Our favourite moment of this year’s Cannes Film Festival has to be John Travolta debuting a bold new look.

The two-time Oscar nominee and HuffPost UK fave premiered his directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach at the film festival on Friday night, and delivered a fantastic viral moment when he hit the red carpet.

John made his way into the premiere sporting a beret and round spectacles, and has also been sporting variations of the look at other Cannes events, including accepting an honorary Palme D’Or.

Speaking to CNN about becoming an accidental viral sensation with his attire, the Grease star admitted he was just trying to emulate the filmmakers of old Hollywood.

“I’ve been around for over 50 years doing movies,” John explained. “But I can’t tell, when I look back, the difference between the events. And I said, ‘I’m a director this time – you’re an actor, play the part of a director, look like an old-school director’.

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“So, I looked up pictures [from the] 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and the old-school directors wore berets and the glasses. And I thought, ‘that’s what I’m doing’. I’m going to do an homage to being a director.”

He continued: “So I’m going to play the part of being a director. And then, when I look back, I’ll know, ‘oh that was Propeller One-Way Night Coach, that was Cannes, that was when I won the Palme D’Or’. And I will have a vivid [memory] of it.”

Propeller One-Way Night Coach is based on the children’s book of the same name, and leans into John’s well-documented love of planes (he even piloted his own plane to Cannes for his film’s premiere).

He was joined at the premiere by his daughter, Ella Travolta, who plays a flight attendant named Doris in the movie.

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Watch the trailer for Propeller One-Way Night Coach below, ahead of its Apple TV+ debut later this month:

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Many parents of children with ADHD will have noticed sleep can be a tricky area (to say the least) – research suggests up to 50-70% of kids with ADHD have sleep problems.

It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the following morning, they can really struggle to rise and get ready in a timely manner. This can make getting to school or childcare on time a stressful – sometimes seemingly impossible – experience all round.

Dr Chris Abbott, chief medical officer at Care ADHD, says they consistently hear that mornings are “one of the most stressful pressure points for families”.

Psychotherapist Gee Eltringham agrees that mornings can be “incredibly difficult for people with ADHD, especially children and teenagers”.

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But if your child seems unable to wake, or is constantly distracted, emotional, argumentative or slow to get moving before school, she stresses “it is not usually laziness or defiance”.

“Often, it is their brain struggling to transition into the day,” she insists.

Why are mornings hard for kids with ADHD?

Dr Chris Abbott explains that for many children with ADHD, “mornings are less about ‘getting up’ and more about a slow neurological switch from sleep to activation”.

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There are a few physiological factors behind this. Firstly, ADHD is associated with a naturally later internal body clock. “The brain struggles to produce melatonin at a typical time, meaning children are genuinely wired to fall asleep (and wake) later than neurotypical peers,” he says.

Children with ADHD might also have racing thoughts, which can make it difficult to switch off at night. And kids who game or scroll social media before bed activate the brain further, which in turn makes morning waking harder.

Eltringham, who is also the founder of the ADHD tool twigged, notes that dopamine can play a big role in kids struggling to rise in the morning.

“Dopamine is a neurotransmitter heavily involved in motivation, reward, attention, and initiating tasks,” she explains. “Dopamine levels are naturally lower in the morning, and for ADHD brains, which already struggle with dopamine regulation, this can make getting out of bed and starting the day feel overwhelming.”

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And then, even after we’ve considered all of that, there are several common ADHD-related differences stacked together at the same time which create this perfect storm for them struggling to leave the house.

Kids might have difficulty transitioning between steps and get “stuck” moving from one task to the next, suggests Dr Abbott. They can also become overwhelmed from too many instructions.

“Time blindness” (struggling to perceive how quickly time passes) can also mean your sense of urgency as their parent doesn’t naturally translate into action on their part.

Children with ADHD might also experience emotional dysregulation on waking, “where frustration or anxiety appears quickly in response to demand or pressure”, he adds. Repeated prompting from parents can further increase stress and make functioning harder, rather than easier.

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“These aren’t isolated behaviours – they reflect a mismatch between neurodevelopmental needs and conventional morning expectations,” says the expert.

But when families are supported with the right structures, mornings often shift from a daily point of friction into something far more predictable – “not because the child changes, but because the environment finally fits how their brain works”.

Olga Pankova via Getty Images

The expert-backed guide to make mornings easier for you and your child

1. Prioritise sleep habits and prep, prep, prep!

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Gee Eltringham stresses that “good sleep habits really do matter” – especially for kids with ADHD. She recommends having predictable evening routines, instating consistent bedtimes, making sure kids are getting enough sleep for their age, keeping the bedroom cool, dark and calm and limiting screens before bed (enforcing a “device-free” bedroom might help).

Calming strategies like journalling before bed or “heavy work” activities (like wall press-ups, pushing against a wall or carrying weighted items) can also help them to power down for the evening.

If your child becomes overwhelmed by a barrage of instructions in the morning, try to do as much prep the night before which can “dramatically reduce stress and resistance in the morning”, says Eltringham.

• School uniform or clothes laid out
• Bags packed
• Homework ready
• Shoes and coats prepared (try the launch pad trick)
• Breakfast plans sorted.

“The fewer executive functioning demands there are in the morning, the smoother things tend to go,” she adds.

2. Get yourself ready before the kids get up

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“Trying to organise yourself and manage an overwhelmed ADHDer at the same time is a recipe for stress,” says Eltringham, who advises parents to get up before their kids and get ready so you can be on hand to chivvy them along.

3. Initiate gentle wake-up mode

Dr Abbott recommends reducing demand on your child’s brain at waking with gradual, low-pressure wake-up cues – gentle light (crack the curtains open a peep), calm sounds, or a consistent audio signal rather than abrupt alarms or verbal demands. A low-volume radio alarm clock could be a good shout.

He also advises creating a buffer of 10-15 minutes before instructions, screens, or tasks begin, which allows the brain to transition more naturally into an alert state.

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4. Adjust your expectations

One of the most important things parents can do is understand executive function age, suggests Eltringham, who says “a common rule of thumb is that ADHDers can be around 30% behind their chronological age in executive functioning skills”.

In theory, this might mean a 12-year-old may function more like an eight-year-old when it comes to organisation, time management, emotional regulation and independence.

“Most parents would not expect an eight-year-old to independently manage an entire morning routine without support yet many expect this from a 12-year-old,” she says.

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“When expectations become more realistic, frustration often decreases for everyone.”

5. Build in time for connection

Kids are far more cooperative when they feel connected – and Eltringham notes that even spending just 5-7 minutes connecting in the morning can make a noticeable difference.

This could be: a cuddle in bed, a quiet chat over tea, a quick card game over breakfast, or even just sitting together.

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6. Keep the morning structure predictable

Get yourself a morning routine hashed out – and stick to it. Visual routines can be a real help – “a simple chart or checklist removes the need for repeated verbal prompting and gives the child something external to follow, reducing reliance on working memory,” says Dr Abbott.

7. Use a timer instead of a warning

Mitigate against “time blindness” with a visual countdown timer, which replaces abstract urgency with something concrete and predictable.

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“Setting a five-minute visual countdown for getting dressed or brushing teeth is often far more effective than verbal reminders alone,” says Eltringham.

8. Avoid escalating prompts

We’ve all been there – you’ve asked your child to put their school jumper on for the 20th time and you’re just about ready to implode. Your child, meanwhile, is getting more irate at your increasingly urgent demands.

Dr Abbott says repeated instructions tend to increase stress and dysregulation, making it harder to function.

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“A calm, consistent cue is more effective than a louder or more urgent one,” he says.

9. Remember: novelty, challenge and purpose

Eltringham’s golden rule is that “ADHDers are motivated by novelty, challenge and purpose”.

“Their brains constantly seek stimulation and dopamine,” she explains. “If they cannot find dopamine through positive stimulation, they may unconsciously seek it through negative stimulation instead, hence arguments, conflict, silliness, or chaos. This is why mornings can quickly turn into battles.”

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She recommends using dopamine-friendly strategies like setting challenges (“can you beat the timer?”), using novelty (“we’re having pancakes for breakfast if we get ready quickly”) or purpose (“your sister really needs help with her reading this morning, you’re so good at helping her”).

Eltringham caveats that once a strategy becomes predictable, it may stop working, so routines often need refreshing.

The therapist notes that many children with ADHD will need support in the mornings long after their peers seem independent. “That is okay,” she says. “Do not punish them for struggling with skills they genuinely find difficult. Instead, focus on supporting them, scaffolding the skills they are missing, and gradually helping them build independence over time.

“They will get there – just on a different timeline.”

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Peter Franklin is an Associate Editor of UnHerd.

With all eyes on Labour and the Makerfield by-election, the state of the Conservative Party has been all but ignored by the mainstream media.

That suits Kemi Badenoch, because this could have been a tricky time for her. I hate to bring it up, but earlier this month we suffered a net loss of 563 councillors and six councils – including Badenoch’s home turf of Essex. In the Welsh Senedd elections the Conservative group dropped from second to fourth place and in the Scottish Parliament from third to fifth. Yes, there were bright spots too, but disregard the bluster — this was a bad night for us.

But to Reform UK’s evident frustration, these setbacks haven’t provoked a renewed crisis of confidence in the Tory ranks — nor in the Tory leader. Obviously the news agenda is a tad distracting right now, but that’s not the only reason why so little blame is attaching to Badenoch.

Here’s an allegorical explanation of what’s going on:

Picture a house — a rather grand house, but fallen into a state of advanced disrepair. That’s not the fault of the current tenant. In fact, she’s been working hard to deal with the shambles left behind by the previous tenants.

The first of these was a party animal — and he absolutely trashed the place. After one excess too many, he was evicted. Unfortunately, his replacement was even worse. She nearly burned the house down — not to mention half the street. And so having only just moved in, she was out in short order.

Her replacement was a sensible sort who soon extinguished the remaining fires. The trouble, though, is what he did next — which was basically nothing. Simple maintenance might have been fine in normal circumstances, but not with the house in such a state. And, so before long, he too had to leave.

As for the current tenant, she struggled at first — who wouldn’t? But now she’s getting to grips with the situation — clearing away the rubble, throwing out the rubbish, giving the walls a fresh lick of paint. It would be absurd to evict her.

And yet, she does have possession of the property under a full repairing lease, and so far she’s not addressed the more fundamental problems. After all, there’s a reason why most people still hurry past the place. It might as well be haunted.

The house, of course, is the Conservative Party and its current tenant, Kemi Badenoch. My argument is that, even though the real damage was done by her previous leaders, she still needs to commission a full structural survey.

As luck would have it, we already an outline version. It comes in the form of an ingenious chart conceived of by Owen Winter, a politics and data journalist at The Economist.

Essentially, it’s a scatter plot of the local seats contested in the elections earlier this month. Each data point is one ward scored against two variables: firstly, on the x-axis, the percentage of the electorate aged 50 and over; and secondly, on the y-axis, the percentage in a managerial or professional job. To put it another way, the areas of the electoral battleground that skew younger are on the lefthand side of the chart, the older areas on the righthand side, the poorer areas are at the bottom and the richer areas at the top.

One could use colour to show the winning party in each ward. But if you did that then the chart would resemble an explosion in a paint factory — spots of every hue splattered all over the place. Various kinds of local independent would also confuse the picture. Therefore, a statistical trick is needed to filter out the noise and reveal the underlying pattern of party support. And so the makers of the chart have coloured each data point not according to the votes cast in the corresponding ward, but according to the average outcome in the hundred most similar wards.

This resolves the chart into solid blocks of demographic territory for each of the major parties. Using data from 2021 to 2024 — i.e. before this month’s elections, you can see how the Labour Party dominated the electoral battleground — the entire younger half of the pre-2026 chart was painted Labour red, plus the more working class parts of the older half. There was small wedge of Lib Dem yellow in the most middle-class and middle-aged wards, while the remainder of the map (i.e. the older, richer areas) was true blue.

In other words, the pre-2026 chart shows a three-party system — with Labour by far the biggest party because this is a selection of seats that includes London and other urban strongholds.

However, once the chart is updated with this year’s results, the picture changes dramatically.

Instead of three colours we now have five. The Greens invade from the left, taking whole swathes of the younger half of chart — i.e. at Labour’s expense. Meanwhile, the older, poorer parts of the battleground (the bottom-right quadrant) have turned Reform turquoise. This is at the expense of both Labour and the Conservatives. The Lib Dems make less dramatic gains at the top of the chart — expanding their wedge a bit (again, at Labour and Tory expense).

Obviously, the realignment is devastating for Labour — because it’s taking place across their heartlands. But the deep structural alterations to the party system are bad for the Conservatives too.

Our retreat across the electoral battleground isn’t just geographic, it’s also demographic. The electorates with whom we’re still in with a chance are older and wealthier than ever before. In other words, we’re becoming a caricature of our former selves.

But perhaps there’s an argument for adapting to the emergence of multiparty politics. If older, richer voters are still voting for us then why not return the favour and focus on their interests? Yes, that might mean that we’re turning into a niche party, but when your back is up against the wall, a niche might be just what you need — if only for temporary breathing space.

There’s evidence that this is exactly the strategy that the party has adopted. For instance, our flagship policy since last year’s party conference is the abolition of stamp duty on residential homes. That, of course, would primarily benefit people with property to dispose of i.e. well-healed retirees who want to downsize, move abroad or otherwise mobilise their accumulated wealth. For everyone else, the policy is just a new variation on the old stupidity of subsidising demand — meaning that asking prices will go up accordingly. Sucks if you’re a first-time buyer. Add to that the Conservative message of cutting benefits for working age adults while protecting the Triple Lock on pensions — and its pretty obvious who we’re appealing to and who we’ve left behind.

So is the niche party strategy working for us? Well, since last year’s conference our poll ratings have stabilised — and perhaps ticked up a little. Unlike the aftermath of last year’s local elections, there is — so far — little evidence of a significant slide of Tory support to Reform (which is what Nigel Farage’s kill-the-Tories strategy was relying upon).

And yet becoming a niche party is equivalent to retreating to the last one or two liveable rooms in that dilapidated house. It leaves us with no chance of ever commanding a Commons majority again — it might not even win us the fight for second place, which at the next election could plausibly go to Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens or the SNP instead. In recent weeks, we’ve been greatly cheered by Kemi Badenoch’s stellar performances across the dispatch box. But if we’re not even the Official Opposition, our leaders won’t be at the dispatch box, will they?

We might also consider the fate of niche parties elsewhere in Europe. For instance, Les Républicains in France are now also-rans in presidential elections. Or what about the once-mighty Forza Italia — now a sidecar to Giorgia Meloni’s populist juggernaut. Or, most sobering of all, the Free Democrats (FDP) in Germany. This lot aren’t in fact the Teutonic equivalent to our own Lib Dems, but a business-friendly party of the centre-Right who focus on government efficiency and fiscal responsibility: much the same agenda as Kemi Badenoch’s, in fact. Though never one of the big parties, the FDP have now dropped out of the Bundestag altogether — not being able to get over the 5% threshold for seats.

In effect, there’s a threshold in the British electoral system too. A cliff-edge — somewhere in the 15 to 20% range — below which we’d lose most of our remaining seats. Given where we are in the polls I’d question whether this is anytime to be narrowing our appeal.

As to what direction we should try to broaden it, I’d invite you to take another look at Owen Winters’ chart. Notice how the younger half of the chart is completely dominated by the parties of the Left. Now, with the passage of time, imagine that generation of voters — and subsequent generations — taking over the chart completely. This is the real challenge facing not only the Conservative Party, but Reform too. And time is running out.

The post Peter Franklin: The Conservatives must not become a niche party for the old and rich appeared first on Conservative Home.

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Tommy Robinson’s 2026 Unite the Kingdom rally ended up being a big step down from last year in terms of the numbers. This is obviously embarrassing for Robinson, and he’s responded exactly how you’d expect – i.e. by lying about the numbers:

Millions of patriots hit the capital of England today in the largest patriotic display the world has ever seen.

All happy, smiling, singing unity.

We came, we saw, we conquered.

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Against all establishment attacks.

We United The Kingdom and the West pic.twitter.com/02ZKsid86S

— Tommy Robinson (@TRobinsonNewEra) May 16, 2026

Interestingly, there’s no community note on the above despite it being blatantly wrong. We wonder if that’s got anything to do with Robinson being friends with Elon Musk – the owner of X/Twitter?

Tommy Robinson: not even close

Calling someone ‘ten men’ implies they’re a real hard case. We’re sure Robinson thinks many ten men attended his march, but for the ‘millions’ figure to work, each attendee would have needed to be at least forty men apiece:

“The Met estimated Saturday’s event drew 60,000 people, still a sizeable crowd for a British protest but well short of the million or more organisers were hoping for.”https://t.co/Cb1BzOEjpL

— Kaino (@KainoKivi) May 17, 2026

Robinson’s supporters got around the low turnout by sharing images from last year’s event:

pic.twitter.com/DN6q66BACU
Unite the Kingdom rally.

Met Police estimate: 50K.
Aerial footage: clearly more.
Media headline: "10K."

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The gap is the trade.

— BRKT (@BRKTgg) May 16, 2026

They also shared crowd pictures from what some said is a Shakira concert and what others claimed is AI. Whoever’s correct, the image certainly isn’t from London on 16 May:

You’re clearly not a geography wonk either.. this is a Shakira crowd in Rio. I’d like my country at least correctly identified.. https://t.co/awwbi7Baog

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 17, 2026

Given the above, the following is only slightly more ridiculous than what people are claiming:

5 million proud British Patriots gathered for Tommy Robinson's absolutely not racist Unite The Kingdom March in London. The Looney Leftists will tell you those numbers are fake, but photos never lie. pic.twitter.com/9alWOKg35S

— Sam (@SamCKx) May 17, 2026

Oh, and here’s the actual event for reference:

8 billion! pic.twitter.com/SIKWypnUkg

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) May 17, 2026

And the crowd numbers aren’t the only thing Robinson is lying about:

The march footage is from last year. This arrest from last month. Nothing is real. All slop for the consumption of American grifters selling “London has Fallen” t shirts at CPAC https://t.co/hDLObV8XCI

— Alonso Gurmendi (@Alonso_GD) May 17, 2026

Still too many

As one commenter highlighted:

50,000 are too many, we need to get alternatives in front of people who are desperate for change.

The media silencing voices is throttling our democracy, but offshore owners get what they pay for. https://t.co/bIHNQvZvqI

— Up_Again ItWasAScam (@up_again) May 16, 2026

For reference, the following demonstrates the unfettered racism that was on display at the march:

The police would’ve arrested a pro-Palestine protester if they had held up a placard saying the exact same thing about Judaism. pic.twitter.com/FOVyR9XbC3

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) May 16, 2026

Tommy Robinson Unite the Kingdom.
It was a matter of time before the Islamophobia would start. It’s sickening behaviour.

As Muslims, we shouldn’t have to tolerate this in our home…… England. pic.twitter.com/CP2h3LNcBi

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— Zara Hussain (@zarahussain999) May 16, 2026

60,000 is less than half of what the previous Unite the Kingdom attracted. Let’s aim for zero next year.

Featured image via Getty Images (Mario Tama) 

By Willem Moore

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UK politics is an absolute mess right now – everyone knows Keir Starmer is finished, but he’s still in power, and he hasn’t announced a plan to step down. Andy Burnham, meanwhile, is running to become an MP in Makerfield, with everyone understanding he intends to give Starmer the boot once he’s in office.

As a result of all this, the media is now just openly taking the piss out of Labour Cabinet ministers:

Sophy Ridge asks David Lammy, if you live in Makerfield and quite like Keir Starmer, who should you vote for in the by-election? pic.twitter.com/OSJG1YrnYb

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) May 18, 2026

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The Starmer question

In the video above, Sophy Ridge asks deputy PM David Lammy:

My question on this by-election is if you quite like Keir Starmer, who should you vote for?

It’s a fair question. And it’s one which Lammy avoided answering:

Oh, look. This is a Labour by-election. We’ve got to fight for every vote. Reform will be challenging hard.

I’ve known Andy Burnham for over a quarter of a century. We were both protégés of the wonderful Tessa Jowell. We worked together all those years ago under Tony Blair.

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That’s right, isn’t it, Burnham did indeed rise through the ranks as a Blairite. People have largely forgotten this because Burnham has moved leftwards as the mayor of Greater Manchester – particularly when it comes to public transport initiatives.

Given that Tony Blair and his neoliberal privatisation politics are both incredibly unpopular, we wonder if Lammy brought this up to put people off Burnham?

It would certainly make sense. After all, the deputy PM will be a deputy nothing once Starmer is gone, and Starmer’s only path to remaining in position is for Burnham to lose.

Before we get back to the interview, we should note that Burnham might not be as progressive as people are hoping. He’s already said Labour shouldn’t pursue proportional representation in this parliament, and there’s reason to suspect he wouldn’t pursue full re-nationalisation (emphasis added):

The country gave away its control of basic things people depend upon every day. And that was a big mistake in my view.

Put more things back under public, stronger public control: energy, housing, water, transport.

Why not full public control, Andy?

From experience, we know that once private companies have their foot in the door, they’ll eventually take over the house.

Full support

Lammy continued:

He will be a great addition to Parliament for Makerfield. He has my full support. I will be up there. Much of the Cabinet will be up there, of course.

Sending the full Starmer Cabinet, are they?

Once again, this seems like a plan to turn voters off given the popularity of this current government.

When she didn’t get a proper answer, an amused Ridge asked:

The reason I ask the question, though, it is a little bit confusing because, in a way, a vote for the Labour candidate in Makerfield is a vote to get rid of Keir Starmer. So if you kind of like Keir Starmer… Should you vote for Andy Burnham? Because we know, as soon as he gets back to Parliament, he’s going to challenge the leadership.

Lammy responded:

Let’s step back. I’m not going to sugarcoat this. I thought that the Labour Party, over the last 10 days, had a spectacular own goal after those local election results. We now need to unite and pull together. We have a by-election to fight.

It’s true that he didn’t sugarcoat it, but he also didn’t answer.

How could he?

The Starmer administration is truly one of the most farcical governments this country has ever endured, and that’s really saying something given the past two decades.

Featured image via Sky News

By Willem Moore

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UK authorities let far right voices publicly incite anti-Muslim hatred in London at the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally, once again highlighting their extreme double standards on different forms of prejudice.

The British state has already waged an intense campaign to censor and crack down on activists opposing Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Such activism hurts the feelings of people who support the Israeli apartheid state or defend its crimes.

And people are rightly asking why the authorities don’t seem to care about the incitement of hate against Muslims.

At yesterday's Unite the Kingdom rally one speaker said:

"It's not too late to get Islam out of that building (Parliament)"

"It is not to late to get Islam out of every single official office in this country"

"It is absolutely vital, if we want to save this country, we have to… pic.twitter.com/EKo7fgBBVt

— Farrukh (@implausibleblog) May 17, 2026

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Muslim Council of Britain: ‘Apply the law equally’

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) responded to the “openly Islamophobic rhetoric“:

Statements such as Tommy Robinson’s calls that “it’s time for many Muslims to leave this country,” that he “would stop Islam,” are not political speech – they are incitement. History teaches us, painfully and repeatedly, that language demanding the removal of an entire group from its home is the language that precedes ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Considering this, it wasn’t surprising that the rally proudly displayed the flag of Israel — a country currently committing genocide against a largely Muslim population in Gaza — alongside the Union Jack, English, and other flags.

Addressing UK “authorities, political leaders, and broadcasters”, the MCB asked:

…why is this rhetoric tolerated and even defended when it comes to Muslims when the equivalent, directed at any other group, would rightly be met with prosecution, condemnation, and unequivocal political consequence?

Just imagine, for example, if someone publicly said “It’s time for many Jews to leave this country” or “It’s absolutely vital to remove Judaism from every single place of authority”. As the MCB stressed, such discriminatory rhetoric would rightly attract tough consequences.

The MCB then said:

We call on the Government, the Home Secretary and the Metropolitan Police to apply the law equally, to investigate these statements as clear speeches inciting hatred, and to make clear that the dehumanisation of British Muslims has no place in our country.

How fascists benefit from scapegoating

As the MCB highlighted:

British Muslims have helped build this country, served it, taught in its schools, healed in its hospitals, and protected it in uniform.

Indeed, British Muslims — like people from other religions and cultures — play a big role in the UK today.

Some Muslims settled in port towns about 300 years ago, having worked for the massive British colonial force of the East India Company. But after the devastation of the Second World War, in which hundreds of thousands of Muslims had served, many people from former colonies came to help rebuild the UK.

British Muslims have made a big economic contribution to the UK, consistently donate much more than average to charities, and offer £622 million worth of volunteer time every year. They have also, along with all other religious groups, enriched British culture.

However, the far right has increasingly weaponised the crimes of a tiny number of Muslims to paint the entire religious community as the cause of the UK’s ills. The far right has always used the hatred of people who are different as a distraction from the real issues, whether it was Irish people, Jewish people or Black people.

Meanwhile, corporate elites (and their friends in parliament), benefit from ordinary people focusing on religious, cultural or physical differences. Why? This distracts us from focusing on the increasing transfer of wealth and power from us to a handful of obscenely wealthy individuals.

By failing to treat all prejudice as equally destructive and unacceptable, the current government is enabling and empowering fascism.

London pic.twitter.com/N8Qg0etMe8

— Jamie Kay (@TheRealJamieKay) May 16, 2026

Featured image via Yahoo! News

By Ed Sykes

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