All posts tagged: Britain

Politics Home | Reform Councillor Claims Restore Britain Would Deport People “Just Because Of Their Colour”

Politics Home | Reform Councillor Claims Restore Britain Would Deport People “Just Because Of Their Colour”

Published by Sam Flores

George Finch, the 19 year old running two councils, told The House magazine Restore Britain were akin to the BNP. (Alamy) 3 min read43 min The teenage Reform UK councillor leading Warwickshire council has claimed that a Restore Britain government would deport people “just because of their colour”. George Finch, the 19-year-old councillor who is currently in charge of both Warwickshire County Council and Bedworth and Nuneaton Borough Council, said in an interview with The House magazine that Sikh and Gurkha communities in his area, who have “fought with us (Britain)” in wars, would be “gone” if Rupert Lowe’s party entered power. A Restore Britain spokesperson told PoliticsHome: “Finch is talking total bullshit.” His comments come as Restore Britain looks to challenge Reform UK’s position as the leading right-wing party in the UK. Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, launched the party after falling out with Farage and being removed from Reform UK following accusations of bullying that he denies. Endorsed by the controversial billionaire owner of X, Elon Musk, Restore Britain is seen as to the right of Reform, …

Chinese cars to be built in Britain for first time by major plant | UK | News

Chinese cars to be built in Britain for first time by major plant | UK | News

Published by Sam Flores

Chinese cars are set to be built in Britain for the first time after Nissan struck a deal to use spare production capacity at its Sunderland plant in Tyne and Wear with rival Chinese manufacturer Chery. The agreement, announced by Nissan on Wednesday, will see the Japanese carmaker manufacture vehicles for Chery — the parent company of Jaecoo and Omoda — from next year, subject to ongoing negotiations. The deal remains non-binding, with final details still to be confirmed, including which models will be produced. What does the Nissan and Chery deal involve? Nissan said it is looking to make better use of spare capacity at its Sunderland factory, which can build more than 500,000 vehicles a year but has recently been operating well below that level due to weaker demand. Under the proposed arrangement, production of Chery-branded vehicles would begin in the UK for the first time, marking a significant shift in the British automotive manufacturing landscape. Until now, Chinese firms such as SAIC Motor and Geely have only produced vehicles in the UK …

World’s largest scorpion lived in Britain 415 million years ago

World’s largest scorpion lived in Britain 415 million years ago

Published by Jenni Sidey

A giant predator was stalking what is now Britain roughly 415 million years ago, long before forests spread and before the ancestors of reptiles, birds, and mammals had fully taken to land. Its identity has been argued over for more than a century. Now researchers say the fossil fragments belong to a scorpion, and not just any scorpion, but the largest one yet known. The animal, Praearcturus gigas, is estimated to have exceeded a meter in length. Its pincers alone reached about 16 centimeters, far larger than those of any living scorpion. The new analysis, published in Palaeontology, also folds two other fossil species into the same animal, strengthening the case that these scattered remains all belonged to one outsized predator from Early Devonian England and Wales. That matters because Praearcturus lived at a very different moment in Earth’s history than the giant arthropods people usually picture. The discovery of Eramoscorpius (pictured) finally provided the fossil evidence to prove Praearcturus was a scorpion after all. (CREDIT: Palaeontology) Before forests, before vertebrates, a giant hunter When …

Protests Over Murder Case in Britain Turn Violent

Protests Over Murder Case in Britain Turn Violent

Published by Sam Flores

new video loaded: Protests Over Murder Case in Britain Turn Violent transcript Back transcript Protests Over Murder Case in Britain Turn Violent Protests in Southampton turned violent on Tuesday after far-right commentators made claims that the police’s handling of a murder case in Britain showed the authorities were biased against white people. Police officer: “Are you injured?” Vickrum Digwa: “Yeah, yeah, I’ve got a swollen eye, a little bruising.” Police officer: “All right, just step back a little bit for me.” Henry Nowak: “I’ve been stabbed.” Police officer: “You’ve been stabbed? Whereabouts? I don’t think you have, mate.” Henry Nowak: “I can’t breathe.” “Henry’s father said this: ‘We do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension.’ I think those words have resonated with people across the country. We must not allow this tragedy to be hijacked by anyone who seeks to divide us.” Protests in Southampton turned violent on Tuesday after far-right commentators made claims that the police’s handling of a murder case in Britain showed the authorities …

Politics Home Article | The First Restore Britain University Societies Are Being Created

Politics Home Article | The First Restore Britain University Societies Are Being Created

Published by Sam Flores

Rupert Lowe launched his party Restore Britain earlier this year (Alamy) 5 min read48 min The University of York’s Restore Britain society is the first to be ratified at a Russell Group institution. PoliticsHome speaks to its president about how society hopes to help Rupert Lowe and why billionaire Elon Musk’s support for the party could be a “double-edged sword”. When former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe launched his own party, Restore Britain, in February after falling out with Nigel Farage, there was scepticism that it could have a meaningful electoral impact. There was a belief that there was limited space for a right-wing, fringe party to have an impact as long as Nigel Farage’s Reform continues to lead the polls. However, at this month’s local elections, there were signs that Restore Britain could prove to be a headache for Farage. Lowe’s party, which has hard-right policies like the mass deportation of all illegal immigrants and shutting down universities that “brainwash students into hating their own culture”, helped deny Reform a majority on Norfolk County Council by winning all 10 seats …

The Case For Air Conditioning Is Growing In Britain

The Case For Air Conditioning Is Growing In Britain

Published by Jenni Sidey

A recent spell of extreme heat has intensified debate over whether UK homes should be designed with built-in cooling systems, according to FT. Air conditioning remains uncommon in Britain, with fewer than 5% of homes equipped with it, reflecting a long-standing view that cooling is a luxury rather than a necessity. FT writes that current building standards favor passive methods of controlling indoor temperatures, such as insulation, shading, and natural ventilation. Developers generally prioritize these measures, arguing they are more energy-efficient and better aligned with environmental goals. Concerns about the cost of installation, higher electricity consumption, and pressure on the power grid have also limited the adoption of air conditioning in new developments. However, rising temperatures are challenging this approach. Critics argue that passive measures become less effective during severe heatwaves, particularly in modern, well-insulated buildings that can trap heat indoors. Climate experts have warned that a significant share of the UK’s housing stock may require some form of active cooling as temperatures continue to rise. Consumer attitudes appear to be shifting as hotter summers …

Thirty years of fighting for a secular Britain

Thirty years of fighting for a secular Britain

Published by Sam Flores

Keith Porteous Wood joined the National Secular Society in 1996 as executive director. He became president in 2017. Helen Nicholls spoke with him about three decades of campaigning. You’ve been with the National Secular Society for thirty years now. What first brought you to the organisation? I heard about the National Secular Society through being an active member of the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association. The NSS’s relevance seemed compelling. As a gay rights campaigner, I felt the main obstacle to equality was religious interests, and I soon became a volunteer. I had been in fairly high-flying finance posts, but I wanted to do something more consequential as a second career and was prepared to take a huge salary drop to do it. I should say that it was Terry Sanderson who persuaded me to apply for the job. Terry was my partner, and he later became NSS President himself, serving from 2006 to 2017. He died in 2022, after several years of illness, and his absence is still keenly felt. Marking thirty years of …

DNA uncovers a dynamic history of migration to Britain

DNA uncovers a dynamic history of migration to Britain

Published by skeptic

Each of us tells a story about who we are, often tracing our identity back through an imagined line of ancestors. Though identity is fundamentally cultural, we tend to anchor it in biology – in the idea of a stable genetic inheritance passed down through generations. Population genomics has exposed a history far more complex, dynamic and intertwined than we might wish to imagine. Even in a place such as Britain, long imagined as an island of deep and uninterrupted heritage, genetic data suggest a history marked by intense migration, mixture and cultural reinvention. Two new studies have reinforced this picture, by analysing DNA from the skeletal remains of British individuals who lived during Roman and medieval times. Prehistoric Britain witnessed periodic major migrations interspersed with smaller and more regular movements of peoples across what was then a contiguous landscape. After about 6100BC, rising sea levels isolated Britain from mainland Europe, helping to promote later historical narratives of a population relatively isolated. Yet even early observers recognised otherwise. Writing in the first century AD, the …