When we vote, we aren’t just picking a name on a ballot paper. We’re choosing what kind of world we want to live in, and handing the people we elect the power to build it. If they win, that power is enormous. So it’s worth asking, before we hand it over, whether the world they […]
Péter Magyar is inheriting the ruins of a democracy Orbán spent sixteen years hollowing out. Will Britain learn Hungary’s lesson the easy way or learn our own the hard way? Viktor Orbán conceded defeat on Sunday 12 April after sixteen years, after four consecutive supermajorities, after rewriting the constitution and redrawing the maps and packing […]
I was in a chemist in Grantham the other day, and got talking to the pharmacist dispensing my prescription. It is one of the blessings of my Irish stock that I am predisposed to strike up conversations with strangers – something I have always done and something I always will. Why? Because I have lost […]
On Tuesday Jan 6 2026, seven European leaders issued a joint statement on Greenland that reads like a masterclass in how democracies should respond to authoritarian overreach. Clear principles. Unified front. No hedging. But within hours, the White House responded by raising the prospect of military force to get their way. So much for bullies […]
Plaudits from Robinson should be a flashing red light on any government’s dashboard. So, it’s finally happened. Tiny Tommy Robinson – or Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, as his Irish immigrant mum christened him – has publicly endorsed the Labour government’s new immigration policy. “The Overton window has been obliterated,” he cheered. “Well done patriots!” For those of […]
On November 10, Nigel Farage told the press about his phone call with President Trump. “Is this how you treat your best ally?” Trump asked him, furious about BBC coverage. And what did Trump do the second he put the phone down? He wrote to the BBC to threaten legal action. Think about that for […]
Rachel Reeves gave a speech yesterday that once again brought the cost of living to the fore in the national debate. Virtually all of the media commentary on the speech focused on the economic factors Reeves might be considering in the run-up to her Autumn Budget statement on 26 November. But the real – fundamental […]
Nigel Farage and now the Conservatives want to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – a treaty Winston Churchill helped create in the ashes of the Second World War. This isn’t just a point of principle. This is about retaining the fundamental rights we have to protect ourselves against abuses […]
If I’m honest, it was hard to watch proceedings at yesterday’s UN General Assembly. I can remember several times when the world of international relations was in similar turmoil, but I can’t remember ever being as pessimistic as I am now about the prospects that our international institutions will be able to fix things. The […]
This week brought us yet another example of Nigel Farage’s signature move: transforming a routine court ruling into a culture-war weapon soaked in lies. His response to the Epping court decision reveals something much darker than mere political opportunism. It reveals the systematic poisoning of public discourse by a man who treats truth as an […]
Today [July 17 2025] marks a historic moment for British democracy. The Government has published its long-awaited Strategy for Elections, announcing the most significant package of democratic reforms in a generation. There’s genuine progress to celebrate, but also a glaring omission that we cannot ignore. The good news: democracy getting a 21st century upgrade The […]
As I’ve said many times before on Ugly Politix, the outcome of the 2024 general election exposed the stark inadequacies of the First Past the Post system, the engine that drives our politics. Labour won 63 per cent of seats with just 33.7 per cent of the vote, Reform UK won 0.8 per cent of seats […]
Twice this week, I found myself wrestling with the same uncomfortable question about use of the label “fascist”. First, it came up in a WhatsApp group with fellow democracy campaigners. Then, listening to the latest episode of ‘The Rest is Politics US‘, I heard hosts Katty Kay and Antony Scaramucci clash over the same issue: […]
Democracy’s slow-and-stable safeguards are features, not bugs. Silicon Valley’s defining mantra – “move fast and break things” – emerged from Facebook’s early culture, celebrating rapid iteration, aggressive risk-taking, and a willingness to disrupt in the name of innovation. It revolutionised tech, enabling energetic start-ups with fresh ideas to topple established giants who had grown stale […]
On June 2, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections held a joint event with Transparency International UK and the APPG on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax. The message was clear: it’s time for anonymous billionaires and oligarchs to stop buying up politics. Britain is long overdue for campaign finance reform: In 2023, the UK reached […]
Nigel Farage put potholes at the centre of the recent local elections – and he had a point. Potholes are a pain. We’ve all felt it. That jolt as your car hits yet another hole in the tarmac. The grimace that inevitably follows. It’s a tangible irritation, a daily reminder that things aren’t working as […]
Last month, I wrote to the Speaker of the House of Commons asking for confirmation that Trump would not be given the honour of addressing Parliament during any upcoming State Visit. The Speaker replied, confirming that no such request had been received – at that time. Since then, however, Donald Trump has announced that he expects to return to […]
One of the government ministers I worked for in a former life used to say, “For every major political problem, there are at least five solutions that are, a) obvious and common-sense; b) quick and easy to implement; and c) absolutely the wrong thing to do from the perspective of the national interest.” His words […]
Britain’s democracy is visibly malfunctioning. A government elected with just over a third of the vote now holds almost two-thirds of the seats in Parliament. Meanwhile, millions of people feel ignored, misrepresented, or completely shut out of decisions that affect their lives. The result? A political system that delivers neither fairness nor results. Our public […]
In an era where democracy feels increasingly fragile, the story of how American tech billionaire, Elon Musk, casually sparked an internal meltdown in one of Britain’s rising political parties offers both a cautionary tale and, perhaps, a glimmer of hope for those of us concerned about the far-right’s recent momentum. It started, as so many […]