George Newth

Starmer has enabled the far-right – promises of ‘progressive patriotism’ are no longer enough After the unite the kingdom rally, the flag raising campaigns of recent weeks now look like astroturfing.

Some thoughts below in The Conversation on Starmer's feeble attempt at a 'progressive fightback' against the far right

theconversation.com/starmer-has-...

A generous, well-written, and thorough review of 'Fathers of the Lega' by @amycking.bsky.social
'Richly researched and grounded in scholarly debates [...]
Newth’s book reminds us that ideological strands thought to be dormant may yet re-emerge in new contexts'
www.jbe-platform.com/content/jour...

My review of Yannis Stavrakakis' 'Populist Discourse: Recasting Populism Research' has been published by Perspectives on Politics. The book is a great read for anybody interested in populism, and politics in general. Review is not Open Access so let me know if you would like a copy
lnkd.in/eJxRYe9E

This is of course the logic behind the ban. Proscribing not just a direct action protest group, but the very cause of a free Palestine itself

Section 28 all over again. Shameful beyond belief

A few of my mates were there. Bastards…I would absolutely love to see them live

They never wanted to just proscribe Palestine Action, they want to turn everyone who supports the liberation of Palestine from Zionist settler colonialism into being designated as terrorists

Starmer legitimising the most recent far right mobilisations around Asylum Hotels is a new low, but honestly the frequency at which he sinks to new depths is breath-taking. This is why his claim to 'regret' his 'islands of strangers' comments should be immediately discarded

What Brothers of Italy shares with its post-fascist predecessors Does Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy share similarities with its post-fascist predecessors? New research finds a mixed picture of continuity and change.

💥New: What Brothers of Italy shares – and does not share – with its neo-fascist and post-fascist predecessors

✍️ @mlorimer.bsky.social & Matteo Cavallaro blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...

How could he, when he is parroting the same hateful rhetoric which adds fuel to the fire?

More than 50 protesters across UK arrested for allegedly holding signs supporting Palestine Action ‘Dozens’ arrested in Parliament Square on Saturday, with demonstrations across the UK prompting police action

More than 50 protesters across UK arrested for allegedly holding signs supporting Palestine Action www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

In search of Labour’s ‘working people’ – the paradox at the heart of Keir Starmer’s first year in power The new Labour government is pitching “change” to “working people” but it needs to update its idea of who these people are.

More on this below:
theconversation.com/in-search-of...

Unite votes to suspend Angela Rayner membership over Birmingham bin strikes Union, to which deputy PM may not belong, also votes to reconsider ties with Labour if council forces through redundancies

This comes on the same day as the Health Secretary doubles-down on a refusal to to restore doctor's pay. Whether keeping streets clean or treating patients, workers are only part of Labour's 'Working People' if they play by the rules of Securonomics
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Migrant deal will be seen as failure if numbers don't fall The

Exactly. Which is why further to being an inhumane and morally bankrupt policy, it is incredibly stupid. When it fails, Reform and Farage will be able to claim they have the answer, and Starmer will inevitably lurch even further to the right...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Happy to share my first published article based on my PhD in Party Politics with @journals.sagepub.com in open access!

doi.org/10.1177/1354...

There is undoubtedly a lot of truth in this thread, but I would also highlight more structural problems in academic publishing. Not least gatekeeping and/or overly zealous peer-review which, in the “publish or perish” environment of neoliberal academia reinforce many academic writing norms

The Imaginary Queer Prison: The Possibilities and Limitations of ‘Queering’ the Prison

My full and final PhD thesis can now be accessed online. This is an alt format thesis that explores safety in queer spaces, LGBTQ+ experiences in women's prisons and the concept of 'queering' the prison
researchportal.bath.ac.uk/en/studentTh...

Every. Time

Musk really turned his AI into a Hitlerbot. Wild.

Racism, misinformation and self-serving agendas are a terrible basis for child protection, victim support and justice for survivors.

Important interview with @louiseraw.bsky.social for @beyondslavery.bsky.social

Had an amazing time today discussing some of the key findings from my research project on AI and the far-right riots in the UK at #STR2025. Thanks for having me @royalholloway.bsky.social @lizzypearson.bsky.social @ashkingdon.bsky.social @socterres.bsky.social

At Pride in London security came on stage to stop someone from waving a Palestine flag during Chaka Khan's performance on the main stage.

27 people — including a priest, professor and health workers — were arrested today under terrorism laws.

Their crime? Peacefully holding signs opposing genocide.

This is how we sleepwalk into fascism.

Today the order banning #PalestineAction as "terrorists" came into effect. But they are not terrorists. They are protesters trying to stop a genocide. This is a "first they came for ..." situation. Unless we stand in solidarity against this assault on our freedom, they will pick us off one by one.

An increasingly rotten society

Know that this Home Secretary would have banned the Suffragettes.

End arms sales to Israel.

End the genocide.

Free Palestine. 🇵🇸

In search of Labour’s ‘working people’ – the paradox at the heart of Keir Starmer’s first year in power The new Labour government is pitching “change” to “working people” but it needs to update its idea of who these people are.

I published a piece in @uk.theconversation.com
on Starmer's use of the term 'working people', his pitting of this demographic against 'non-working people', and what this can tell us about the chaos and confusion of his Labour government's first term. See below
theconversation.com/in-search-of...

‘Post-fascism’, or how the far right talks about itself: the 2022 Italian election campaign as a case study While the mainstreaming of the far right is attracting growing scholarly interest based on its contemporary relevance, the role that far-right self-representation strategies play in this process ha...

Mine and @k8ebrown.bsky.social's article on normalisation strategies of the far right in Italy has been assigned an issue in @critdiscstuds.bsky.social Sadly, the normalisation/legitimation strategies we identify are certainly not unique to Italian politics...
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Interview: Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming (George Newth) - Reactionary Politics Research Network This interview is based on George Newth et al's article 'Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming' (2025)

'History teaches us that restricting resistance to reactionary politics to the electoral arena is a fundamentally flawed strategy, encouraging a circumvented view of democracy which can be weaponised by the far right.'

Important point from @georgenewth.bsky.social

reacpol.net/far-right-ma...