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.
Pentagon Barred Senior House Staffers From Briefing on Venezuela Boat Strike
15 September 2025 @ 7:51 pm
A former Pentagon official says “U.S. forces went out and committed murder" in the drone strike off the coast of Venezuela.
The post Pentagon Barred Senior House Staffers From Briefing on Venezuela Boat Strike appeared first on The Intercept.
GOP Rep. Backtracks on Bill That Could Let Marco Rubio Revoke Passports From Israel Critics
15 September 2025 @ 5:34 pm
The bill alarmed civil liberties advocates who feared Rubio could use it to punish pro-Palestine Americans.
The post GOP Rep. Backtracks on Bill That Could Let Marco Rubio Revoke Passports From Israel Critics appeared first on The Intercept.
Kathy Hochul Endorsed Zohran Mamdani. Will Top Democrats Join Her?
15 September 2025 @ 5:01 pm
The New York governor’s support for Mamdani marked a shift in the NYC mayoral race — but Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries still haven’t weighed in.
The post Kathy Hochul Endorsed Zohran Mamdani. Will Top Democrats Join Her? appeared first on The Intercept.
Many ICE Agents Lose Ability to Spy on Immigrants’ Payments to Family Back Home
15 September 2025 @ 10:30 am
After The Intercept exposed how immigration agents surveil wire transfers, Arizona AG Kris Mayes cut off some of their access.
The post Many ICE Agents Lose Ability to Spy on Immigrants’ Payments to Family Back Home appeared first on The Intercept.
A Newspaper Called His Gaza Photos “Hamas Propaganda.” He’s Fighting Back.
14 September 2025 @ 10:00 am
Palestinian journalist Anas Zayed Fteiha filed legal claim against Axel Springer for alleging his photos exaggerate the famine in Gaza.
The post A Newspaper Called His Gaza Photos “Hamas Propaganda.” He’s Fighting Back. appeared first on The Intercept.
New Bill Would Give Marco Rubio “Thought Police” Power to Revoke U.S. Passports
13 September 2025 @ 8:00 am
Rubio has already sought to punish immigrants for speech. New legislation might let him do it for U.S. citizens.
The post New Bill Would Give Marco Rubio “Thought Police” Power to Revoke U.S. Passports appeared first on The Intercept.
Proton Mail Suspended Journalist Accounts at Request of Cybersecurity Agency
12 September 2025 @ 8:56 pm
The journalists were reporting on suspected North Korean hackers. Proton only reinstated their accounts after a public outcry.
The post Proton Mail Suspended Journalist Accounts at Request of Cybersecurity Agency appeared first on The Intercept.
China Didn’t Want You to See This Video of Xi and Putin. So Reuters Deleted It.
12 September 2025 @ 5:45 pm
Following a copyright takedown request, Reuters removed a hot mic video of Putin and Xi discussing life extension and immortality.
The post China Didn’t Want You to See This Video of Xi and Putin. So Reuters Deleted It. appeared first on The Intercept.
Alex Karp Insists Palantir Doesn’t Spy on Americans. Here’s What He’s Not Saying.
12 September 2025 @ 2:00 pm
Documents from Edward Snowden published by The Intercept in 2017 show the NSA’s use of Palantir technology.
The post Alex Karp Insists Palantir Doesn’t Spy on Americans. Here’s What He’s Not Saying. appeared first on The Intercept.
Gaza Aid Security Contractor Hired Members of “Islamophobic Hate Group” Biker Club, Dem Rep Says
12 September 2025 @ 11:00 am
At least 10 members of the Infidels worked in Gaza for GHF’s security contractor, the BBC reported, with seven in oversight roles.
The post Gaza Aid Security Contractor Hired Members of “Islamophobic Hate Group” Biker Club, Dem Rep Says 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.
Douglas McAllister: ‘A dementia diagnosis should be a right, not a waiting game’
16 September 2025 @ 7:00 am
When we talk about the great health challenges facing the UK, cancer and heart disease rightly come to mind. But too often we overlook dementia – the leading cause of death in this country for some time. Behind that statistic is a person, a family, and a community living with the uncertainty that this condition... Read more »
The post Douglas McAllister: ‘A dementia diagnosis should be a right, not a waiting game’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Michael Wheeler: ‘We must not let a Tory-Lib Dem alliance weaken the workers’ rights bill’
15 September 2025 @ 7:00 am
Labour’s Employment Rights Bill is set to fundamentally improve work for the millions of workers stuck on exploitative short and zero-hours contracts. But it’s not a done deal — key hurdles still need to be overcome to deliver what we promised at the last election. Not least the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats who have been... Read more »
The post Michael Wheeler: ‘We must not let a Tory-Lib Dem alliance weaken the workers’ rights bill’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Week-in-Review: Mandelson scandal exposes fragility of Starmer’s standing
13 September 2025 @ 12:15 pm
After Angela Rayner’s resignation last week, the sweeping cabinet reshuffle that followed, and the blundering defenestration of Lord Mandelson mere days later — a restlessness has descended on the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party). The avoidable errors, the steady stream of strategic miscalculations, are eroding the togetherness and morale of Labour MPs. The Lord Mandelson scandal... Read more »
The post Week-in-Review: Mandelson scandal exposes fragility of Starmer’s standing appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Gavin Williamson: ‘Appointing Mandelson was a grave error – Starmer must be held accountable’
12 September 2025 @ 6:30 am
Lord Mandelson may no longer be US ambassador, but Starmer still has many questions he must answer about this debacle.
The post Gavin Williamson: ‘Appointing Mandelson was a grave error – Starmer must be held accountable’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Bill Esterson: ‘Reform UK’s fracking stance shows it is not serious’
11 September 2025 @ 8:30 am
Reform UK contends fracking would fix Britain’s energy crisis. But here’s the truth: it wouldn’t cut your bills, it wouldn’t keep the lights on, and it would cause a lot of pollution. Even in the best-case scenario, fracking would give us just a few years of gas. And guess what? That gas would be sold on global markets at the same price as gas... Read more »
The post Bill Esterson: ‘Reform UK’s fracking stance shows it is not serious’ appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
More growth, fewer boats: Starmer’s reshuffle signals determination to deliver
9 September 2025 @ 7:00 am
Successful reshuffles have a theme and act as the launchpad for a refreshed government. Keir Starmer’s first major frontbench shake-up may be such an event. Unexpectedly bold and wide-ranging, this was the biggest mid-term reshuffle in nearly 20 years in terms of cabinet-level moves. It could well turn out to be the most significant moment... Read more »
The post More growth, fewer boats: Starmer’s reshuffle signals determination to deliver appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Week-in-Review: Starmer has every reason to fear a deputy leadership election
6 September 2025 @ 11:15 am
“Summer is definitely over”, exhaled a self-assured sounding Keir Starmer on Monday. The prime minister had just kicked off the new parliamentary term with a relatively wholesale rejig of his Downing Street operation. A new “chief secretary to the prime minister” post was created; Darren Jones, rated in Downing Street, was poached from the Treasury... Read more »
The post Week-in-Review: Starmer has every reason to fear a deputy leadership election appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Digital ID can be Labour’s path to smashing the gangs and fixing public services
4 September 2025 @ 7:00 am
I knocked on enough doors as the Labour candidate in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich during last year’s general election to know what topics come up in conversation with voters unprompted. Whether the professional political class like it or not, voters care deeply about immigration and security. Rightly or wrongly, they see our borders as porous... Read more »
The post Digital ID can be Labour’s path to smashing the gangs and fixing public services appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Cross-party MPs publish ‘ready to go’ blueprint for electoral reform commission
1 September 2025 @ 7:00 am
A group of cross-party MPs have set out a “ready to go” blueprint for an independent review of the UK’s first past the post (FPTP) electoral system. The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for fair elections, the largest of its kind in Westminster, has developed the terms of reference for a “national commission on electoral reform”... Read more »
The post Cross-party MPs publish ‘ready to go’ blueprint for electoral reform commission appeared first on Politics.co.uk.
Ben Goldsborough: ‘Nigel Farage and Reform UK would break what makes Britain strong’
28 August 2025 @ 7:00 am
When Nigel Farage stood up this week and outlined his so-called “plan” for immigration, he didn’t sound like a democrat. He sounded like Vladimir Putin. He called for uniformed officers to raid Britain’s villages, towns and cities, disappearing people off our streets for rendition to countries they may have never even set foot in. No... Read more »
The post Ben Goldsborough: ‘Nigel Farage and Reform UK would break what makes Britain strong’ 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
Proxy use of WriteToThem
15 September 2025 @ 1:29 pm
Our WriteToThem website makes it easy for anyone to send an email to their elected representatives. That’s the core concept, and it works brilliantly for millions of users every year — but that said, we’re aware that even when a website is simple and built with usability at its core, not everyone has an equal…
Supporting democratic engagement in Wales
15 September 2025 @ 1:21 pm
Thanks to new funding from the Welsh Government’s Democratic Engagement Grant, we’re going to be doing some really exciting work around WriteToThem over the next couple of years, specifically focused on helping people in Wales. This grant is both an opportunity for us to improve our approach, and to help get our tools into the hands…
Using FOI for a cross-border investigation into immigrant detention
4 September 2025 @ 8:19 am
Did you know that Home Office data doesn’t include the reason that individuals have been taken to immigrant detention centres? Or that the UK is the only country in Europe with no limit on how long they can hold someone in such facilities? One organisation keeping a careful eye on the situation is Spanish investigative…
How FOI feeds into public conversation
3 September 2025 @ 8:50 am
Often, responses published on our Freedom of Information site WhatDoTheyKnow result in newspaper stories, or feed into campaigns or research. When this happens with one of your own requests, you can add a link to the page. These then appear in the side column, like this: It’s a great way for other users of the…
“We can all be improvers of our built environment”, with FixMyStreet
21 August 2025 @ 7:55 am
Nothing makes us happier at mySociety than finding out that our work is doing some good in the world — and an unexpected email from a happy FixMyStreet user certainly put a big smile on all of our faces. Michael, who lives and works in London, wrote: “FixMyStreet has allowed so many people to report…
New ways in to Freedom of Information
20 August 2025 @ 8:05 am
We launched WhatDoTheyKnow with two goals: to make Freedom of Information more accessible to all; and to provide a free public archive of all the information that is released as a result. Today, 17 years later, those goals still guide us, and there’s more we can do towards them every day. Most recently, we’ve developed…
How access to information can help us understand AI decision making
19 August 2025 @ 3:41 pm
If you were one of the 100+ people who joined us for today’s webinar, you’ll already know it was hugely informative and timely. We packed three fascinating speakers into the course of one hour-long session on using FOI to understand AI-based decision making by public authorities. Each brought so many insights that, even if you…
Using LLMs to write text classification rules
12 August 2025 @ 4:26 pm
I’ve written before about how we’re thinking about “low resource” use of Large Language Models (LLMs) — and where some of the benefits of LLMs can be captured without entering the “dependent on external API” vs “need new infrastructure to run internally” trade-offs. One of the use cases we have for LLMs is categorisation: across…
Summer 2025 Update: Strengthening our networks, sharpening our tools, sharing our ideas
6 August 2025 @ 3:28 pm
Partners across the Access to Information Community of Practice have been hard at work this summer. Read on to find out what we’ve been up to, and book your tickets for our exciting new webinar! At mySociety, we’ve had a packed few months: in May we kicked off a new three-part webinar series on the…
Work in progress: Statements, EDMs and open letters
31 July 2025 @ 9:57 am
Here are some notes on our in-progress work on TheyWorkForYou, including what we’re doing around Early Day Motions (EDMs) and open letters. To put this link at the top, we’re looking for more examples of open letters signed by MPs – if you have any, let us know! Showing signals better Our trajectory with voting…