As we move towards 2025...

Around the Winter Solstice, it’s the time of year to try and take the foot off the gas a bit, take a few steps back and reflect on what has transpired during 2024 and what may transpire during 2025. Suffice to say, looking back at 2024 is painful enough, but it has to be done, if only to learn a few more harsh life lessons… Also, before anyone starts going ‘you’ve missed this, you’ve missed that’, it needs to be noted that any review like this is inevitably going to be subjective. Looking forward to 2025 and trying to predict what’s going to happen is, as I’ve written a few times before, a total mug’s game and, I have no desire to be held to account for any predictions I may make. So, all I’m going to do in this piece is highlight a few trends that may be emerging in 2025 and leave it at that.

I’ve written a few times about what some dubbed the ‘truth movement’ that emerged in the face of lockdown and the vaccine mandates in 2020 and 2021. Here in the UK, the ‘movement’ was in actual fact, little more than a disparate range of groups and demographics that came together on the streets every few weeks to vent their anger and frustration at what was being done to us in the name of ‘dealing with Covid’. It was little more than a temporary coalition of convenience that was inevitably going to fall apart. As I noted in the autumn of 2023, that ‘coalition’ started to fall apart when Hamas carried out their incursion into Israel on October 7, an event that prompted a sustained and lethal response from the Israeli ‘Defence’ Force that has inflicted tens of thousands of casualties on the Palestinian population in Gaza. This is what I had to write about it at the time: It was never going to last so, we need to move on... 16.10.23.

It took just a few days for what some thought was a growing sense of unity between disparate currents of dissent against the Covid narrative and the great reset to completely shatter along the lines of whether people support Israel or Palestine. Given the tribal nature of the way sides are now being taken in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, that sense of unity is never, ever coming back.

For a few brief moments in 2021 when I attended some of the anti-lockdown protests, I thought I may possibly have found my tribe. That was just for a few brief moments when a certain naivety took hold of me before reality came along to rudely awaken me. Thank f**k reality did come along to rudely awaken me, and a good many other people who naively thought they might have found their tribe. After this, the bitter truth is that I and many others are now what can best be described as politically homeless after having learned some painful lessons.

I know I keep banging on about the so called ‘truth movement’ and how easily it pressed the self destruct button but, it’s important for me to recognise where naivety briefly took a hold of me, if only to ensure that I do my level best to make sure it never happens again. I probably also keep banging on about being politically homeless. The point is that being politically homeless allows me to think independently and draw my own conclusions rather than those deemed necessary in order to curry favour with a particular political tribe. Okay, I may not always get it absolutely right but, none of us are perfect are we? The point is that if I have got my analysis of a situation wrong and it’s explained to me why that is, I’m happy to admit it and learn from my mistakes. I’d far rather do that than perform the mental gymnastics required to adhere to a rigid position just in order to gain acceptance in a particular political tribe. Suffice to say, being politically homeless does inform how I see and respond to what’s going on in the world…

2024 has been weird. That’s not just because of the health issues I had at the start of the year leading to an operation which has left me technically, mildly disabled but, still able to live a more or less full life. It’s weird because of the build up of what feels like an increasingly toxic mood in the country. This is a toxicity that’s manifesting itself in quite a few ways, not all of them immediately obvious. For me it really kicked off after the snap general election back in July where, because of the quirks of the first past the post voting system, Starmer’s Labour government ‘won’ power with the support of just one in five of all eligible voters – this includes those who chose not to vote. This is what I had to say about it at the time: Now the election theatrics are over… 5.7.24.

Let's get the important bit said first of all, namely that the winner of the UK general election is...the government! The two images above hopefully convey the message that the proposition that elections offer a real choice is illusory. What you have witnessed in the election campaign from politicians, candidates, pundits and the media are performative theatrics that are indulged in to try and convince the voters that there are real alternatives on offer. Anyone who takes more than a cursory look at politics in the UK will realise that the notion that there are real differences between the main parties is nothing more than an illusion.

With the support of just one in five of all eligible voters, it’s not surprising that Starmer’s government has become widely hated. Hated to the point that certain actors with dubious agendas have exploited that in an attempt to get another general election called. One that as things stand at the moment would undoubtedly benefit Reform. This is what I had to say about this: What is the petition calling for another general election about? 27.11.24.

It hardly came as a surprise to me that a petition was started up demanding another general election. Signed by people who a) wanted to make a gesture of defiance against Starmer’s government and b) naively think that voting is actually going to make a difference. At the time of writing, the petition has been signed by over two million people and that number is rising.

The petition comes in the aftermath of a somewhat testy summer, one that was marked by street disturbances, and threats and rumours of more to come, in the aftermath of the horrific murder of three young girls at a dance event in Southport on Monday 29 July. This is what I had to say about this: This is what a lack of trust looks like... 31.7.24.

All of this has created a political and social vacuum. Vacuums don't stay empty for long - there will always be grifters and chancers seeking to seize on people's legitimate concerns and twist them to suit their own nefarious agenda. With the revival of Tommy Robinson's fortunes, the appearance of more grifters, chancers and shit stirrers such as Laurence Fox, Darren Grimes et al on the scene, there are plenty of people willing to exploit genuine and perceived concerns, stoking up a considerable amount of tension that is inevitably going to explode on the streets.

Inevitably the Left reacted to this in their usual knee jerk fashion without even pausing to consider the tensions that have been building up for years in some working class areas that played a part in the street disturbances breaking out. Examining the roots of those tensions within a segment of the working class that feels utterly disenfranchised and marginalised would, in an ideal world, have led to a more considered response. You don’t need me to tell you that we do not live in an ideal world which is why the reaction of the Left was what it was. This is what I had to say about what could well be described as a theatrical over-reaction to the provocation from the patriot/anti-immigration brigade: So, what the heck was that all about? 8.8.24.

So what actually happened on the evening of Wednesday 7 August in cities and towns across the country? Well, from the patriot/amti-immigration side, hardly anything to be honest. Sure, there were a few places where they did turn out but not in any great numbers. It's midweek and the vast majority of them had work the next day. The risk of taking to the streets when there's a significant chance of getting nicked and subsequently losing their jobs was probably a deterrent. As are the prison sentences already being meted out by courts sitting all day and all night. It's interesting how some people on the Left are now applauding these sentences not long after decrying those handed down to the Just Stop Oil protesters who stopped the traffic on the M25 motorway. Consistency doesn't seem to be a strong point of the Left, does it?

Looking at things in a specifically Bristol context, what could be described as the virtue signallers coming out in force on Wednesday 7 August in response to barely credible threats amplified by Hope Not Hate has to be seen in a very different light to what occurred the previous Saturday outside the Mecure hotel on Redcliffe Hill. This hotel has been used to house refugees, mainly families. Note families, not the young, single males that are often cited as causing issues. That didn’t stop a mob of patriots and anti-immigration people from marching towards the hotel after leaving a rally in nearby Castle Park. Fortunately, enough Bristol locals had made it down to the hotel before the mob arrived to do their level best to protect it from people in that mob who were intent on attacking it. This is an eye witness account of someone who was in the line of defenders outside the hotel: We protected our community from a far right mob, here's what happened - Huck | 6.8.24.

The reason I mention what happened outside the Mercure is that back in late July going into early August, the atmosphere became quite toxic with a lot of polarisation and people picking a tribe while losing the ability to take a few steps back, calm down, think critically and ask if they were being played. There were certainly people on one side with agendas who were stoking up anti-migrant sentiment. Yet on the other side, there were the likes of Hope Not Hate sowing fear on the basis of so called threats that were barely credible. In the middle of all that, there were people in Bristol who felt they had no other option but to put themselves on the line to stop a hotel full of refugee families from being attacked. The point I’m trying to make in that in what was a highly charged atmosphere, there were people on both sides making outrageous claims which exacerbated tensions, stoking up more fear and mistrust in the process. Rationality, nuance and recognising the complexities of the situation seemed to be getting cast into the bin at that point.

Fortunately, the disturbances died down, even though the grievances, real and those inflamed by actors with nefarious intent, remain festering away waiting for another spark to ignite them. What angered but didn’t particularly surprise me was how some (but certainly not all) elements of those who turned up on the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate marches seemed to fall for the rhetoric being spread by the patriot/anti-immigrant brigade without stepping back to ask a few basic questions. These elements were merely paying lip service to the sentiments expressed by others on the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate marches about ‘thinking for themselves’ because when the acid test arrived in late July and early August of this year, they let themselves get played like fiddles.

If the events of 7 October 2023 were the start of the disintegration of the loose and very uneasy coalition of convenience that came together on the anti-lockdown/anti-vaccine mandate marches, the disturbances that followed the horrific murder of three young girls in Southport pretty much finished it off. To be honest, that’s no bad thing. Putting it bluntly, a lot of shite needed to be cleared out of the stables and that has now happened. From all of this and much more besides, a credible group of people opposing what’s being done to us in the name of the great reset has emerged. You can find them (amongst others) on the Links page on this blog.

I have gone into depth in this piece on issues that I originally didn’t intend to do so. The reason I’ve done that is to try to highlight how situations get manipulated and people allow themselves to get played, even to the point of repudiating positions they claimed to have held just a year or so ago. All of this has played a part in me becoming politically homeless. If finding a tribe means ignoring nuances and complexities, I don’t want to be in any tribe. If finding a tribe means having to look at the world through a particular lens, manipulating the facts to fit a particular analytical framework, again, I don’t want to be in any tribe. It has been a bit of a journey to get here but, I’m glad I’ve arrived.

So, what of 2025? As I wrote at the start of this piece, prediction is a mug’s game. Things have happened during 2024 that were certainly not on my bingo card! All I can do is highlight trends that will characterise 2025. The biggest one being the myriad attempts to keep us fearful, divided and at each other’s throats. A fearful, atomised and divided population is one that’s easy to control. The powers that be fear a united population that has sussed out their agenda and wants rid of them. That’s why so much effort goes into the culture wars and all the other attempts to keep us divided. From my own perspective, one key task is to do my level best to expose the agendas of the divide and rule merchants. It’s not an easy task, it is a thankless one but, it needs to be done. In some ways, it’s something that I’ve already started to address: Beware of false idols, grifters and divide and rule merchants 27.7.24.

What gets me is that people allow themselves to get riled up against another group without taking a few steps back from the fray to ask who is going to benefit from this ratcheting up of tension. Every time, seemingly without respite, the divide and rule merchants are allowed to do their work, pitting us against each other. What also gets me is the way people fall for false idols offering simplistic solutions to complex problems without asking some searching questions about their agenda. Also, what gets me in the movements I used to belong to is the rigid group think that allows no room for grey areas, nuance and meaningful discussion and debate.

So, that’s probably a fair chunk of what I’ll be doing in 2025. Showing up grifters and false idols and battling the divide and rule merchants. Fortunately, there are other like minded souls out there who see things in a broadly similar way to me so, I’ll be far from alone in this endeavour. Meanwhile, over the festive period from the Winter Solstice through to New Year’s Day, I intend to take my foot off the gas a bit, reflect and most importantly of all, rest up. That’s because 2025 could really be the year where things get ‘interesting’.