Freedom of Speech - It's now or never

The new Blair/Starmer "government" has well and truly launched its attack on freedom of speech in this UK.

As with many other policy areas, this new regime is continuing the work of the previous Tory regimes, except that they have taken the opportunity of a new parliament to accelerate the agenda.

It is more imperative than ever, therefore, that we understand the constitutional protections in place, and to remember that these are not ancient, obsolete laws which we should rush to abandon in this modern world. The constitutional principle here is that the longer a law has stood, the less willing we should be to throw it away, because successive generations have considered it valid.

We should also recognise that dissidents of all political persuasions are finding themselves on the receiving end of the same tactics: political abuse, corporate media defamation, and increasingly police intimidation, arrest and imprisonment. It should not be hard for us to work out who the enemy is, no matter which part of the political spectrum we might occupy right now.

Although we mentioned it in the last newsletter, if you haven't read it yet, please read (and share!) Philip Ridley's article, Britain had the First Amendment first, to get some background to Britain's historical position on freedom of speech, and to get some understanding of just how dangerous the behaviour of Britain's 'ruling class' is. Also watch Charles' interview with David Clews, from Unity News Network, who has found himself the target of several corporate media publications recently.

Speak out more, share more. This regime has to be fought.

Climate Science Masterclass 2

David will be hosting a second Climate Science Masterclass, beginning on 11 September at 7pm, and which will run at the same time for the following ten weeks.

Details of the class can be found at David's ClimateCurious website. The 11 September session is free of charge, so everyone is welcome to join.

UK Column On Location

We thought it important to include in this newsletter a few words on UK Column’s live event in Bristol on 19th October this year. UKColumn's 'On Location’ is a very important event for a number of reasons and we would like encourage as many people to attend as possible. UKColumn members are our special guests, because it is you that allow us to do what we do, and it is you that have supported us with such loyalty for so many years. You are all very much appreciated and this is our opportunity to show our appreciation by meeting you in person.

Perhaps the most important thing to say is that this major live event is the first we have organised for a very long time. Telford was our last big UKColumn event, held over a weekend, and that was many years ago. It was hugely successful, great fun and we still have many fond memories of  that meeting and chatting to UKColumn supporters by old and new.

We have been active in the intervening years by giving smaller live talks and for a long time we held local monthly meetings in Plymouth at the George; a lovely local pub who allowed us to use a spare room for local gatherings. Sadly the George was not to survive long after suffering the economic pressures of lock-down and this local amenity is now no more. 

Since that time, many of our members, supporters and friends of the UKColumn, have asked and encouraged us to hold some live events. Early this year we decided that the time was right to rise to this challenge and so we have organised a major one day conference in Bristol at a quality hotel.

The key idea of the 'UK Column on Location’ event is for us to provide a day of interesting and valuable talks, given on a range of subjects relevant to the new disturbing social and political world unfolding around us. At the same time we are giving everyone who attends the opportunity to meet and engage with the wider UKColumn team in person. We will all be available as we circulate on the day, grab a bite to eat or take time to chill out in the bar later in the evening. 

What’s more, you will all get ample opportunity to meet and engage with others present, to share conversations and to have some upbeat community interaction over a tea, coffee, lunch or a perhaps a beer or glass of wine at the end of the day.

If you’ve not yet bought a ticket, now is the time to get onboard and join us for some quality time together. With your support at this inaugural event in 2024 we plan to have more live meet-ups in 2025. So come on dive in and buy that early-bird ticket and join us. It’ll be fun and we look forward to meeting you all.