Refreshingly Independent Politics – smerconish.com is to create a clearinghouse for non-ideological thinking. We want to give people a chance to contribute to, and consume media that isn’t predicated on the usual, extreme talking points of the polarized media. Instead, we aim to promote independent thinking and diversity of thought.
Tag: politics
theintercept.com
The Intercept is an award-winning news organization dedicated to holding mainstream views and misinformation.
Trump’s Executive Orders Are Full of Deadlines. We’re Tracking Them.
21 January 2025 @ 11:28 pm
The orders require drafting strategies to enforce the gender binary (within 30 days) and meetings on fighting DEI and environmental justice (monthly).
The post Trump’s Executive Orders Are Full of Deadlines. We’re Tracking Them. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump Promised a Russia–Ukraine Peace Deal. Where Is It?
21 January 2025 @ 10:29 pm
Trump boasted he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine as soon as he took office. That didn’t happen.
The post Trump Promised a Russia–Ukraine Peace Deal. Where Is It? appeared first on The Intercept.
DOGE Got Sued Three Times While Elon Musk Watched The Trump Inauguration
20 January 2025 @ 8:35 pm
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency flouts federal law, the lawsuits allege.
The post DOGE Got Sued Three Times While Elon Musk Watched The Trump Inauguration appeared first on The Intercept.
Nearly $1 Trillion: The Staggering Combined Net Worth Cheering at Trump’s Inauguration
20 January 2025 @ 8:00 pm
The ultra-rich have long held immense influence in U.S. politics. But Trump’s inauguration shows oligarchy is stronger than ever.
The post Nearly $1 Trillion: The Staggering Combined Net Worth Cheering at Trump’s Inauguration appeared first on The Intercept.
I Protested Trump’s First Inauguration. But I’m Not Marching Against Him Today.
20 January 2025 @ 9:00 am
There is little point in going to Washington today to oppose Trump’s return — Trumpism never left. There are more urgent tasks now.
The post I Protested Trump’s First Inauguration. But I’m Not Marching Against Him Today. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump Inauguration Official’s “Phony Charity” Allegedly Pocketed East Palestine Train Disaster Funds
19 January 2025 @ 6:52 pm
Under a settlement with Ohio’s attorney general, GOP operative Pat Lee can never fundraise for charity in the state again.
The post Trump Inauguration Official’s “Phony Charity” Allegedly Pocketed East Palestine Train Disaster Funds appeared first on The Intercept.
Why My Memories of Being Taken From My Mom at the Border Came Flooding Back
19 January 2025 @ 9:00 am
I was separated from my mom at age 10. Donald Trump's reelection has reignited my family's fears.
The post Why My Memories of Being Taken From My Mom at the Border Came Flooding Back appeared first on The Intercept.
Washington’s TikTok Ban Hypocrisy: Internet Censorship Is Good, Now
18 January 2025 @ 1:00 pm
With the Supreme Court approving the TikTok ban, the U.S. is embracing the type of internet authoritarianism it long opposed.
The post Washington’s TikTok Ban Hypocrisy: Internet Censorship Is Good, Now appeared first on The Intercept.
Biden Commuted Their Death Sentences. Now What?
18 January 2025 @ 12:00 pm
As three men challenge their commutations, others brace for imminent prison transfers and the finality of a life sentence with no chance of release.
The post Biden Commuted Their Death Sentences. Now What? appeared first on The Intercept.
CIA Leaker of Israel Intel Pleads Guilty Days Before Trump Takes Office
17 January 2025 @ 8:39 pm
“MUST FIND THE LEAKER!” Trump posted, decrying the damage to Israel when its Iran attack plans were made public.
The post CIA Leaker of Israel Intel Pleads Guilty Days Before Trump Takes Office appeared first on The Intercept.
questioneverything.io
To critically evaluate the global response to COVID-19 and present a series of responsible pandemic exit strategies to help ensure that total harms are minimised.
thefreedomcycle.com/pub/
THE PEOPLE’S UNION OF BRITAIN
Taking back sovereignty through common law.
goodlawproject.org
The Good Law Project is a not-for-profit campaign organisation that uses the law to protect the interests of the public. The Good Law Project fight cases that defend, define or change the law and we use litigation to engage and educate. The Good Law Project challenge abuses of power, exploitation, inequality, and injustice.
whocanivotefor.co.uk
An updated list of candidates you can vote for the up and coming UK elections.
politics.co.uk
Politics news from the UK.
Keir Starmer sends clear message to critics over Southport aftermath
21 January 2025 @ 1:27 pm
Rarely in politics or public life does a “first test” — that media expression referring to an early, unexpected event — prove so definitive in the long term. In July, far-right disorder erupted onto England’s streets following the spread of misinformation about the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport. False speculation suggested the... Read more »
The post Keir Starmer sends clear message to critics over Southport aftermath appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Keir Starmer says Southport murders ‘must be a line in the sand’ — full statement
21 January 2025 @ 9:25 am
Keir Starmer has delivered a statement from Downing Street on last summer’s knife attack in Southport, which left three young girls dead Axel Rudakubana, 18, yesterday pleaded guilty to murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July. The prime minister... Read more »
The post Keir Starmer says Southport murders ‘must be a line in the sand’ — full statement appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
‘Government has questions to answer’ about Southport attack aftermath, says Philp
21 January 2025 @ 8:22 am
A senior Conservative frontbencher has said the government must reveal “what they knew and when” about Southport killer Axel Rudakubana, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July. Chris Philp was asked on Tuesday morning why Prevent, the UK’s counter-extremism programme, had failed to stop Rudakubana... Read more »
The post ‘Government has questions to answer’ about Southport attack aftermath, says Philp appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Trump inauguration puts spotlight on Westminster’s MAGA cabal
20 January 2025 @ 2:28 pm
Later today, Donald Trump will return to the White House for a second historic term after he is sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. The official swearing-in service will take place indoors, on account of the bitter Washington DC weather, at around 5pm GMT. Trump’s second inaugural address will follow, before... Read more »
The post Trump inauguration puts spotlight on Westminster’s MAGA cabal appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
David Lammy: It is ‘right’ that Donald Trump reviews Chagos Islands deal
20 January 2025 @ 9:21 am
The foreign secretary has said it is “right” that the new US administration under Donald Trump is able to review the Chagos Islands deal, which the US president-elect is reportedly critical of. “It’s right and proper that the new administration is able to consider it”, David Lammy told BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme. Under the... Read more »
The post David Lammy: It is ‘right’ that Donald Trump reviews Chagos Islands deal appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
UK-US special relationship will ‘continue to flourish’ under Trump, says Starmer
20 January 2025 @ 8:32 am
Keir Starmer has congratulated Donald Trump ahead of his inauguration and said that the special relationship between the United States and UK “will continue to flourish for years to come”. The US president-elect will be sworn in to his second term in the White House later on Monday, eight years after he first took the... Read more »
The post UK-US special relationship will ‘continue to flourish’ under Trump, says Starmer appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Week-in-Review: The many problems with Kemi Badenoch’s ‘new leadership‘
18 January 2025 @ 11:22 am
Just how new is Kemi Badenoch’s “new leadership”? Not long ago, an embattled Conservative leader addressed a doubtful nation with designs to revive their party by “telling it as it is”. The country is exhausted with “politicians saying things, and then nothing ever changing”, they bemoaned. “Politics doesn’t work the way it should. We’ve had... Read more »
The post Week-in-Review: The many problems with Kemi Badenoch’s ‘new leadership‘ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Alberto Costa: ‘My bill will tackle microplastics and protect our rivers’
17 January 2025 @ 8:45 am
Of the many microplastics that are released into the environment, 35% are shed from clothing. So small that they are often imperceptible, microfibres have stayed under the policymaking radar for far too long. It is time we finally take microplastic pollution from clothing seriously. That is why I am introducing a bill that will tackle... Read more »
The post Alberto Costa: ‘My bill will tackle microplastics and protect our rivers’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
How the Liberal Democrats are learning to fight Keir Starmer
16 January 2025 @ 2:07 pm
During the general election campaign last year, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey pitched his party as the “Tory removal service”. It was a brutally effective metaphor. The Lib Dem electoral machine turfed out Tory after Tory in former fiefdom after erstwhile heartland in July 2024. The operation was ruthlessly efficient. In an interview ahead of... Read more »
The post How the Liberal Democrats are learning to fight Keir Starmer appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Negotiate UK-EU customs union to tear down ‘damaging’ Brexit barriers, Davey urges Starmer
15 January 2025 @ 10:30 pm
Ed Davey will call on the government to negotiate a new customs union with the European Union (EU) to “turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term.” Delivering his first major speech of 2025, the Liberal Democrat leader will criticise the government for ruling out a customs union arrangement with the EU, arguing such... Read more »
The post Negotiate UK-EU customs union to tear down ‘damaging’ Brexit barriers, Davey urges Starmer appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
artsparty.org.uk
Introducing arts thinking into politics and promoting creative, scientific and evidence based ideas that improve the lives of as many people as possible, while mindful of the few.
Arts Party Conference 2019
16 August 2019 @ 9:30 am
The Arts Party welcomes it’s first party conference from the heart of where water meets dirt, Brighton. We will be hosting debates for purposes of socialising, conversation and recreation. Located in Camelford Street, Brighton, BN2 1TQ, United Kingdom. All are welcome to attend, please use the contact form below to register your interest. [Fully booked]
The post Arts Party Conference 2019 appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Dinner for few
9 June 2019 @ 12:41 pm
A short and stark reminder of the state of play in politics today/yesterday. Thanks to a Dinner for a few, award winner from Nassos Vakalis. DINNER FOR FEW from Nassos Vakalis on Vimeo.
The post Dinner for few appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Scotland takes steps to put culture at the forefront of policy-making
6 July 2018 @ 9:31 am
A CULTURE STRATEGY FOR SCOTLAND – reflecting the past, challenging the present, shaping the future . The strategy seeks to stimulate a step change that will bring about a shift in how society and government view and value culture. It aims to build collaborative alliances that will help to realise the full potential of culture …
Continue reading "Scotland takes steps to put culture at the forefront of policy-making"
The post Scotland takes steps to put culture at the forefront of policy-making appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Arts teachers in decline
5 July 2018 @ 9:35 am
As well as a fall in teaching hours, the arts has lost almost a quarter (9000) of teachers working in secondary schools in England since 2011. Sourced from https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/arts-teacher-numbers-plummet-almost-quarter
The post Arts teachers in decline appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Why the Arts Matter
12 May 2018 @ 7:11 am
We’ve come across a great graphic that really sums up why the Arts matter – enjoy!
The post Why the Arts Matter appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Creativity and politics
17 April 2018 @ 11:19 am
Heather McGhee talks about the influence that music, film, and other arts can have on social change. https://thecreativeindependent.com/people/heather-mcghee-on-creativity-and-politics/
The post Creativity and politics appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Why is creativity the most important political concept of the 21st century?
17 April 2018 @ 11:15 am
There is no concept more politically important today than creativity. I’ll give four reasons why but first a definition. ‘Creative’ has narrow, broader and even broader connotations in English. It’s the last of these we should be most interested in. The narrow meaning immediately leads one to think of activities directly associated with the arts. …
Continue reading "Why is creativity the most important political concept of the 21st century?"
The post Why is creativity the most important political concept of the 21st century? appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Arts can help children avoid a lifetime of gang crime
14 April 2018 @ 11:05 am
Andria Zafirakou, who won the $1million title in Dubai last month, said subjects such as art, music and drama can transform the lives of vulnerable young people and give them the confidence to walk away from gangs. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/arts-can-help-children-avoid-a-lifetime-of-gang-crime-says-1m-prizewinning-teacher-a3813071.html
The post Arts can help children avoid a lifetime of gang crime appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Creativity and the arts in decline
1 February 2018 @ 11:34 am
Creative arts subjects are being cut back in many secondary schools in England, a BBC survey suggests. More than 1,200 schools responded – over 40% of secondary schools. Of the schools that responded, nine in every 10 said they had cut back on lesson time, staff or facilities in at least one creative arts subject. …
Continue reading "Creativity and the arts in decline"
The post Creativity and the arts in decline appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
Drawing the Future
20 January 2018 @ 10:34 am
A report launched by Education and Employers and found that children’s career aspirations only marginally differ from age 7 to age 17. It also showed that some sectors vital for economic health look set to be badly under-resourced in future. In the biggest survey of its kind, primary school children aged seven to 11 were …
Continue reading "Drawing the Future"
The post Drawing the Future appeared first on ARTS PARTY.
theyworkforyou.com
Keeping tabs on the UK’s parliaments & assemblies
Council Climate Action Scorecards “just help to raise awareness”
20 January 2025 @ 1:04 pm
The Council Climate Action Scorecards, a joint project between mySociety and Climate Emergency UK, have a twofold impact. On the one hand, they help people understand what their local council is doing to achieve their Net Zero targets; on the other, they help councils themselves to put their own action in context. When we saw…
WhoFundsThem Update: December
18 December 2024 @ 11:47 am
Here’s a quick pre-Christmas round-up of what the mySociety democracy team has been up to in the last few months! WhoFundsThem is our new project looking into MPs’ and APPGs’ financial interests. We want to improve the information available in TheWorkForYou, make better data available, and improve the standard of politics in the UK. We…
What have we learned about APPGs?
17 December 2024 @ 10:08 am
Our first round of information requests was a mixed bag: here’s what we learned and what we’re trying next. In mid-September we sent an information request to the 34 All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) that had been the first register of APPGs since the election. As we’ve written about before, APPGs can be a source…
Access to Information Network: legal framework masterclass
11 December 2024 @ 2:17 pm
If you’re trying to get the law changed, it can seem like a monumental task: where on earth do you start? One organisation that knows the answer is Access Info Europe: they have a long record of tirelessly working for better rights to information across the continent, and have systematised their approach. This month, their…
The Big Ben rule: reducing Parliamentary jargon
11 December 2024 @ 12:39 pm
The new House of Commons Modernisation Committee has made a call for submissions to reform House of Commons procedures, standards and working practices. We’re going to make a submission to the Committee, focused around a set of practical fixes. But there are also bigger issues that will take longer to work through. Over the next…
Democratic Transparency Organisations – moving beyond PMOs
10 December 2024 @ 3:44 pm
As part of our TICTeC work bringing together civic tech practitioners, we are running a community of practice for Parliamentary Monitoring Organisations (“PMOs”). The other week we ran a session looking at “Subnational PMOs”, and this blog post is to work through what I’ve learned from the speakers, why that was a bad name for…
November 2024 Notes from the ATI network
5 December 2024 @ 11:58 am
As this will be the last monthnotes of 2024 (because on New Years Eve we’ll be looking back at the past year and toasting to the wonderful strides we’ve all made in our work in 2024) we here at mySociety’s transparency team wanted to wish you all a happy holidays and a fantastic new year…
To fix Parliament, fix the Public Ombudsman
4 December 2024 @ 3:13 pm
The new House of Commons Modernisation Committee has made a call for submissions to reform House of Commons procedures, standards and working practices. We’re going to make a submission to the Committee, focused around a set of practical fixes. But there are also bigger issues that will take longer to work through. Over the next…
Call for participants
2 December 2024 @ 11:42 am
mySociety wants to help you use FOI in a campaign or advocacy project mySociety has the capacity to support a limited number of organisations working with marginalised populations in the UK. We’ll help you to make and analyse Freedom of Information (FOI) requests so you can use the data in your campaigning and advocacy. Sounds…
Using citizen assemblies to set standards and support for MPs
28 November 2024 @ 10:18 am
The new House of Commons Modernisation Committee has made a call for submissions to reform House of Commons procedures, standards and working practices. We’re going to make a submission to the Committee, focused around a set of practical fixes. But there are also bigger issues that will take longer to work through. Over the next…