London is not above the UK’s problems
So, last night London had it’s traditional New Year’s Eve fireworks at the South Bank and it featured the London Eye lit up in a way that vaguely resembled the European Flag (which actually...
Indigo Jo Blogs Blog
Kate Osamor and her council house
Recently the Labour MP for Edmonton, Kate Osamor, has come under criticism for still occupying a council property despite having a job that pays her a £77,000 annual salary. This is the same MP...
Muslims and Midnight Mass (and Donald Trump and Santa)
I’ve done two previous blog entries (at least) here about Muslims and Christmas — specifically, about Muslims participating in Christmas, being encouraged to do so (often by other Muslims) in the name of ‘integration’...
Yes, Brexit does have to come first
The past few weeks, I have noticed that there are two bitterly opposed camps when it comes to the importance of Brexit or other issues, particularly as regards the Labour party. One side seeks...
On physical abuse at a top Muslim school
Last week someone posted several accounts on Facebook of physical abuse he suffered at a well-known Islamic school in northern England. This was one of a group of schools that trains boys to be...
Stupid woman: sexist? Ableist?
Earlier this week Jeremy Corbyn was widely criticised in the media and on social media for supposedly mouthing "stupid woman" at Theresa May, the prime minister, during a parliamentary debate. Corbyn claims he actually...
What’s Alice Walker doing reading David Icke?
Yesterday there was much indignation on Twitter and elsewhere that the New York Times had published an interview with the novelist and poet Alice Walker which contained a recommendation of a book by David...
Some notes on recent ATU publicity
Last week two separate stories about people with learning disabilities were in the news. One was that a woman had died following the extraction of all her teeth at a hospital in Worcester which...
Time to ban the “smart motorway” death traps
An all-party group of MPs has said that the roll-out of so-called smart motorways, in particular the "all lane running" (ALR) arrangement in which the hard shoulder is permanently converted into a driving lane...
Should this racist thug be behind bars?
A 29-year-old man who attacked a young boy because he thought he had bumped into his child's buggy while running for a bus received a suspended sentence (twelve months, suspended for two years) at...
Are Jews really “wandering again”?
Earlier this week an article appeared on Unherd by Douglas Murray, titled "Why are Jewish people 'wandering' again?". It was an interview with a Jewish lawyer called Mark Lewis, who along with his partner...
On Elaine McDonald OBE
Elaine McDonald was the lady at the centre of a notorious 2011 Supreme Court ruling (see earlier blog in which she challenged the decision of Kensington and Chelsea borough council to refuse her a...
Who’s really the “elite” here?
There was an anecdote I forgot to insert into my previous entry about the stereotype of the "liberal elite". Back in the early 2000s I was working as a van driver for a major...
Nothing ‘Priti’ about Patel’s ignorance
In an interview for today's Times, the Brexiteer Tory MP for Witham in Essex said that a government report, leaked to the Times, which said that the economic impact of a no-deal Brexit could...
What is and what isn’t ‘gaslighting’?
‘Gaslighting’ is a term coined fairly recently to refer to a kind of behaviour displayed by abusive individuals (particularly domestic and intimate-partner abusers) in which they use tricks to cast doubt on their victim’s...
Against the “liberal elite” media trope
A favourite claim of the alt-right, populist right, whatever you want to call them, is that their liberal opponents (whether they be in the Labour party, the Lib Dems themselves, the pro-European wing of...
Why the Daily Mail’s “volunteer army” should be resisted
Today, the Daily Mail launched a campaign to recruit a "volunteer army" to "help" the NHS starting next Spring, in conjunction with a "new social movement called Helpforce". The roles that volunteers are expected...
Why do we house refugees in hostile areas?
This week a video was circulated on social media of a Syrian refugee boy, named Jamal, with his arm in a cast being attacked in a park in Huddersfield by a group of boys...
Is new FGM legislation really needed?
Last Friday a bill sponsored by Lord Berkeley, a Labour life peer (who was formerly a hereditary peer) to extend family law protection to girls deemed at risk of FGM, was derailed by Christopher...
Care homes and revenge evictions
In this morning's Guardian, there's an investigation into abuse in British care homes and the homes involved care for the three main groups of care home residents — the elderly, those with learning disabilities...