I Intend To Escape ......................And Come Back

The schools in a flap about flags

On Wednesday I had a short piece published by Spiked covering the fallout from Pimlico Academy in London, which earlier this year took down its union flag after complaints from parents and pupils.

Schools in parts of England are now experiencing a wave of protests in support of the Palestinians, and many of those deeply uncomfortable about the sight of the union flag, are now seeing colours displayed that they are sympathetic too........

A link to the article on the Spiked website is here. A pdf can be found below:

Download Flags are nothing to fear 26 05 2021 Spiked

Manchester United used to be above flag waving

In football, traditions matter. I feel the display of a Palestinian flag at Old Trafford by Paul Pogba and Amad Diallo was outside the traditions of the club.

It is hard to imagine it happening in an earlier era, especially when United worked so hard as a club not to be seen as partisan with regards to the Northern Ireland conflict. You can read my article arguing against sectarianism in football on Spiked, and also as a pdf below.

Download Sectarianism has no place at Man United - spiked 19 05 2021

Blasphemy must be an issue in the Batley & Spen by-election

It is not sure exactly when it will happen, but a by-election in the west Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen appears inevitable, after the sitting MP, Tracy Babin, was elected as the new Mayor for West Yorkshire.

The central issue in the by-election that brought Ms Babin into office in 2016 was the fascist terror attack which saw Jo Cox MP murdered by Thomas Mair. This by-election will occur to the backdrop of threats of violence to a teacher at Batley Grammar, who is in hiding after threats from Islamists. In an article today for Spiked, I argue standing up to the aggressors in this case must be a central issue when the by-election is held.

The article can also be read as a pdf, below.

Download Blasphemy must be an issue in the Batley by-election - spiked 13 05 2021