Starmer declares war

There is a lot to be said about Starmer’s conference speech - which was essentially a declaration of war - in which he said, referring to people of my political persuasion, “If you say or imply people cannot be English or British because of the colour of their skin. We will fight you with everything we have because you are the enemy”.

I think we can take him at his word. “With everything we have” clearly refers to the police force who are now tasked with dragging people from their homes at night for the crime of posting a meme.

He said “Free speech is a British value and we have guarded it for centuries, but if you incite racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern, it’s criminal.”

As it happens, I would agree that inciting racial hatred is criminal, but that all turns on definitions. According to the regime, a “Fuck Hamas” meme is inciting racial hatred.

Starmer’s words ultimately hinge on whether Englishness is an identity anyone can adopt or an ethnicity. As a matter of fact, it is an ethnicity. A Pakistani can hold a British passport, but will never be English - nor will their offspring.

What Stamer is attempting to do here is to tap into an confected leftist idea of civic nationalism. It is, of course, based on those nebulous “British values” we hear so much about.

Only Labour will not defend British values. Certainly not freedom of speech and the freedom to criticise religions. British values apparently include Islamophobia definitions written by Islamists. British values are whatever Starmer says they are, which is the usual guff about openness and tolerance.

Personally, I don’t see how anyone can seriously buy into this. Our openness and tolerance has led to the social Balkanisation of Britain and our tolerance of Islam in particular has been an unmitigated disaster. We were never asked if we wanted to be replaced. Moreover, whatever immigrants contribute, it doesn’t make up for the crime, grooming, bombings and endless social problems. We’re entitled to fight for our own homeland.

The subtext of Labour’s latest campaign is that Reform’s policy on Indefinite Leave to Remain is inherently racist - and that concerns that the English are set to become a minority in our own homeland are not legitimate. Britain is little more than a neoliberal grazing srtip, anyone can become British, and those with ancestral ties to this land have no claim to it - and if you oppose this ideology, you are “the enemy”.

This is a man who, in the same breath, will talk about bringing country together.

Of course this doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t know about Labour. They see white working class Britons are the enemy, and must be treated as such. They’ve been clear about this ever since the Brexit vote. My question, though, is who exactly does this appeal to and when has this ever worked? Calling Trump voters “deplorables” famously did not work.

All the same, measuring Starmer’s words against the actions of the state this last week, we can safely assume that this warpath Starmer is on means we will see more Lucy Connollys in jail. Or Pete Norths for that matter. This is the one time I think we can take Keir Starmer at his word. That means more policing of speech, more crackdowns on the right, and more immigration. If Stamer wants a war, he’s certainly got one. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

On the subject of my arrest, the footage has now been viewed by 3.4m people on X alone. The footage has gone viral across social media and YouTube and is now being picked up by American news networks. It’s an international humiliation for North Yorkshire Police and extremely damaging to Britain’s reputation abroad. That gives you some indication of how Starmer’s war will play out.

As it happens, there is actually more footage of this arrest taken by my other half. It’s taken until now for me to be able to watch it. It’s harrowing to relive it. It depicts the subsequent events and you can tell from the panicked high pitch of my voice (rather embarrassingly) that I was starting to lose it. My Mrs is featured in the footage and for privacy reasons we don’t want it made public unless absolutely necessary, but it’s even more damning.

I asked them why I couldn’t just come in for a voluntary interview and was told “it doesn’t work like that” (likely a lie) - even though you can hear me stating quite clearly that I’m autistic. Absolutely no duty of care or risk assessment before loading me into a sealed cage.

At this point I was besides myself with disbelief and was shaking (it is actually terrifying to be told you’re going to be taken away and held in a cell) - at which point the other plod was telling me to “be reasonable” or they’d cuff me. I *was* entirely reasonable with them - enough to invite them in and invite them to sit down for a chat. I lost my composure (and dignity) when they told me I would be taken away and held in a cell - as I’m massively claustrophobic. I couldn’t have imagined they were going to rip me from my home over a meme.

I was due to talk to a solicitor today but I had to defer it because I needed to just shelve it all for the day. I climbed up a mountain in Wales to get away from people. I’m pleased to report, though, that I am meeting with Alec Shelbrooke MP on Friday and will attempt to speak with FSU tomorrow. What I can say is that when I do sue the police, this additional footage will show that these two plod were seriously inept in their handling of it - and they had no business arresting me in this way.

I thought I’d weathered all this quite well considering, but much of it is only just sinking in, and seeing the other footage makes me sick to my stomach.