John Denham
@jydenham.bsky.social
Professor | Former Labour MP and Cabinet Minister | Director, Centre for English Identity and Politics | Writing about how ideas of nation and nationhood shape politics today at nationstateandpolitics.substack.com ✍️
Reposted by John Denham
Might be interested in 👇and related posts open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
January 10, 2026 at 8:58 AM
Might be interested in 👇and related posts open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
Might be interested in 👇and related posts open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
January 10, 2026 at 8:58 AM
Might be interested in 👇and related posts open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
Reposted by John Denham
It’s hard to complain about a ‘stakeholder state’ preventing government from delivering for the people when it is the government that is promoting the institutions of the stakeholder state over the interests of the people.
Keir Starmer's spokesman tells me that X and Grok's creation of sexual deepfakes of children is "completely unacceptable" but again won't commit to taking direct action against them, or to stop posting there.
Says "all options are on the table" but suggests it's a matter for Ofcom, not Government
Says "all options are on the table" but suggests it's a matter for Ofcom, not Government
January 7, 2026 at 3:07 PM
It’s hard to complain about a ‘stakeholder state’ preventing government from delivering for the people when it is the government that is promoting the institutions of the stakeholder state over the interests of the people.
It’s hard to complain about a ‘stakeholder state’ preventing government from delivering for the people when it is the government that is promoting the institutions of the stakeholder state over the interests of the people.
Keir Starmer's spokesman tells me that X and Grok's creation of sexual deepfakes of children is "completely unacceptable" but again won't commit to taking direct action against them, or to stop posting there.
Says "all options are on the table" but suggests it's a matter for Ofcom, not Government
Says "all options are on the table" but suggests it's a matter for Ofcom, not Government
January 7, 2026 at 3:07 PM
It’s hard to complain about a ‘stakeholder state’ preventing government from delivering for the people when it is the government that is promoting the institutions of the stakeholder state over the interests of the people.
Reposted by John Denham
Come join our team at FGF:
* Communications Coordinator - who will devise & deliver communication campaigns to raise FGF's profile, reputation and reach
* Researcher - who will conduct research & analysis in support of FGF projects and workstreams
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/vacancies/
* Communications Coordinator - who will devise & deliver communication campaigns to raise FGF's profile, reputation and reach
* Researcher - who will conduct research & analysis in support of FGF projects and workstreams
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/vacancies/
January 6, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Come join our team at FGF:
* Communications Coordinator - who will devise & deliver communication campaigns to raise FGF's profile, reputation and reach
* Researcher - who will conduct research & analysis in support of FGF projects and workstreams
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/vacancies/
* Communications Coordinator - who will devise & deliver communication campaigns to raise FGF's profile, reputation and reach
* Researcher - who will conduct research & analysis in support of FGF projects and workstreams
www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/vacancies/
Reposted by John Denham
The government appears to be mistaken about the priority given to X by "families" in the UK
If there is an argument then this is the argument. But lol I can’t find where this obviously false stat is coming from. And if the government does believe more than half the families in the UK are using it as their primary news source then woah maybe time to up the scrutiny of it!
January 5, 2026 at 8:08 PM
The government appears to be mistaken about the priority given to X by "families" in the UK
Reposted by John Denham
This 👇
The whole argument ignores the extent to which both parties have actively worked to hollow out the capacity of the state as economically active, concerned with distribution and able to deliver public services. What he is describing is ‘fringe’ only because it is too often all that is left.
January 3, 2026 at 7:14 AM
This 👇
Reposted by John Denham
I am curious as to who the "stakeholders" are who are preventing the UK government from acting against a white supremacist pornographer?
If the British government, and indeed other governments, can’t muster a fast and strong response to Twitter adding a facility enabling users to create and share AI child sexual abuse material then not sure what Musk could ever do that would actually provoke a response.
January 2, 2026 at 2:38 PM
I am curious as to who the "stakeholders" are who are preventing the UK government from acting against a white supremacist pornographer?
Reposted by John Denham
There is, to my mind, no justification for the continued use by the UK Government of X as a platform for official comms. There hasn't been for some time, in fact, but if the latest developments around AI-generated image abuse and CSAM don't change the policy I really don't know what will.
NEW: People are using Elon Musk's chatbot, Grok, to alter images to depict real women being sexually abused, humiliated, hurt, and even killed.
futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com/future-socie...
Grok Is Being Used to Depict Horrific Violence Against Real Women
People are asking Elon Musk's Grok chatbot to alter images to depict women being sexually abused, humiliated, and even killed.
futurism.com
January 2, 2026 at 9:18 PM
There is, to my mind, no justification for the continued use by the UK Government of X as a platform for official comms. There hasn't been for some time, in fact, but if the latest developments around AI-generated image abuse and CSAM don't change the policy I really don't know what will.
Reposted by John Denham
News outlets need to get a grip on this. X and X-ai are avoiding offering responses, so they end up quoting the AI generator of contradictory gobbledegook because it will respond, but the responses are not meaningful
January 2, 2026 at 8:00 PM
News outlets need to get a grip on this. X and X-ai are avoiding offering responses, so they end up quoting the AI generator of contradictory gobbledegook because it will respond, but the responses are not meaningful
Reposted by John Denham
Exactly right John. They’ve pushed away the intermediary social & economic institutions that might help shape and implement reform and then get upset when they discover politics keeps on happening to them.
January 2, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Exactly right John. They’ve pushed away the intermediary social & economic institutions that might help shape and implement reform and then get upset when they discover politics keeps on happening to them.
Reposted by John Denham
Yes, I am agreeing about the danger of bloc-ist polarisation about foundational questions of democratic norms or of identity + citizenship in a multiethnic, multifaith democracy
December 30, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Yes, I am agreeing about the danger of bloc-ist polarisation about foundational questions of democratic norms or of identity + citizenship in a multiethnic, multifaith democracy
Reposted by John Denham
Less a success of the far right and more the failure of others to tell a
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
Number of people who say Britons must be born in UK is rising, study shows
Exclusive: Research finds ‘worrying’ surge in support for hard-right narratives on national identity
www.theguardian.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Less a success of the far right and more the failure of others to tell a
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
Less a success of the far right and more the failure of others to tell a
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
Number of people who say Britons must be born in UK is rising, study shows
Exclusive: Research finds ‘worrying’ surge in support for hard-right narratives on national identity
www.theguardian.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Less a success of the far right and more the failure of others to tell a
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
compelling story of nationhood and belonging open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
I might be biased but @jydenham.bsky.social has an excellent substack that I think makes sense of this through the lens of nationhood and the question of who the nation serves. For Reform and now Tories it’s ethnonationalism. Who’s offering a clear, progressive alternative vision of nationhood?
The Conservative Party is simultaneously arguing people shouldn’t be jailed for social media posts directly calling for violence, but also that people’s citizenship should be revoked over social media posts they don’t like.
Make it make sense.
Make it make sense.
December 29, 2025 at 2:12 PM
For broader context: ‘The Architecture of the British Christian Right’ by Francis Davis: 👇
www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
Tommy Robinson says he found Jesus in prison. Churches disagree about how to respond
C of E faces dilemma as far right claims Christianity to push agenda that often clashes with gospel message
www.theguardian.com
December 29, 2025 at 10:14 AM
For broader context: ‘The Architecture of the British Christian Right’ by Francis Davis: 👇
www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
This, by Francis Davis, sets Robinson in a much broader context of British Christian nationalism www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
Tommy Robinson says he found Jesus in prison. Churches disagree about how to respond
C of E faces dilemma as far right claims Christianity to push agenda that often clashes with gospel message
www.theguardian.com
December 28, 2025 at 6:45 PM
This, by Francis Davis, sets Robinson in a much broader context of British Christian nationalism www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
This, by Prof Francis Davis, gives valuable context to the rise of British Christian Nationalism. It’s not just Robinson www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
December 28, 2025 at 6:43 PM
This, by Prof Francis Davis, gives valuable context to the rise of British Christian Nationalism. It’s not just Robinson www.southampton.ac.uk/~assets/doc/...
Reposted by John Denham
The white working class and multi-cultural nationalism - 4th most read article in Political Quarterly in 2025. With @tariqmodood.bsky.social and Sam Taylor Hill
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Multicultural Nationalism: Saving the White Working Class from Blue Labour?
This article explores Labour's electoral response to the rise of Reform UK, whose recent local election gains and strong polling suggest significant appeal among white working class voters. Labour's ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:23 AM
The white working class and multi-cultural nationalism - 4th most read article in Political Quarterly in 2025. With @tariqmodood.bsky.social and Sam Taylor Hill
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by John Denham
Nice to be in this spot with co-authors @jydenham.bsky.social and Sam Taylor Hill
Number 4 in the most-read PQ journal articles of 2025 was:
'Multicultural Nationalism: Saving the White Working Class from Blue Labour?'.
By Sam Taylor Hill, @tariqmodood.bsky.social, @jydenham.bsky.social
Read now: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
'Multicultural Nationalism: Saving the White Working Class from Blue Labour?'.
By Sam Taylor Hill, @tariqmodood.bsky.social, @jydenham.bsky.social
Read now: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
December 20, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Nice to be in this spot with co-authors @jydenham.bsky.social and Sam Taylor Hill
Reposted by John Denham
A new paradigm is needed for Europe’s national democracies.
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
December 19, 2025 at 12:43 PM
A new paradigm is needed for Europe’s national democracies.
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
Reposted by John Denham
What role did/does/could/should faith play in shaping our national identities? With Prof Linda Woodhead and great panel. Book here👇
Faith and England’s National Identities
Launch Event (online)
www.eventbrite.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
What role did/does/could/should faith play in shaping our national identities? With Prof Linda Woodhead and great panel. Book here👇
What role did/does/could/should faith play in shaping our national identities? With Prof Linda Woodhead and great panel. Book here👇
Faith and England’s National Identities
Launch Event (online)
www.eventbrite.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 1:09 PM
What role did/does/could/should faith play in shaping our national identities? With Prof Linda Woodhead and great panel. Book here👇
A new paradigm is needed for Europe’s national democracies.
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
December 19, 2025 at 12:43 PM
A new paradigm is needed for Europe’s national democracies.
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
buff.ly/GRh4HQh
The white working class and multi-cultural nationalism - 4th most read article in Political Quarterly in 2025. With @tariqmodood.bsky.social and Sam Taylor Hill
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Multicultural Nationalism: Saving the White Working Class from Blue Labour?
This article explores Labour's electoral response to the rise of Reform UK, whose recent local election gains and strong polling suggest significant appeal among white working class voters. Labour's ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:23 AM
The white working class and multi-cultural nationalism - 4th most read article in Political Quarterly in 2025. With @tariqmodood.bsky.social and Sam Taylor Hill
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....