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Assisted dying bill rejected in Scotland

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Assisted dying bill rejected in Scotland

MSPs have recently voted on the controversial assisted dying bill, subsequently rejecting the bill. After an intense and emotional debate, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults bill was defeated in Scotland by 69 votes to 57.

Liberal Democrat Liam McArthur tabled the proposal which would have allowed medical help for terminally-ill, mentally competent adults to end their lives.

To attempt to win the vote, several amendments were made by McArthur. Even so, his efforts failed at the bills third reading.

Assisted dying coercion: too big a risk for Scotland MSPs

The debate was unsurprisingly emotionally intense, with many passionately speaking to their reasoning behind their support, or lack thereof, for the proposed bill. Supporters emphasised the relief it could provide to terminally ill Scots and their families, while critics raised significant concerns about the risk of misuse or coercion.

Amidst heated debate, some maintained that the focus should be on improving palliative care, ensuring that choosing to live is easier than choosing to die. Others argued that the two approaches are not mutually exclusive, and that we can both strengthen palliative care whilst supporting those who wish to have control over their deaths.

On X, MSP Dr Pam Gosal gave her reasoning behind her voting against assisted dying:

MSPs stood firm insisting that the risk for coercion is too great as it would potentially lead to the deaths of vulnerable people, particularly disabled Scots or women living under domestic abuse.

Disabled MSP Jeremy Balfour voted against and pleaded with his fellow colleagues to do likewise:

Poorly run state could incentivise people to end their lives

Likewise, SNP’s Ruth Maguire voted against the bill, speaking about how this might have shown up in her life. Maguire was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer in 2021:

It’s not a free choice if you do not have access to good palliative care.

Adding:

My blood runs cold thinking about sitting in a room in hospital and having a doctor raise [assisted dying] with me as we weigh up treatment options.

Recent polling indicates that a majority in Scotland share MSPs’ concerns about the effects of underfunded state services. Inadequate palliative care, NHS provision, or social care could indirectly pressure disabled and vulnerable people toward seeking assistance to end their lives.

Slater: “We should all have the right to choose”

On the other hand, strong arguments were also given in support of the bill. This highlights how there is a need for a serious conversation about how we help those who are suffering with terminal illnesses whilst not risking the safety of those who might face undue influence.

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Former Green co-leader Lorna Slater spoke of her father’s assisted death in Canada, fighting back tears she recounted her heartbreaking farewell to her father as “beautiful”. She stated:

We should all have the right to choose.

The SNP’s George Adam referred to his wife watching in the public gallery, who has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), saying:

If the worst should ever come to her, if she was ever facing that unbearable suffering at the end of life, she would want a choice.

Conservative MSP and NHS GP Sandesh Gulhane quoted a patient who insisted:

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You wouldn’t let a dog die like this.

Unperturbed, McArthur is continuing with trying to pass the bill:

Autonomy for all

This issue has generated deeply emotional debate on both sides, each advancing legitimate arguments over the substance of the bill. In essence, the issue of autonomy is at the core of this crucial and necessary conversation.

One side feels they have no control over how they live their final months. The other fears losing that control – and even their lives – against their wishes.

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Both deserve autonomy, yet the debate sets them against one another.

The establishment has taken so much away from vulnerable people across the country, they rightly fear how that establishment might coerce them into their own demise. All the while, society has long ignored the suffering of terminally ill people. And, a hostility to disabled people is baked into our culture. It is little wonder, then, that the assisted dying debate is so emotional.

A solution must be found that prioritises autonomy for both groups. Not leave a suffering group with no autonomy, for fear another group might lose theirs. Compassion and dignity need not be a zero-sum equation.

Featured image via the Canary

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Hegseth: Iran War Not ’Forever War’

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Hegseth: Iran War Not ’Forever War’

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Farage makes pep talk video for neo-Nazis

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Farage makes pep talk video for neo-Nazis

The Guardian has gone through 4,366 video clips that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has made since 2021. And it has shown that, as part of his £374,893+ side hustle, Farage has happily performed for neo-Nazis. He may claim he made mistakes, but his consistent dog-whistling suggests he knows exactly what he’s doing.

Farage has received money on the Cameo platform to make videos for all sorts of fans. He recorded messages:

  • For a man who got 16 months in jail for participating in far-right riots, which Farage labelled “absolutely outrageous”.
  • Dog-whistling around the far-right phrase “If in doubt, kick them out”. As the Guardian said, “Farage uses – or more often alludes to – the hardline anti-immigration phrase more than 20 times”. In doing so, Dr Ashton Kingdon insisted, he was “choosing to cultivate this audience and to speak its language back to it”.
  • Happily saying “up the Rhodesia”, despite that likely referring to the historical white supremacist ethnostate in Africa.
  • Voluntarily referring to antisemitic conspiracy theories, saying: “Is it the Bilderbergers that are running the world? … It could be the Masons. Some think it’s the Rothschilds. Maybe it’s George Soros. I don’t know. What I do know is actually I don’t think any of it is a conspiracy theory.”
  • For people who, as the Guardian said, “openly expressed offensive views in their prompts”.

The most shocking video, however, gave what the Guardian describes as:

a pep talk for Canadian neo-Nazis

Farage endorsing neo-Nazis? Sounds about right.

One video, the Guardian explained, wanted Farage to:

endorse the “Road Rage Terror Tour”, a Canadian show hosted by “Jeremy MacKenzie, Derek Harrison and Alex Vriend”. A quick Google would have revealed to Farage the extremist nature of the individuals and their event.

MacKenzie, Harrison and Vriend are leaders of Diagolon, a group identified as a “Canadian far-right ‘extremist’ group” by the US state department in 2022.

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Diagolon’s website advertised a book alluding to Adolf Hitler called Meme Kampf and the group’s extremist slogan – “they have to go back” – was a nod to the forced repatriation of migrants.

Farage apparently didn’t do a quick search to find out more about the event. Instead, the Guardian said:

he duly obliged, starting his video: “They have to go back.” Farage’s message then encouraged “Andrea” to attend what he said was “the most talked-about show in Canada”. “Why not give it a go?” Farage said. “You never know, you might walk out saying, ‘Road Rage Terror Tour is the best thing that ever happened.’”

The neo-Nazi group quickly clipped up the video and used it in their propaganda. This included one video, the Guardian reported:

in which a leader of Diagolon makes shooting noises and gestures while saying: “I just saw you were brown and I couldn’t help myself.”

In another, the paper added:

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Farage’s Cameo clip featured alongside white nationalist and antisemitic messaging

A representative for the far-right group itself said it showed Farage:

being lazy and stupid enough to say anything for a dollar

Farage, meanwhile, pleaded ignorance. A spokesperson said he had been using Cameo “without knowledge of the individuals”.

But we reckon Farage knows exactly what he’s doing.

Featured image via the Canary

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Israel tries to murder RT journalists in Lebanon

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There is no 'liberal' Zionism: Polanski criticised over fluffed LBC interview

The Israeli occupation has tried to murder RT‘s Lebanon bureau chief Steve Sweeney and his cameraman Ali Rida. Both men were wounded in the attack.

Sweeney was speaking to camera in southern Lebanon about Israel’s illegal invasion and resistance responses when an Israeli missile roared in, narrowly missing the two men – who were both clearly identified as press:

Sweeney has said that he is fine and has already had shrapnel from the bomb removed. Rida said:

We were wearing [press] uniform. The Israeli enemy targeted us deliberately.

Israel has repeatedly killed and maimed journalists in Lebanon, copying its tactics that have murdered hundreds of journalists and their families in Gaza.

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FIFA pressed over security risks ahead of 2026 World Cup

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FIFA pressed over security risks ahead of 2026 World Cup

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is entering an early stage of testing, caught between political pressure and security concerns. These concerns extend beyond the stadium and threaten the true image of the sport.

European Commissioner for Sport, Glenn Micallef, escalated his criticism of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, condemning what he described as a lack of clarity and responsiveness to growing European concerns about the safety of spectators.

EU Commissioner presses FIFA

As the largest World Cup in history approaches, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, warnings are mounting about the repercussions of geopolitical tensions, following Trump’s illegal assault against Iran.

Micallef revealed that his sole meeting with Infantino in Brussels did not translate into concrete steps, despite his explicit demand for clear guarantees regarding the safety of European fans. He emphasised that the lack of follow-up from FIFA raises serious questions.

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He stated:

When a host country is involved in a war, providing security assurances becomes a given, not an option.

Public safety challenges

European concerns are not limited to the political dimension. They extend to the security situation within the host countries. In the US, certain measures related to stricter surveillance and immigration are also causing anxiety. Meanwhile, Mexico is facing a rising wave of violence, particularly in areas considered potential World Cup hosting venues.

FIFA maintains that fan safety is a top priority, expressing confidence in the ability of the host countries to provide a safe environment.

However, this stance has not entirely dispelled European doubts, amid calls for greater transparency and detailed information.

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A dispute beyond security

The tension between the two sides wasn’t limited to security matters; it extended to the nature of FIFA’s partnerships. Micallef expressed reservations about cooperating with initiatives supported by US President Donald Trump, arguing that this opens the door to increased politicisation of sports.

Conversely, he called for stronger partnerships with multilateral international organisations such as UNESCO and UNICEF, in line with the rules of the international system and to reduce polarisation.

In a broader context, the European official warned of transformations threatening the structure of sports on the continent, pointing to the National Basketball Association’s project to launch a European league and its move towards “closed leagues,” which contradicts the principle of sporting merit.

He also stressed the need to prevent the use of sporting competitions as tools for political propaganda, alluding to the renewed debate surrounding the participation of countries involved in military conflicts.

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A test beyond football

These statements reflect a new reality where sport intersects with security and political considerations in an unprecedented way, transforming major tournaments into testing grounds for international influence and power balances.

Between FIFA’s assurances and European pressures, Gianni Infantino finds himself facing a complex challenge: managing a global tournament in a turbulent environment without compromising the game’s essence.

In this context, the question no longer concerns the readiness of stadiums, but rather football’s ability to remain out of the line of fire.

Featured image via White House, Instagram

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Kristian Guise: A Tory revival lies in the centre-right not on the failing altar of the New-Right

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Why the Conservatives need new faces again

Kristian Guise, is an undergraduate studying modern history and politics at the University of Southampton.

It’s been nearly two years since Starmer’s government won a landslide majority and eighteen months since the Conservative Party elected Kemi Badenoch as Leader of the Party.

Badenoch herself is a New-Right Tory and began by appointing vocal New-Right leaning members to His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition (e.g. yes, the now defector, Robert Jenrick, and still in post, Priti Patel) whilst those appointed members who’d come from a more one-nation background were far less forthcoming with their opinions.

This creates a problem for the Tories because, as the Party moves further to Right we leave more and more of our traditional One-Nation voters behind and fail to present ourselves as a political party with a broad vision. Failure to recognise this will not only cost us the next election but our hold on political relevance. As an 18-year-old member of the Party I believe the Tories should shift policies, rhetoric and vision to the centre-right to win the next General Election.

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Since Brexit there has been a continuing movement of ideology and policy Right-ward, propelled by the rise of Reform – the recipients, now, of the services of the aforementioned Jenrick) The Conservative Party has begun to mimic not out-think Reform.

Take the issue of the European Union (EU) and Immigration.

Both policy issues were debated in the past in conversations that were much more constructive despite disagreements amongst members. However, in recent times, there has been a rapid conversion of the Tories to negativity within a focus on binary policymaking. Now there are few Tory MPs, let alone Shadow Cabinet members, who are willing to robustly debate EU and Immigration policy in the way the Party for so long espoused. Mrs Thatcher, for example, was, along with other members of her Cabinet, a Euro-sceptic. Yet this outlook did not prevent the inclusion of vociferous pro-European voices in her Cabinet (Geoffrey Howe was one who as Chancellor of the Exchequer resigned in 1990 over the issue of a single European currency) This shows, despite his resignation that even Thatcher’s government (seen, rightly or wrongly, as the Golden Age of Conservatism for many of today’s Shadow Cabinet members) had high-ranking Cabinet members with strongly held, pro-European sentiments.

That approach to Cabinet inclusivity contrasts with the way the Conservative Party has shifted in their tolerance of different views on the issues of the EU (and Immigration). This significant shift to the Right, I believe, has largely been brought about by a sense of apprehension about the rise of Reform. Where once there was no political alternative for Tory right-wing voters, now they find an option which not only competes but beats them in most instances with higher polling ratings amongst voters and success in local elections upon which Reform builds yet further support.

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The Conservative Party’s wasteful mimicry of Reform to retain the support of right-wing voters has cost us, and will continue to cost us, votes. It is the opposite of what we need.

This is for one simple reason: we cannot out-Reform the Reform Party. They were founded on divisive, New-Right focused policies and values, the Tories were not. In an important contrast that should not be overlooked, our Party was founded in 1834 by Sir Robert Peel and a few decades later moulded by Benjamin Disraeli into a party of One-Nation principles and values. With this history in mind and our future in view I call for a return to the centre-right. Surely, we must accept mimicry of Reform is no substitute for originality. What is needed is for the members of today, younger and older, to rise up with vote-catching policies of positivity and pragmatism that offer hope for the UK’s over-taxed and under-rewarded people.

Another case for adopting centre-right policy and, as important, robust rhetoric is the electoral reality that our future majority will be found in the centre ground. The 2024 General Election taught us that. The Liberal Democrat Party (Lib Dems) achieved 72 seats in the House of the Commons. This is the biggest number of seats the party has won since being founded in 1988. This was achieved because they scooped up middle ground voters, including many One-Nation Tories.

One-Nation Tories and other middle ground voters gave their vote to the Lib Dems because they had had enough of the Tory Party and by July 2024 felt alienated. A key reason for such alienation was the poor economic performance that occurred under the Tories. Namely Liz Truss’ ‘Mini-Budget’ which devastated the £ and damaged the economy. Once again, a New-Right Conservative did not pay heed to One-Nation principles of pragmatism opting instead for unfunded, unplanned tax cuts that were unsustainable and, as Labour love to keep reminding the British public at PMQs, Truss “crashed the economy”[3].

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This constant focus on New-Right policies has cost the Tory Party in recent years and is why it is imperative the Party return to the centre-right. Without this shift, millions of middle ground votes will continue to be cast for the Lib Dems. Out of the last three elections where the Conservative Party obtained a majority in the Commons, two were won on One-Nation principles and the other (under Boris Johnson) was also delivered by One-Nation policies.

Since the 1945 General Election there have been twenty-two General Elections, around half won by centre-right policies. This highlights how crucial a well-articulated, vocal and visible centre-right position is for winning elections and why the Conservative Party should adopt a centre-right approach to attract and regain the trust of middle ground voters to win the next General Election.

Embracing the centre-right improves our electability by shedding the baggage of the past 10 years since Brexit. Former Prime Minister David Cameron launched the EU Referendum in 2016 as an attempt to quell the growing tension within the Conservative Party, we have struggled because we have not adhered to our One-Nation roots haunted by the conflicts borne of Brexit. Just as Macbeth never rid himself of Banquo’s ghost, we shall never rid ourselves of the ghost of Brexit until we firmly and positively abandon New-Right principles.

First, accept Brexit’s failures, for without acceptance we can never win anything.

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Secondly, make the evidently necessary decision to harness the Party’s policies to centre-right values. Our Party should celebrate young voices. Highlighting their 21st century vision of tomorrow. Unless there is radical change and a vocal, well-articulated move towards the centre-right my Party will fall into the abyss of political irrelevance until we find ourselves with little influence, a third party eking out a subsistence lifestyle.

The trifecta of challenges I outline (dangerous mimicry of Reform, majority of votes being in the middle ground and no policies of positivity to improve our electability) show the Party must shift towards the centre-right, adopt One-Nation principles and be seen and heard to do so!

Our next test comes in May when 32 London Boroughs, 32 Metropolitan Boroughs and 10 directly elected Mayoral offices go to the polls.

With May in the forefront of my mind I’d argue a Tory revival lies in the centre-right not on the failing altar of the New-Right.

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Liverpool hosts continuous trauma seminar

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Liverpool hosts continuous trauma seminar

Liverpool Friends of Palestine (LFP) and the Palestine Trauma Centre (PTC) are holding a free event on the evening of 25 March in the Toxteth area of the city.

Titled “Continuous Trauma: the mental health impacts of the genocide in Gaza”, the event features PTC patron Gwyn Daniel, The venue is Crawford House, Upper Warwick Street L8 8DN and doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start:

Scientific studies of the psychological impacts of Israel’s genocide in Gaza show the horrific trauma inflicted on survivors, especially children, describing it as an “irreversible human catastrophe” that leaves children in constant fear and suffering the deepest imaginable post-traumatic stress, if they survive long enough amid the ongoing slaughter.

Featured image via Liverpool Friends of Palestine

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The Best Floral M&S Homeware For Spring

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The Best Floral M&S Homeware For Spring

We hope you love the products we recommend! All of them were independently selected by our editors. Just so you know, HuffPost UK may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. Oh, and FYI – prices are accurate and items in stock as of time of publication.

After what feels like 10 years of dull, grey winter, spring has finally sprung.

Even if you abide by the astronomical way of thinking, spring officially starts on the 20th of March this year, so it’s nearly time for us to pack away our big coats and dig out the sunnies and gardening gloves.

But if you haven’t got a garden in which to get reacquainted with this thing called sunshine, there are ways you can bring this fresh new season into your home.

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With these 12 fun and flowery buys from M&S, you can bring the bright energy of a springtime garden into your living space to enjoy year-round.

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The House Article | Britain cannot cut its way to safety, stability, or global leadership

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Britain cannot cut its way to safety, stability, or global leadership
Britain cannot cut its way to safety, stability, or global leadership


4 min read

Today’s announcement on Britain’s aid allocations reveals the true extent of the government’s retreat from its global responsibilities.

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These are the steepest aid cuts of any G7 country – deeper even than those passed under Donald Trump – and they are being implemented by a Labour government elected on a commitment to increase aid spending and tackle the global debt crisis. The consequences will be profound: for millions of people living in poverty, for the stability and security of our world, and for Britain’s own reputation.

The idea that the UK can turn inward, neglecting global challenges in order to fix problems at home, is a dangerous illusion. Whether we like it or not, we live in an interconnected world. Conflict shocks, climate‑driven disasters and global market instability do not stop at national borders. They push up prices in British supermarkets, raise borrowing costs for the UK government, and make life harder for households already struggling to get by. None of us benefit from living in a less safe, less stable world.

Yet today’s allocation announcements reveal cuts to the very tools designed to build global stability. Redirecting resources from development towards defence is not only morally indefensible – it is strategically self‑defeating. Military leaders themselves have long warned that the less we invest in preventing crises, the more they will ultimately cost – both financially and in terms of lives lost.

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The human cost of these decisions is staggering. Independent analysis shows that as a result of the cuts, 2.9 million fewer children will go to school, twelve million more people will lose access to clean water and sanitation, and over 600,000 additional people will die from preventable diseases. These are not abstract figures. They represent children pulled out of classrooms, parents unable to provide safe water for their families, and communities plunged deeper into crisis.

Britain’s reputation – already strained by months of uncertainty about the UK’s direction – is now further damaged by our role in the global debt crisis. While cutting aid to some of the world’s poorest countries, the UK continues to host the legal infrastructure that allows predatory private lenders to sue those same debt‑distressed nations in our courts. The government could change this tomorrow at zero cost to the Treasury. It is choosing not to.

This contradiction is especially glaring as the UK prepares to take on the G20 Presidency later this year. Leadership on the world stage requires credibility. Yet at the very moment global poverty, debt distress and climate-linked disasters are escalating, Britain arrives at the table with an aid budget in tatters and no coherent offer to countries seeking urgent relief from unsustainable debt payments.

The picture on climate is equally troubling. Despite claiming climate is a priority, the government appears to have reduced funding for the next round of International Climate Finance to just £6 billion. Cutting climate support now – when extreme weather is accelerating hunger, driving mass displacement, and threatening hundreds of millions of lives – is short‑sighted in the extreme. It will cost vastly more in the long term and leave the UK more exposed to the global shocks that follow.

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The government is right to prioritise fragile and conflict‑affected states, including Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and Lebanon. But even these areas will face real‑terms reductions, while thousands of other programmes will be terminated altogether. Bilateral aid – the support that goes directly to individual countries – is likely to be the biggest casualty. This is not the Britain that Labour members, activists or the international community expect. Labour has a proud legacy of global leadership, from founding the Department for International Development to driving international action on debt relief and poverty reduction.

If ever there were a moment to fix the broken systems that hold so many countries back – from exploitative debt markets to escalating climate damage – that moment is now. This government can still choose a different path: one rooted in internationalism, justice, and the understanding that the future of the UK is inseparable from the world around us.

Maria Finnerty is a member of the Executive Committee, Labour Campaign for International Development

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WATCH: Badenoch’s “Best Bits” Montage Fails to Play at Tory Local Election Launch

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WATCH: Badenoch’s “Best Bits” Montage Fails to Play at Tory Local Election Launch

Eventually Cleverly just ushered Badenoch onstage. Maybe next time…

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Inside GB News: Reform’s marionette media act

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Inside GB News: Reform's marionette media act

British Newspaper, the New World, has published a consequential exposé into GB News, which raises important questions about the hijacking of British media by the political right.

GB News has not only welcomed a multitude of right-wing MPs but has actively endorsed their position. This comes despite widespread complaints of unfair public influence. In other words, GB News has become the media arm of Reform UK—its political mouthpiece.

Political bias has long been a football kicked about from pillar to post between the left and right, due to its inevitable potential to manipulate public perception. And Ofcom’s continued silence surrounding the channel’s indiscretions suggest that far-right political bias is a newly accepted norm for the regulator. This raises urgent questions about the nefarious influence Reform UK exercises in British society. In the political sphere more specifically, this is deeply concerning—especially at a time when alternative and indie media are increasingly silenced.

The investigation also underscores the sway billionaires have and their ability to ‘stack the deck’ by funnelling millions into broadcast media to lead the public astray.

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Ofcom lets the far-right get away with it

The Farage-backed outlet has been the subject of numerous scandals during its comparatively short tenure. The MP-fronted, billionaire-funded channel first aired in June 2021. This made it the first start-up in television news since Sky News in 1989. From the onset, it displayed a clear bias with many critics and viewers complaining that its coverage violates the laws of due impartiality in UK broadcasting. 

As usual, the super-rich are focused on their own interests and lack any consideration for regulatory guardrails, driving, in as the investigation reports:

a coach and horses through the laws that were put in place to define broadcasting in the UK.

The investigation, headed by Alan Rusbridger, commissioned 20 journalists to sit through hours of GB News coverage to assess its impact on our news ecosystem.

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Given their huge influence in shaping public understanding, TV news channels are required to provide accurate, impartial coverage that includes all relevant viewpoints in order to receive a licence.

Of course, that cannot be squared with GB News and its hateful, venom-spitting presenters who double up as Reform MPs.

The investigation found that:

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GB News routinely – you might almost say systematically – disregards these requirements. Asked to score the programmes on a scale of 0-5 (0 being not at all compliant with Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code and 5 being wholly compliant), the overall score from our reviewers was just 1.5. Each reviewer came up with detailed reasoning.

Ofcom’s log of complaints, by contrast, shows a tiny trickle of concern. Of the 15 programmes we reviewed, nine had triggered no complaints, two sparked two complaints, while a kid-glove interview with Donald Trump led to 32. Two more programmes are “under assessment”.

Reform UK: Out of touch with the public at large

Surprisingly, the investigating team found that the channel rarely receives complaints. This suggests that its outreach is limited to an overwhelmingly right-wing audience. They cite a poll conducted by the Reform UK candidate for the Gorton and Denton, and a GB News presenter, Matt Goodwin, in which he asked the public whether they agreed with Trump’s ‘unrecognisable Europe’ speech. An astounding 97% gave a positive response. This highlights the growing gulf between GB News, including their viewership, and the rest of British society.

According to a YouGov poll conducted in January, only 16% of Britons think favourably of Trump. In contrast, a whopping 81% have unfavourable opinions of the orange, ego-driven buffoon. Clearly GB News‘ business model is to appeal to that 16%. This reinforces the justifications for strict regulatory control over undue media influence.

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Nevertheless, it appears Ofcom couldn’t give a damn about GB News’ rule breaking. Rule-breaking which is pretty obvious, according to the findings of the investigation:

The New World assembled a team of 20 journalists to assess 15 hours of prime-time GB News shows from January, as well as the Trump interview, which led to 65,000 people signing a petition for Ofcom to censure.

Each programme was assessed by two different reviewers. They found numerous glaring breaches of impartiality; a widespread disregard for accuracy; a predominant framing of news in ways that overlap with Reform’s political agenda; a systemic use of Reform politicians, candidates and supporters; and an overwhelmingly right wing bias in choice of guests and issues.

Before allegations of ‘witch hunts’ fly in, the transparency and balance of the investigation offers a sound defence against potential acts from the usual suspects. It’s important to note that the journalists involved represent a broad spectrum of newspapers and broadcasters. From the right-wing Spectator to the liberal Guardian, Daily Mail, and BBC News, each agreed with the findings of the investigation.

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Integrity in the mainstream media does exist—could’ve fooled us!

“Farage propaganda dressed up as a panel show”

In regard to the views of journalists involved, the investigation stated:

One wrote of Nigel Farage’s evening show: “This programme is Farage propaganda dressed up as a panel show.” Another wrote of a programme presented by Reform politician Matt Goodwin: “Absolutely did not comply. It was one man’s rant against immigration, supported by compliant and affirmative opinions and a pretence of an opposing view that was shut down rapidly. It was a disgrace.”

Farage, it hardly needs emphasising, is the leader of a political party that is currently leading in the opinion polls, with some political experts speculating that Reform could even form, or be part of, the next government. It is unprecedented for a political leader to be given their own news and current affairs programme on British television.

GB News lives by its own rules and Ofcom is perfectly willing to throw the rule book out of the window for this billionaire-interested political party. It would even seem that the supposed regulator believes the hateful views espoused by the channel to be ‘accurate.’

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This calls the regulator’s impartiality into question, since biased rule-makers cannot provide un-biased remedies. A functioning democracy does not silence political views. It should make space for diverse perspectives to shape better decisions.

Therefore, this investigation brings to the forefront an urgent question; is Ofcom a smokescreen to create the image of neutrality?

If so, this imbalance actively hurts our democracy and fails to inform the public fairly and transparently. We need a new one, clearly.

Read the full investigation here.

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Featured image via the New World

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