Month: October 2025

I’ve never been a fan of labels and have spoken out against them for years. “Far right,” “radical left,” “woke,” “snowflake,” “fascist,” “Marxist” the list goes on. It seems we’ve built a political culture where sticking a tag on someone matters more than actually understanding what they’re saying.

What really makes me laugh (or despair, depending on the day) is how quickly people who object to being labelled themselves are the first to slap a label on someone else. Those who insist, “I’m not far right!” will, in the same breath, sneer about “the radical left,” or “the woke brigade.” It cuts both ways, or not at all.

This constant cycle of finger-pointing and name-calling isn’t debate. It’s a distraction. It lets people avoid having to justify their ideas, or even engage with anyone who challenges them. Why listen, when you can dismiss? Why think, when you can shout?

What’s worse, it’s fuelled by the very politicians and media figures who thrive on outrage. Talk shows need conflict; parties need enemies. So, the easiest route is to make disagreement sound like extremism. If you question immigration policy, you’re “far right.” If you talk about inequality, you’re “hard left.” If you ask for fairness, you’re “woke.”

This isn’t politics, it’s playground stuff dressed up as principle.

The truth is, most people aren’t ideologues. They’re not sitting around plotting cultural revolutions or national takeovers. They just want decent lives, a fair shot, and a bit of respect. But that doesn’t sell papers, and it doesn’t trend online. Division does.

So, maybe the next time someone throws a label your way, the best answer isn’t to throw one back, it’s to ask what they actually mean. Because once we stop talking in headlines and start talking like human beings again, we might find we’re not as divided as we’ve been told we are.

Until then, expect more shouting, more smugness, and more meaningless labels, from people who still can’t see that they’re doing exactly what they claim to hate.

@Newdaystarts

Yet another terror attack has struck the UK, this time against a synagogue in Manchester. It comes at a moment when England has rarely felt more divided. Political arguments, cultural battles, and economic pressures have left us fractured and this latest violence threatens to split us further.

Already, the attack has fuelled fires on all sides. Some are using it to point fingers, to deepen divides, to pit communities against one another. But we must be clear: the Jewish people in that Manchester synagogue are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, just as ordinary Muslims attending their local mosque are not responsible for the crimes of a deranged jihadist. Collective blame is poison. And it’s exactly what those who commit these attacks want us to fall into.

Manchester knows this pain. We remember the Arena bombing. We remember the grief, the anger, and the attempts to drive wedges between communities. But Manchester also remembers something else: how people came together. How the city stood shoulder to shoulder, refusing to be cowed, refusing to let hatred define it.

The individuals who carry out these attacks want us to turn on one another. They want Jews to feel unsafe in their synagogues. They want ordinary Muslims to be blamed for crimes they had no part in. They want Britain to eat itself alive with mistrust and hate.

We cannot give them that victory.

My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected in Manchester. But thoughts and prayers must also be joined with defiance, with a refusal to allow this attack to become another brick in the wall of division.

We must grieve, yes. We must demand justice, yes. But we must also remember that unity is our strongest weapon. If we stand together, Jewish, Muslim, Christian, secular, all communities, then hatred cannot win.

Those seeking to divide us will fail if we refuse to play their dangerous game. Division is their fuel. Unity is our shield.

Manchester has shown before that it can meet terror with resilience and compassion. Now is the time to show it again.

We cannot allow hatred to rule. Not in Manchester. Not in Britain. Not now. Not ever.

@newdaystarts