Farage aims at Abortion, “No Records” of Mandelson lobbying Govt

In this week's issue

• Far-right groups and Reform UK politicians are adopting US-style tactics to turn reproductive rights into a dangerous new culture war
• The UK government failed to keep records of multiple meetings between top officials and lobbyists from Peter Mandelson's former firm
• Trapped in the Libyan desert by armed militias, hundreds of volunteers in a Gaza-bound aid convoy are rationing water and refusing to abandon their mission
• The UK's advertising watchdog has ruled that anti-rape start-up Enough misled the public
• How a Kremlin-linked disinformation campaign exposed a dangerous vulnerability in cash-strapped newsrooms willing to publish unverified fake news
• Paul Rogers: The foundation of Vladimir Putin's war machine is finally beginning to crack
• How the British establishment made Nigel Farage's far-right politics respectable
• Plus: This week in history and what we’re reading

I was at the “Unite the Kingdom” rally organised by far-right provocateur Tommy Robinson, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, last Saturday. How was your weekend?

There were men costumed as the Knights Templar; there was a fleet of the wheelchair-bound elderly. There were young mothers pushing prams, kids whizzing along pavements on pushbikes, dads popping open tupperware boxes and unpacking sandwiches. “It is quite a family atmosphere. Nothing to feel afraid of,” said the woman selling ‘Keir Starmer’s a W⚓’ T-shirts. “T-shirt? It’s only 10 quid.”

The crowd reminded me of an irate comment from an openDemocracy reader: “What is wrong with you people? At every opportunity you label ordinary people and people who want what is right for this country as far right. I think you need to take a good look at yourselves before you judge the rest of the country.”

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