Society Archives - West Country Voices

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No, Britain isn’t banning 67 dog breeds

Emma Monk
Pug dog

Buckle up, today will be a double debunk; Firstly the headline and article, and secondly, the online claims sprouting from this article. The Claim So let’s start with the claim that 67 dog breeds could be banned in Britain. The Daily Mail begins with: Sixty-seven dog breeds could be banned in Britain if new breeding guidelines set […]

Let’s march together! Saturday, 28 March, London

Anthea Simmons

I don’t know about you, but I am sick of the political narrative being dominated by the far right and I am sick of this government allowing Reform UK to colour or even, seemingly, dictate policy. The Overton window has been pushed so far to the right by the client media and the (historically) main […]

Something’s burning…

Mike Zollo

One of the most memorable American films I have seen, albeit many years ago, was Mississippi Burning (1988). Its producer was Frederick Zollo, and no, he is no relative of mine, so far as I know, but was married to Barbara Broccoli, famous for some of the Bond films. Mississippi Burning is based loosely on […]

Children of the algorithm: in support of a social media ban

Lucas Brendon

In the boardrooms that control our cortisol economies, tech executives rub their hands with glee and continue, avariciously, to guard the profits they have earned out of children’s dependency. Many of my peers describe to me how they know the impacts of social media on their mental health but just can’t stop scrolling, feeling like […]

I need to tell this tale again, with a little more urgency…

David Knopfler

My grandparents on my mother’s side were Geordies from the North East of England, born and bred, but on my father’s side were born in the Austro-Hungarian empire. My grandfather from Hungary and my grandmother from Austria, just off the Danube – Rembrandtstrasse – just a short walk from the University. Cultured and deeply integrated. […]

ICE

David Knopfler

A journalist, without completing the checks, nor indeed any of the paperwork, was, to their astonishment, approved online for a job as an ICE agent anyway – intentionally demonstrating for their magazine that literally any unvetted person could be appointed. By implication also demonstrating any kind of racist, rapist, felon with a grudge or an […]

The infested meal: letter to the editor

Editor-in-chief

Stop calling this a food crisis, because a crisis suggests confusion or happenstance, and nothing about what is happening in Gaza is unintentional. People are not running out of food; they are being pushed into starvation so deep that families are forced to eat expired flour crawling with insects, soaked in rodent waste, and covered […]

They’re still not cancelling Christmas (Part 2!)

Emma Monk

Here is part 2 of my “they’re cancelling Christmas” debunk. I will try and cover as many of the ludicrous rage bait claims as I can, so you have the facts to hand when your Facebook-indoctrinated relative brings up these myths over the festive period. In part 1, I debunked the claims that Tesco had renamed their plastic Christmas […]

No, Tesco hasn’t cancelled Christmas

Emma Monk

A myth-busting explainer on Tesco trees, ‘renamed’ cakes, and the real purpose behind these manufactured panics. I vowed I wasn’t going to do a ‘they’re cancelling Christmas’ Substack after doing a quick Bluesky thread on it, and talking about it very briefly on James O’Brien’s LBC show. However, I’ve changed my mind for several reasons: So buckle up for your […]

Festivities at the foodbank

Niamh Tickner

This December, Bournemouth Foodbank is bringing festive cheer to communities across the town, with a full programme of events and the launch of a brand-new hub in Winton, St Luke’s Hub. Across two weekends — 6–7 December and 20–21 December — from 10am to 4pm, the Foodbank will be hosting Festive Fun at the Sovereign Centre. Families […]

“It’s a question of humanity”

Mike Zollo

A few weeks ago, a Guardian article with this title described how a Spanish town took a very significant decision over the treatment of its migrants. But first, some background. The UK is not the only target destination for migrants seeking a safer or a more prosperous life; in fact, Spain receives considerably more migrants […]

Care4Calais need our help to buy 1,000 winter snug packs

Editor-in-chief

A couple of weeks ago, we published Simon Chater’s account of the work of Care4Calais. Now the weather has changed – cold, wet and brutal and whilst Care4Calais usually see a dip in those needing their help in the winter months, this is not the case this year as war, climate and persecution drive more […]

“Do they look like terrorists to you?” Palestine Action supporters resist the criminalisation of dissent

Philippa Davies

Activists in Exeter will be joining a national wave of protest against the banning of Palestine Action as a ‘terrorist organisation’ this Saturday, November 29. Around 25 protesters will defy the ban by sitting quietly outside Exeter Central Station from 1pm, holding placards stating “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”. It’s part of what […]

Starmer’s new best friend – Tommy Robinson

Mark Kieran

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 […]

How a misread statistic became proof of “too many black people” in TV ads

Emma Monk

Last weekend, an elected member of parliament (Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin) went on Talk TV and said, “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people, full of people who are basically anything other than white people.” Let that sink in. We have reached a point in the political discourse […]

Devon quarry plan could put new nature protection laws to the test

Philippa Davies

On the surface it looks like another ‘conservation versus industry’ planning controversy, with the odds predictably stacked against nature and wildlife. A multinational quarrying company wants to expand its operations in Devon, which will mean destroying a large forest. As the company prepares its application for planning permission, a group of local residents are fighting […]

Tell your MP: don’t rip up our rights!

Mark Kieran

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 […]

No, kids weren’t told they’d “all be Muslim by year 6”

Emma Monk

A handful of parents, a far-right outrage machine, and the damage misinformation does to real communities: A simple school assembly in Swansea, where a visitor from a local mosque spoke about her faith, became the latest culture war story fuelled by far-right activists, misinformation, a Reform councillor and GB News. Earlier this month, a small […]

“If you want to be hopeful, do hopeful things” Jane Fonda

Anthea Simmons

The campaign organisation HOPE not hate‘s Weekend of HOPE will see hundreds and thousands of leaflets delivered to houses in the UK and thousands of people will take to the streets with a simple message: communities are stronger together. We live in an era in which certain politicians and oligarchs are hellbent on dividing us […]

Why Reform’s plans would hurt Britain

Jon Danzig

The Telegraph reported on September 22 that Nigel Farage’s Reform Party would expel hundreds of thousands of migrants if it gained power. Reform says it would scrap Indefinite Leave to Remain retrospectively, raise the Skilled Worker salary bar to £60,000 a year, require higher English, restrict access to most benefits and free NHS care for […]

What if…? A group of young people share their vision

Anthea Simmons

We recently organised a free event for young people with activist and campaigner, Rob Hopkins, also of transition town fame and the author of many books, including the inspirational ‘How to Fall in Love with the Future‘. (You can read our review of the book here.) Held in Ashburton Arts Centre, which Andy Williamson generously […]

The ‘crazy idea’ that won a £250,000 Lottery grant

Philippa Davies

There are plenty of very stupid and wasteful consumer shopping habits, but top of the list must be buying something quite expensive for one specific job or activity, using it solely for that purpose, and then storing it away in your shed or garage and forgetting about it. We’re talking about things like carpet cleaners, […]

High time for more integration and less hypocrisy and hate

Mike Zollo

“Bigotry and prejudice are the hallmarks of those who fear what they cannot understand.” (a concise and accurate comment on a post in the Facebook page of ’ORDER! The Sir John Bercow Fanclub’) Migration Like many areas of the world, the British Isles have a long and varied history of absorbing immigrants from elsewhere. Recent […]

From PlayStations to Spanish lessons: debunking the asylum “freebies” list

Emma Monk

The Daily Mail recently ran an article: “List of perks taxpayers are funding for asylum seekers”. The Conservative party then took that list, created a handy little graphic and then posted it on X: REVEALED: The huge list of freebies and perks channel migrants are entitled to once they land in Britain. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves is taxing […]

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