Alex Church
@alexchurch.bsky.social
The backlash to the backlash to the thing that's just begun
Reposted by Alex Church
i was especially struck by these paragraphs, which rang very true to me. libs who grew up around conservatives aren't embarrassed to be liberals--or confused about what conservatives want. there's a certain kind of elite media man, on the other hand--
December 18, 2025 at 1:26 PM
i was especially struck by these paragraphs, which rang very true to me. libs who grew up around conservatives aren't embarrassed to be liberals--or confused about what conservatives want. there's a certain kind of elite media man, on the other hand--
Reposted by Alex Church
Kemi Badenoch & shadow home office minister Katie Lam have been accused of weaponising violence against women.
Tory leader said focus should be on “people, who come from cultures that don’t respect women, coming into our country”. Lam used speech to ask if immigration was exacerbating the problem.
Tory leader said focus should be on “people, who come from cultures that don’t respect women, coming into our country”. Lam used speech to ask if immigration was exacerbating the problem.
Badenoch accused of making ‘deeply inaccurate’ claims about violence against women
Tory leader says Labour should focus on migrants ‘from cultures that don’t respect women’ rather than tackling misogyny in schools
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Kemi Badenoch & shadow home office minister Katie Lam have been accused of weaponising violence against women.
Tory leader said focus should be on “people, who come from cultures that don’t respect women, coming into our country”. Lam used speech to ask if immigration was exacerbating the problem.
Tory leader said focus should be on “people, who come from cultures that don’t respect women, coming into our country”. Lam used speech to ask if immigration was exacerbating the problem.
Reposted by Alex Church
Once again: to save the bbc, we must first ban the bbc from reporting on the bbc
December 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Once again: to save the bbc, we must first ban the bbc from reporting on the bbc
Reposted by Alex Church
Good to see Mr Trump citing Liz Truss as an authority in his silly lawsuit against the BBC.
December 16, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Good to see Mr Trump citing Liz Truss as an authority in his silly lawsuit against the BBC.
Reposted by Alex Church
Just a reminder that at least 600 Americans were fired for failing to show sufficient respect after Charlie Kirk's murder.
December 15, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Just a reminder that at least 600 Americans were fired for failing to show sufficient respect after Charlie Kirk's murder.
Reposted by Alex Church
Optimism is currently unfashionable. The newly published Community Life Survey asks, "do you agree or disagree that this local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together?" I wondered if we might see a sharp decline this year; it has gone down 1%, to 80% agreement.
This year - one of both mat leave and reporting travels around the country - I've found an alternative story to the "Broken Britain" narrative.
My column for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social Christmas issue:
My column for the @newstatesman1913.bsky.social Christmas issue:
I was wrong about Broken Britain
The country can feel divided and lost, but there’s always another side to the story
www.newstatesman.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:49 AM
Optimism is currently unfashionable. The newly published Community Life Survey asks, "do you agree or disagree that this local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together?" I wondered if we might see a sharp decline this year; it has gone down 1%, to 80% agreement.
Reposted by Alex Church
And let's not forget that 17 is quite old enough to be one of what, in other contexts, Farage et al constantly refer to as "young men of fighting age"
Kruger says Reform intend to say no more about the testimonies about Nigel Farage's racist conduct as a teenager. I am not sure if Farage or Reform have said whether he denies the account of the 17 year old sixth former abusing a 10 year old by telling him to go back to Africa.
December 15, 2025 at 12:28 PM
And let's not forget that 17 is quite old enough to be one of what, in other contexts, Farage et al constantly refer to as "young men of fighting age"
Reposted by Alex Church
Many Poles arrive. Daily Mail: “THIS IS A CATASTROPHE OUR COUNTRY IS DYING”
Many Poles leave again. Daily Mail: “THIS IS A CATASTROPHE PUR COUNTRY IS DYING”
Do you want Poles or not?
Many Poles leave again. Daily Mail: “THIS IS A CATASTROPHE PUR COUNTRY IS DYING”
Do you want Poles or not?
December 13, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Many Poles arrive. Daily Mail: “THIS IS A CATASTROPHE OUR COUNTRY IS DYING”
Many Poles leave again. Daily Mail: “THIS IS A CATASTROPHE PUR COUNTRY IS DYING”
Do you want Poles or not?
Many Poles leave again. Daily Mail: “THIS IS A CATASTROPHE PUR COUNTRY IS DYING”
Do you want Poles or not?
Reposted by Alex Church
i refuse to believe this is real. this is something from a sitcom that found its way into print by accident. my brain completely rejects the possibility that this as a real interaction
And then there’s the story about Alex Karp’s not-at-all-weird interview (for lack of a better word) with Oswald Mosley’s grandson for a senior position at Palantir.
December 13, 2025 at 6:27 PM
i refuse to believe this is real. this is something from a sitcom that found its way into print by accident. my brain completely rejects the possibility that this as a real interaction
Reposted by Alex Church
Anyone complaining about European rearmament as escalatory simply doesn’t understand Ru. Ru invades the unarmed and the neutral (Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine). It hasn’t dared invade a NATO member, no matter how small. If Ru does attack NATO, it will be because it perceives its members as unprepared.
December 13, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Anyone complaining about European rearmament as escalatory simply doesn’t understand Ru. Ru invades the unarmed and the neutral (Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine). It hasn’t dared invade a NATO member, no matter how small. If Ru does attack NATO, it will be because it perceives its members as unprepared.
Reposted by Alex Church
I spotted the first Christmas goods in some shops in August. Everywhere there are Christmas trees, lights, and jumpers. The "Christmas is cancelled" folks are deranged.
The UK far right is increasingly infiltrating the Anglican church so this is bang on trend.
December 13, 2025 at 10:33 AM
I spotted the first Christmas goods in some shops in August. Everywhere there are Christmas trees, lights, and jumpers. The "Christmas is cancelled" folks are deranged.
Reposted by Alex Church
Amazing, the @dailymail.co.uk manages to publish an entire lengthy feature bewailing (!!!!) the exodus of Poles from Britain without once mentioning Brexit. Apparently this outcome (which is surely exactly what they campaigned for in 2016) is all the fault of Keir Starmer.
mol.im/a/15379789
mol.im/a/15379789
The great exodus: How Poles are ditching UK for their booming homeland
New statistics reveal that while 7,000 Poles arrived in the year ending last June, 25,000 returned home: a net outflow of 18,000. The UK's total Polish population has shrunk to 750,000.
mol.im
December 13, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Amazing, the @dailymail.co.uk manages to publish an entire lengthy feature bewailing (!!!!) the exodus of Poles from Britain without once mentioning Brexit. Apparently this outcome (which is surely exactly what they campaigned for in 2016) is all the fault of Keir Starmer.
mol.im/a/15379789
mol.im/a/15379789
Reposted by Alex Church
December 13, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Reposted by Alex Church
Kind of funny how on the American right getting prayer into public schools to "reChristianise America" is a massive goal, while in the UK basically every primary school puts on a nativity play this time of year and the Muslim and Jewish kids participate and people hardly notice it is religious
December 10, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Kind of funny how on the American right getting prayer into public schools to "reChristianise America" is a massive goal, while in the UK basically every primary school puts on a nativity play this time of year and the Muslim and Jewish kids participate and people hardly notice it is religious
Reposted by Alex Church
The impact of trade intensity is obviously huge. There is the Brexit factor, of course. But also rising protectionism has contributed to trade as a share of *global GDP* being forecast to fall.
December 11, 2025 at 9:33 AM
The impact of trade intensity is obviously huge. There is the Brexit factor, of course. But also rising protectionism has contributed to trade as a share of *global GDP* being forecast to fall.
Reposted by Alex Church
Imagining an LLM trained on my grandfather.
“Mr Harkaway, your machine has committed 8421 acts of fraud since Monday and is now married to 11 women, 2 bishops and Nelson’s Column. It is also being sued by the estate of Frank Sinatra.”
Eep.
“Mr Harkaway, your machine has committed 8421 acts of fraud since Monday and is now married to 11 women, 2 bishops and Nelson’s Column. It is also being sued by the estate of Frank Sinatra.”
Eep.
IN DEPTH | If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
www.independent.co.uk
December 11, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Imagining an LLM trained on my grandfather.
“Mr Harkaway, your machine has committed 8421 acts of fraud since Monday and is now married to 11 women, 2 bishops and Nelson’s Column. It is also being sued by the estate of Frank Sinatra.”
Eep.
“Mr Harkaway, your machine has committed 8421 acts of fraud since Monday and is now married to 11 women, 2 bishops and Nelson’s Column. It is also being sued by the estate of Frank Sinatra.”
Eep.
Reposted by Alex Church
UK brick deliveries are a useful proxy for new house building starts in the absence of monthly starts data. Deliveries in October 2025 were flat (0.1%) vs September &, more concerningly, 4.2% lower than a year ago, according to the Department for Business & Trade. (1/n)
#ukhousing
#ukhousing
December 10, 2025 at 9:42 AM
UK brick deliveries are a useful proxy for new house building starts in the absence of monthly starts data. Deliveries in October 2025 were flat (0.1%) vs September &, more concerningly, 4.2% lower than a year ago, according to the Department for Business & Trade. (1/n)
#ukhousing
#ukhousing
Reposted by Alex Church
Home Office estimate £1.2bn hit mainly to Universities as we decide that exports in this area should be restricted. Even in the month leading up to Christmas, the turkeys are still voting for it.
"If growth was actually your priority, you would not be doing this."
(Me, stating the obvious)
www.ft.com/content/2b60...
(Me, stating the obvious)
www.ft.com/content/2b60...
Tighter visa rules will cost UK up to £10.8bn
Home Office assessment shows impact of latest changes to immigration regime over next five years
www.ft.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Home Office estimate £1.2bn hit mainly to Universities as we decide that exports in this area should be restricted. Even in the month leading up to Christmas, the turkeys are still voting for it.
Reposted by Alex Church
narrator: the US has a higher proportion of foreign-born residents (around 16%) than most European nations
December 10, 2025 at 9:06 AM
narrator: the US has a higher proportion of foreign-born residents (around 16%) than most European nations
Reposted by Alex Church
Wrote a letter to Donald Trump, putting him right on a couple of points about London. This one stood out: London’s life expectancy is better than *all 50* US states.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-a...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-a...
December 10, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Wrote a letter to Donald Trump, putting him right on a couple of points about London. This one stood out: London’s life expectancy is better than *all 50* US states.
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-a...
www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-a...
Reposted by Alex Church
The damage the govt is willing to inflict on the economy (not to mention care provision) in pursuit of anti-migration dogma:
Tighter visa rules will cost UK up to £10.8bn giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
December 10, 2025 at 9:25 AM
The damage the govt is willing to inflict on the economy (not to mention care provision) in pursuit of anti-migration dogma:
Reposted by Alex Church
Eoin Clarke has handily put together a list of 100 Green policies and it’s pretty astounding anyone can type all these out and not work out the economic collapse they would bring on
December 8, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Eoin Clarke has handily put together a list of 100 Green policies and it’s pretty astounding anyone can type all these out and not work out the economic collapse they would bring on
Reposted by Alex Church
Joe Biden regularly and publicly attended Mass. He visibly embraced Catholic religiosity more than JFK ever did. As VP too.
My parents are like this: they just can’t conceive of Biden, whose favorite hymn is my grandma’s favorite hymn, as also a Catholic. It all goes in a memory black hole.
My parents are like this: they just can’t conceive of Biden, whose favorite hymn is my grandma’s favorite hymn, as also a Catholic. It all goes in a memory black hole.
Reactionaries are such suckers for this shit. Trump is King Herod, full stop. He makes a pretense of religosity for the sake of legitimacy. But he does not give a single shit about anything but his own power. If American Christianity was a threat to him, he would murder every boy under the age of 3.
December 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Joe Biden regularly and publicly attended Mass. He visibly embraced Catholic religiosity more than JFK ever did. As VP too.
My parents are like this: they just can’t conceive of Biden, whose favorite hymn is my grandma’s favorite hymn, as also a Catholic. It all goes in a memory black hole.
My parents are like this: they just can’t conceive of Biden, whose favorite hymn is my grandma’s favorite hymn, as also a Catholic. It all goes in a memory black hole.
Reposted by Alex Church
The way I'd put it is that there's currently a global struggle between democracy and nationalist gangster-capitalism, that this struggle is simultaneously unfolding both within and between states, and that the US currently sits at its epicentre
The New Cold War is against nationalist authoritarianism, and the US is on their side.
December 5, 2025 at 11:40 AM
The way I'd put it is that there's currently a global struggle between democracy and nationalist gangster-capitalism, that this struggle is simultaneously unfolding both within and between states, and that the US currently sits at its epicentre
Reposted by Alex Church
No surprise that Ed West thinks you have to be white for London to be "your city", but still shocking that the *London* Standard prints this stuff.
[NB 1/2 of Londoners born in 2000 were not "white British"]
www.standard.co.uk/comment/gen-...
[NB 1/2 of Londoners born in 2000 were not "white British"]
www.standard.co.uk/comment/gen-...
December 6, 2025 at 4:46 PM
No surprise that Ed West thinks you have to be white for London to be "your city", but still shocking that the *London* Standard prints this stuff.
[NB 1/2 of Londoners born in 2000 were not "white British"]
www.standard.co.uk/comment/gen-...
[NB 1/2 of Londoners born in 2000 were not "white British"]
www.standard.co.uk/comment/gen-...