word…7 min read7 min read
Jan 13Member-onlyThoughts on my Dad and death, 5 years onMy dad died 5 years ago today, and so I thought I’d write down a jumbled mess of thoughts, because I’ve personally found it really helpful to hear other people’s experiences (so, please, do dive in). We don’t have a healthy vocabulary when it comes to death: we often don’t…6 min read6 min read
Jun 20, 2022Member-onlyMacron is the handmaiden of fascism: and what that tells us about ‘centrism’For a long time, the dominant media narrative about French politics — one particularly peddled by self-styled ‘centrist’ pundits — was that the left was possessed with so much irrational hatred for French President Emmanuel Macron, that they would either abstain or even vote en masse for far-right candidate Marine…France5 min readFrance5 min read
Mar 22, 2022Member-onlyCycling is overwhelmingly safe — but needs to be made saferYesterday, on the Jeremy Vine Show, we discussed the case of a cyclist who faces being prosecuted or fined after he reported a driver using a phone, because he blocked a van while doing so. Now, I argued against him either being prosecuted or fined, and pointed out that cars…Travel4 min readTravel4 min read
Mar 16, 2022Member-onlyWhy you can’t separate the T from LGBThe rights of an entire minority deserve better than being debated through the prism of a psychodrama involving a children’s author, no matter how many books they have sold, nor how beloved those books may be. The cycle is now predictable: JK Rowling presses ‘send tweet’ on yet another explosive…Gay5 min readGay5 min read
Mar 4, 2022What does the Birmingham Erdington by-election tell us about Labour’s chances of winning a general election?Labour have triumphed in the Birmingham Erdington by-election, with former nurse Paulette Hamilton — who was subjected to a series of right-wing attacks on the eve of polling — gaining a 3,266 majority. As the city’s first Black MP, Hamilton has much to be proud of. For supporters of Keir…Keir Starmer3 min readKeir Starmer3 min read
Sep 6, 2021No, Jews did not collaborate in their own genocideFollowing Ken Loach’s statement that he had been expelled from the Labour party, I sent a tweet declaring that kicking out Britain’s “greatest living film maker while readmitting Trevor Phillips” told you “all you need to know about the state of the current Labour party.” It’s a tweet I stand…Holocaust17 min readHolocaust17 min read
Aug 6, 2021The lies of anti-trans rights activists need to be rebutted once and for allPolitics is, more often than not, about the exercise of power rather than truth. A narrative does not need to be honest to triumph: it simply needs to become the commonsense of the powerful. Opponents of the trans rights’ movement — who have the active support of nearly all major…LGBT9 min readLGBT9 min read
Apr 5, 2021Transphobia was always going to end up as crude, old-fashioned homophobiaWhy does anyone want to be a parent, with all the stress, exhaustion, and often thankless turmoil it can entail? A simple answer is a very basic instinctive urge implanted in our genes to ensure we procreate and ensure the survival of our species, codified in very powerful and often…LGBTQ9 min readLGBTQ9 min read
Oct 16, 2020Writing an honest account of Corbynism and its defeat: my response to Len McCluskeyLen McCluskey is a titan of the labour movement and, to my mind, a trade union leader defined by courage, principle and determination. Vilified by the British corporate media, the Unite union in general, and McCluskey in particular, played a pivotal role in the rise of the British left in…Owen Jones15 min readOwen Jones15 min read