Have you ever had the experience of getting tantalisingly close to a big opportunity in your creative career a but not quite making it? Maybe it was a pitch, or a competition, a publishing opportunity, a senior role, or a funding application. Maybe you got really positive feedback. They said you were great, your work […]
The post Are You in the Ballpark? (finally, The 21st Century Creative on YouTube) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
When the Covid 19 pandemic struck in 2020, human life on earth was massively disrupted. Not only the human tragedy of millions of lives lost, but also the social and economic damage caused by the virus and our attempts to control it. As a writer and a coach for creatives, I have been particularly concerned […]
The post Creative Disruption: How 12 Creatives on 5 Continents Rose to the Challenge of the Pandemic appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 10 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Itas been my most ambitious season yet, with creatives from 5 continents and probably the closest Iall ever […]
The post How I Created, Funded and Launched My New Podcast (while the World Was in Meltdown) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 9 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to Tokyo, to meet Ichi Hatano, a wonderful artist whose work has deep […]
The post From Tattoos to NFTs with Ichi Hatano appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 8 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Have you ever had the idea for a creative project that youave never quite got round to starting? […]
The post Using Lockdown to Launch a Dream Project with Nicky Mondellini appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
If you work on your own a in your office or studio, or your bedroom or at your kitchen table a it can feel like no one is watching. So it doesnat matter whether you show up. If you skipped a day on your novel, who would know? If you didnat go to the studio […]
The post All Arts Are Performing Arts appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 7 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today weare focusing on a creative sector that is close to my heart, which was massively disrupted but […]
The post Taking Deep Work Online with Laura Davis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
A few months ago I was listening to the DavidBowie: AlbumtoAlbum podcast, a terrific show about Bowie hosted by Arsalan Mohammed. In Season 3 episode 11 Arsalan spoke to Donny McCaslin, the leader of the jazz band that Bowie discovered in a New York club, and asked to work with him on what turned out […]
The post Sometimes You Have to Grind the Work Out appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 6 of the Creative Disruption season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are off to Australia in the company of Charlotte Abroms, a music manager based in Melbourne […]
The post Helping Musicians Through Lockdown with Charlotte Abroms appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Last week I suggested that if youare serious about achieving your creative ambitions, you need to think in terms of projects, not tasks. Because if you get up every morning and ask yourself aWhat should I work on today?a you risk making decisions based on what feels urgent right now, rather than what will make […]
The post Work on Multifaceted Projects appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 5 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are going to look at one of the biggest challenge for many people during lockdown, whether […]
The post Staying Creative as a Parent (Even in a Pandemic) with Kay Lock Kolp appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
When we think of productivity we typically think about tasks and to-do lists, working habits and routines. We focus on how to make the most of our time on a daily or at most a weekly basis. All of which is great, but if this is all we focus on, thereas a danger of getting […]
The post Focus on Projects, Not Tasks appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 4 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we meet Amrita Kumar, the co-founder and CEO of Candid Marketing, an innovative marketing agency in India. […]
The post Launching a New Business in the Pandemic with Amrita Kumar appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Marketing is a word that strikes fear into the heart of a lot of creatives. Itas an area where a lot of us feel we donat have a natural talent a weare far more comfortable making work than telling the world about it, let alone trying to get people to buy it. One reason for […]
The post Make Your Marketing Personal with a Media Dashboard appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 3 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. Today we are looking at the world of film and TV production, which was massively disrupted by the […]
The post Rebooting Global Filming with Hometeam appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
A lot of creative professions involve submitting work to gatekeepers of various kinds: agents, editors, publishers, gallerists, funders, producers, studios and competition judges and so on. Yes, the 21st century gives us plenty of options for creating things without gatekeepers a you can sell direct, build your own platform, launch your own event, self-publish or […]
The post Why Rejection Doesnat (Necessarily) Mean Your Work Isnat Good Enough appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Welcome to Episode 2 of the CREATIVE DISRUPTION season of The 21st Century Creative, where we are hearing stories of creatives around the world who came up with a creative response to the challenges of the pandemic. This week we are off to South Africa, to hear from Earl Abrahams, an artist and filmmaker who […]
The post Lockdown Series: Windows on a Changed World with Earl Abrahams appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
aEat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.a This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain. Apparently thereas no hard evidence linking it to him, but that hasnat stopped it from concentrating the minds of many people when they ask themselves […]
The post Eat that Frog (But Eat the Cake as Well) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Today we kick off Season 6 of The 21st Century Creative, the podcast that helps you thrive as a creative professional amid the demands, distractions and opportunities of the 21st Century. The theme for this season is CREATIVE DISRUPTION. Every episode will feature an interview with a creator whose work was disrupted by the Covid-19 […]
The post The Rocky Road for Theatre through the Pandemic with Steven Kunis appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
I hope this finds you as well as can be. Here in the UK weare bracing for what we are assured will be a large wave of Omicron. I know things may be very different for you, depending on where you are in the world. But whatever the circumstances, I hope you are finding your […]
The post Video: Forget the Career Ladder a Start Creating Assets appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Today is the launch of my new podcast, and itas something Iave been planning and dreaming of sharing with you for years. Itas called A Mouthful of Air. And in several ways, itas the opposite of my 21st Century Creative podcast. I designed the two shows to work together from the start, although it’s taken […]
The post My new podcast (and why itas the opposite of The 21st Century Creative) appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Last night I was about to go to bed when I suddenly remembered an idea Iad had for an article a few months ago. Though I say so myself, it was a great idea, and I was keen to revisit it, so I opened up the Scrivener project where I had written it downa| and […]
The post Ideas Are Leprechauns appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Michael Bungay Stanier, a returning guest whose interview way back in Season 1 proved very popular. And his book The Coaching Habit turned out to be even more popular, as it went on to sell three quarters of a million copies. Michael is back with some excellent […]
The post Avoiding the Advice Trap with Michael Bungay Stanier appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
A lot of productivity advice tells us that we need to stop procrastinating, beat Resistance, and get things done. The Americans like to talk about ashippinga, meaning finished and sent out for delivery. This emphasis on getting things done and out to market is part of their extraordinary entrepreneurial culture. Famously, Guy Kawasaki even said […]
The post Every Creative Project Is a Revolving Door appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Krystal Lauk, an illustrator who took an unconventional path by creating illustrations for tech companies, and founded a studio that counts Google, Uber, Facebook and The New York Times among its clients. Itas a fascinating story of discovery and enterprise at what Krystal calls athe intersection of […]
The post The 21st Century Illustrator with Krystal Lauk appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Iave recently started taking one-to-one Japanese conversation lessons. It hasnat been easy. In fact, itas been a bit of a humbling experience. Between work and family responsibilities, I only have 30 minutes a day to study Japanese, and Iave spent this time every day for the past two years memorising kanji characters, vocabulary and grammar […]
The post You Have to be Bad to Get Good appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Cynthia Morris, a coach for creatives who shares insights on the book-writing process, based on her latest book The Busy Womanas Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book. So if you are contemplating writing a book – whether itas your first one or your twenty-first – there is […]
The post Writing a World-Changing Book with Cynthia Morris appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
If you think about overhearing something, you probably think of listening to someone elseas conversation, whether deliberately or accidentally, and picking up a titbit of information that you would never otherwise have been privy to. It might be funny, or shocking or useful, or – as in the case of so many loud phone calls […]
The post The Art of Overhearing Yourself appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Todayas guest on The 21st Century Creative is Emily Kimelman, a thriller author who has travelled the world in a boat and criss-crossed the USA in an Airstream trailer while writing and publishing her books, and selling hundreds of thousands of copies in the process. Emilyas adventurous spirit shines through in her writing as well […]
The post The Adventure of Writing with Emily Kimelman appeared first on Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness | Since 1996.
Prime minister gives joint press conference with Olaf Scholz and denies misleading people over spending plans
With Rishi Sunak in Berlin, it is deputiesa day at PMQs, and Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, will be facing questions from Angela Rayner, Labouras deputy leader. It will be her first time at the despatch box since it was announced that Greater Manchester is fully investigating various allegations relating to the council house she bought and sold before she became an MP, and where she was living during that period. It has been reported that at least a dozen officers are on the case.
Rayner does not have to firm up her position with Labour MPs. She insists that she has done nothing wrong, and most people in the party believe that that the allegtions being made against her are little more than a smear (as Keir Starmer put it at PMQs last week).
Frank was a steadfast, highly successful and diligent campaigner against child poverty. It is largely down to Frank that we have child benefit today, a truly towering achievement.
He gained support and respect from across the political spectrum and defined the concept of the apoverty trapa, now commonly used to describe the difficulties for working people of getting better off while claiming means-tested benefits because of the high rate at which benefits are withdrawn as earnings rise.
Continue reading...Former DUP leader faces 11 charges spanning 21 years, as wife, Eleanor Donaldson, charged with aiding and abetting rape
Jeffrey Donaldson has appeared in court charged with rape, gross indecency and other sexual offences spanning 21 years in a case that has stunned Northern Ireland.
His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, appeared alongside him at Newry magistrates court in County Down on Wednesday and was charged with aiding and abetting rape and indecent assault.
Continue reading...Witnesses describe atotal mayhema as horses run through centre of UK capital during rush hour
Four people have been taken to hospital after several military horses broke loose during a morning exercise and bolted through central London, colliding with vehicles.
Astonished witnesses described atotal mayhema as the runaway horses, including one white horse drenched in blood, ran through the rush-hour streets.
Continue reading...Guardian-commissioned portrait of abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond among works competing for APS25,000 prize
Claudette Johnson has been nominated for this yearas Turner prize for her work, which includes a portrait of the African-American slavery abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond commissioned as part of the Guardianas award-winning Cotton Capital series.
Pio Abad, Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas will compete for the APS25,000 prize, while the nominated artists will each collect APS10,000 as the prize returns to Tate Britain for the first time in six years.
Continue reading...Deputy Labour leader also criticises watering-down of leasehold reform plans while facing Oliver Dowden at deputy PMQs
Angela Rayner has accused ministers of aobsessinga over her living arrangements and urged them to focus on implementing long-promised housing reforms instead.
The deputy Labour leader came out fighting at deputy prime ministeras questions on Wednesday, weeks after police opened an investigation into the sale of her council house in 2015.
Continue reading...Long-serving MP dedicated Westminster career to tackling social issues including child poverty and modern slavery
Tributes from across the political spectrum have been paid to the former Labour minister and welfare campaigner Frank Field, who has died at the age of 81.
Lord Field, who dedicated his career in Westminster to tackling social issues, including child poverty and modern slavery, served as an MP for 40 years.
Continue reading...Police said two 19-year-old men were arrested after a report of a rape was made to them on 19 April
Two Premier League players were arrested at the weekend in relation to an allegation of rape.
Police said the two 19-year-old men were arrested after a report of a rape was made to them on Friday 19 April.
Continue reading...Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Nato military exercises near the Russian borders are aprovocative in naturea. The warning came as the US Senate approved wartime aid for Ukraine
Here are some of the latest images on the newswires:
Ukraineas SBU security service drones struck two Rosneft-owned oil depots in Russiaas Smolensk region in an overnight attack, according to a source in Ukrainian intelligence reports Reuters.
Continue reading...APS2.2bn-worth of oil processed in China, India and Turkey a to whom Russia supplies crude a was imported in 2023, data shows
The UK has been accused of ahelping Russia pay for its war on Ukrainea by continuing to import record amounts of refined oil from countries processing Kremlin fossil fuels.
Government data analysed by the environmental news site Desmog shows that imports of refined oil from India, China and Turkey amounted to APS2.2bn in 2023, the same record value as the previous year, up from APS434.2m in 2021.
Continue reading...Media regulator says no clear consensus among British public to ban politicians presenting on news channels
Nigel Farage will be allowed to present his nightly GB News programme throughout the general election campaign, Ofcom has confirmed, after the media regulator said there was no clear consensus among the British public to stop politicians presenting shows on news channels.
The founder of the Reform UK party, which has the backing of 10% of voters in opinion polls, will be allowed to keep broadcasting until polling day providing he does not stand as a parliamentary candidate.
Continue reading...Footwear from the regimeas concentration camps ended up at the Polish base, and campaigners want them to be salvaged
At the foot of a pine tree, Grzegorz Kwiatkowski bent to touch the black, moist shapes nestling amid the fungi and leaf mulch. aIave been monitoring this area now since 2015, and always hope I wonat stumble upon anything any more and that one day the entire area will have been cleared,a he said. This, however, was not that day.
The 39-year-old poet, scholar and rock musician was walking in the forest just metres from the perimeter fence of what was once the Stutthof Nazi concentration camp in the German-annexed territory of Poland, and is now a memorial site in Sztutowo, a village 24 miles (38km) east of GdaAsk on the Baltic coast.
Continue reading...His sister says the only person he ever presented a serious threat to was himself, yet he was given an indeterminate sentence for stealing a car. The psychological torture was impossible to endure
When Tommy Nicol told his sister Donna Mooney about his prison sentence, she didnat believe him. It was May 2009 and he had stolen yet another car. Nicol was a petty criminal, always nicking motors, and was rarely out of jail. aHe said: aTheyave given me a 99-year sentence.a I said: aThatas ridiculous.a I thought he was confused.a Over the next few years, Nicol occasionally mentioned the sentence in letters to Mooney and asked her to look into it. She admits she didnat give it much thought at the time.
In 2015, Nicol killed himself in prison. He was 37. It was only then that Mooney discovered he had been right all along. Nicol had a four-year tariff (the minimum amount of time he could serve in jail) and an indeterminate sentence, known as imprisonment for public protection. IPP is also called a 99-year sentence because people serving one can, technically, be jailed for 99 years. When they are released, it is on a 99-year licence, which means they can be recalled to prison at any time in their life for even minor breaches, such as being late for a probation appointment (although the Parole Board will consider whether to terminate the licence 10 years after first release).
Continue reading...Shares jump after carmaker says it is looking to accelerate production of lower-price EVs
Teslaas plans to bring a more affordable electric vehicle to the market appear to have moved a step closer.
On Tuesday, the companyas share price shot up by 12% after an update revealed the carmaker was hoping to accelerate the production of lower-priced EVs, with production of the first cars beginning as early as this year.
Continue reading...The Basque Countryas MondragA3n Corporation is the globeas largest industrial co-operative, with workers paying for the right to share in its profits a and its losses. In return for giving more to their employer, they expect more back
When Marisa FernA!ndez lost her husband to cancer a few years ago, her employers at the Eroski hypermarket went, she says, aabove and beyond to help me through the dark days afterwards, rejigging my timetable and giving me time off when I couldnat face coming in.a
She had a chance to return the favour recently when the store, in Arrasate-MondragA3n in Spainas Basque Country, was undergoing renovations. FernA!ndez, 58, who started on the cashier desk 34 years ago, and now manages the storeas non-food section, volunteered to work extra shifts over the weekend along with her colleagues to ensure everything was ready for Monday morning. aItas not just me. Everyone is ready to go the extra mile,a she says.
Continue reading...Does the actoras recent excited outburst in support of Arsenal FC reveal a deep love of the game a or a cynical bit of media massaging by a lukewarm star?
Anne Hathawayas renaissance has been a wonderful thing to witness. For years now, the actoras reputation has been based on the assumption that she tries just a little too hard, that insincerity lurks behind her desire to be everything to everyone.
For us true believers, this was always heresy a Hathawayas total commitment to the task at hand, whether itas shaving her head or hosting the Oscars, is what makes her Hathaway a so itas a relief to see the rest of the world come around. Part of this change has been down to her willingness to experiment with high fashion. But part of it, in transpires, is that Anne Hathaway is apparently an Arsenal FC fan now.
Continue reading...The 19-year-old climbing protege is backed by dad Tristian, who built a wall in the garden and coached his son to the top
When climbingas Tokyo 2020 debut was announced in 2016, 12-year-old Toby Roberts from Surrey was ainstantly hookeda by an Olympic dream but he would be too young to compete in Japan. Instead he hatched an eight-year plan targeting the 2024 Games, with non-climber dad Tristian supporting as rope-holder, coach, taxi aand banka a even building a climbing wall in the garden of the family home. This summer their shared ambition will culminate high on the Olympic walls in Paris.
Roberts is now 19 and his love for his sport is stronger than ever. He says more than 20 times during this interview that aI love climbing/training/competing/trying harda. His parents Tristian and Marina couldnat be prouder. aItas been a privilege a itas inspiring to see how hard he works,a Tristian says.
Continue reading...They can swallow road signs and trigger lethal neighbour feuds. From suburban Britain to industrial Germany and parched Arizona, we explore a show celebrating green borders
Somewhere in the leafy depths of British suburbia, a thick circular hedge sprouts from the top of a grassy hill in the middle of a roundabout. The top of the hedge is carefully trimmed with rectangular crenellations, giving it the look of a motte-and-bailey castle, while a second more threadbare hedge encircles the foot of the mound, like another layer of defence. The surrounding streets are lined with more hedges, some neatly trimmed, some left wild, some poking up behind high brick walls, others climbing even higher than the homes they shield.
This single image, taken by photographer Gareth Gardner, somehow encapsulates all of the anxieties and ambitions of the great British hedge. This trophy clump of privet a part defensive barrier, part symbol of domestic pride a stands as a shrubby monument, raised aloft on a grass plinth for all to admire, as they drive past on the way back to their own hedge-fringed homes.
Gardner happened upon the roundabout by chance, in Kingsmead, near Northwich in Cheshire, when he was retracing the footsteps of the late architecture critic Ian Nairn. In the 1950s, Nairn undertook a rage-fuelled road trip from Southampton to Carlisle, railing against what he called asubtopiaa, the kind of mindless identikit sprawl that was taking over the country like acreeping mildewa.
Continue reading...Harry Danielsas TikToks of him singing awkwardly at stars alternate between trolling and displays of love for celebrities a but how does he do it?
Billie Eilish has run from him. Doja Cat stopped her security detail to allow for a sidewalk serenade of Paint the Town Red. Charli XCX let him sing a few bars from I Got It before telling him aYou need to work on it,a turning on her heel, and strutting back to her car.
Harry Daniels stakes out celebrities such as Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Ellie Goulding a and, uh, Joe Biden a and serenades them while filming their responses for TikTok. Most of these interactions appear spontaneous, as if the celebrities are genuinely surprised to be accosted by a 20-year-old man singing at them, usually terribly and oftentimes with their own songs. When Daniels found Jacob Elordi at a restaurant, the Saltburn star stayed across the room next to a bodyguard-type, looking amused but slightly wary as Daniels crooned Murder on the Dancefloor his way.
Continue reading...Todayas pop stars are cramming songs with so much biography they need footnotes a and theyare in danger of alienating all but their hardcore fans
When Taylor Swift released Reputation in 2017, she self-published an accompanying magazine while avoiding interviews. aWhen this album comes out, gossip blogs will scour the lyrics for the men they can attribute to each song, as if the inspiration for music is as simple and basic as a paternity test,a she wrote in an essay. The sentiment oozed with contempt for playing dot-to-dot with her lyrics a even though, from her debut album to Reputationas predecessor 1989, Swift left clues in her liner notes that clearly indicated whom certain songs were about.
Seven years on, and Swiftas new album, The Tortured Poets Department, couldnat be more transparent about its subjects a typewriters and tattoos lighting a path to the 1975as Matty Healy, whom she had a fling with last spring; Hampstead Heath and alongsuffering proprietya referring to actor Joe Alwyn, who she dated for six years.
Continue reading...From ancient olive groves to root vegetables, foreign pests introduced via the blocas open import system are causing damage worth billions a and outbreaks are on the rise
The plants slowly choke to death, wither and dry out. They die en masse, leaves dropping and bark turning grey, creating a sea of monochrome. Since scientists first discovered Xylella fastidiosa in 2013 in Puglia, Italy, it has killed a third of the regionas 60 million olive trees a which once produced almost half of Italyas olive oil a many of which were centuries old. Farms stopped producing, olive mills went bankrupt and tourists avoided the area. With no known cure, the bacterium has already caused damage costing about a!1bn.
aThe greatest part of the territory was completely destroyed,a says Donato Boscia, a plant virologist and head researcher on Xylella at the Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection in Bari.
Continue reading...Brosnan to a| Bolt? Frank Mannionas follow-up documentary to Quintessentially British presents a grab bag of interviews a some with distinctly un-Irish personalities
It features a definition of athe craica but, frustratingly, this long, meandering documentary about Irishness contains only very small quantities of actual fun. Itas a follow-up from film-maker Frank Mannion to his 2022 doc Quintessentially British, but feels like a commission from Aer Lingus: something to watch inflight from Boston to Dublin, soothingly bland, relaxingly dull. Though to be fair, Mannion gets a big laugh when he archly asks a business expert: aWhat is it that brings international business to Ireland. The weather?a
The film is a series of interviews that contain, bizarrely, one or two with people in possession of very famous names but next to no connection to Ireland. Like Usain Bolt, whoas never set foot on Irish soil, but is fond of a pint of Guinness and had an Irish agent. We get a lot of Pierce Brosnan at home in sunny Malibu wearing a green blazer, telling stories that go off on random tangents. (One ends with his wife breastfeeding on a beach in Mexico next to Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell sunbathing topless.)
Continue reading...New polling confirms people care more about jobs and public services than an orchestrated backlash against minorities a Labour, take note
There was a time in the UK when aculture wara conjured up a certain ugliness that disfigures political discourse across the Atlantic. Particular kinds of Americans, went the narrative, aget bitter, cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who arenat like thema, as Barack Obama put it in 2008, nearly torpedoing his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. His opponents put rocket boosters under so-called culture war strategies when he was president a from racist conspiracies about Obamaas birth certificate to unabashed Islamophobia. The Donald Trump phenomenon was forged in those fires.
You can see why the British right would seek to import this poison, because there have been political dividends Stateside. We also already had significant homegrown sources, thanks to our highly aggressive rightwing newspaper ecosystem. Regardless of the provenance, in simple terms, the approach allows you to flood the airwaves, drowning out discussion on substantive issues. When vulnerable minorities are in the firing line, attention is deflected from the rich and powerful. The aculture wara strategy seeks to place opponents on a defensive footing. As Ronald Reagan once summed up: aIf youare explaining, youare losing.a
Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Can we really say Britain has a modernised monarchy when archaic titles are being handed out as if it were 1348, not 2024
I wonder if I should award myself an honour, something grand-sounding. How about Most Excellent Keeper of the Belfry? It has a nice ring about it, even if I have done nothing to deserve it. That latter consideration is of course no bar to our fossilised royal family who have this week breezily been giving themselves ludicrous sounding honours as if this were 1724, not 2024.
Camilla is now, as of yesterday, the Grand Master of the Order of the British Empire. What empire, you might ask? Rockall was Ronnie Barkeras pithy response, and that was about 40 years ago.
Norman Baker was the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes from 1997 to 2015
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...The alarming rate of racism against people from east and south-east Asian communities is rarely discussed. Where is the strategy to tackle it?
I was elected a member of parliament in December 2019, just months before the Covid pandemic changed all of our lives. As Britainas first MP of south-east Asian descent, I am well aware of the fact that, for members of east and south-east Asian (ESEA) communities, the pandemic marked a horrifying rise in racist hate crime directed towards us. This experience was not new and, four years on, it has not gone away.
During the pandemic, hate crime against the ESEA community rose by almost 70%, underpinned by a xenophobic framing of the virusa origin. In 2021, the figures remained about 50% above those in 2019. But many of us know that these statistics do not paint the full picture, and the situation is graver than the data suggests.
Sarah Owen is the Labour MP for Luton North
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...As David Cameron learned to his cost over Brexit, voters donat judge politicians on policy, they judge on results
The governmentas current position on the Rwanda scheme is unlikely to boost its electoral hopes a and to understand why, we should look to David Cameron and a particular pre-Brexit failure. Cast your mind back to the moment the former Tory prime ministeras renegotiated deal for our EU membership aexploded on the launchpada ahead of the referendum. He and his team had worked very, very hard. While they hadnat got what they had set out to gain, the deal they came back with (the aemergency breaka on EU migration) felt like a significant achievement. Perhaps it was, amid the constraints imposed on him in Brussels.
But voters donat grade politicians on effort, they judge by results. And compared with what they wanted a and indeed, what Cameron had promised a the terms he came back with were entirely inadequate. Instead of a definite end to freedom of movement, there was a time-limited and arcane mechanism that might never have been used at all. What was supposed to be the foundation of his referendum campaign turned into a self-inflicted disaster.
Continue reading...Iam one of the 2.5 million users of Slovene a and English and German speakers would do well to be curious about us
A couple of years ago, I received an invitation from a German cultural institution to present my debut short story collection, which was translated into German that year. The terms and conditions were generous: we pay you (a lot, as far as I was concerned), we host you for as long as you wish (I decided on three nights), we will arrange a host who loves your book a and if you need anything else, do tell us!
There was one diplomatically laid out request, however. The producers wanted me to speak German at the event. They heard me speak it fluently in a video interview and figured I could easily do it again. As a rookie, and the greenest author to have ever walked the Earth, I swallowed my anxiety and agreed to it. I kindly asked them to send me the hostas questions in advance, so I could prepare for this premiere of mine. I didnat mention that Iad never spoken German in front of a live audience, nor that I intended to translate my answers from Slovene to German and learn them by heart. I had done that for the video interview as well. I wasnat only industrious, you see, I also had an excellent memory.
Ana Schnabl is a Slovenian novelist, editor and critic
Continue reading...I thought finding Karma a yes, that is the catas name a would make me beloved and cherished by my neighbourhood. Unfortunately, not so much
A couple of weeks ago I went to go see a woman about a cat. The woman was my neighbour (weall call her L) and she had lost her tabby, Karma. (Thatas the catas name a Iam not saying L had it coming.) Karma had been gone for weeks and her family was distraught. The entire neighbourhood had been trying, without luck, to look for her.
And then, one day, when I was looking out of the window, I saw Karma peeking out from the dilapidated shed at the bottom of my garden, just a couple of doors down from her official home. I was thrilled. Not just because Iad get to reunite the pet with her family but a rather more selfishly a I thought this might elevate me to alocal heroa status in my Philadelphia neighbourhood.
Continue reading...After years of failed gimmicks and polarisation under the Tories, Britain is ready for a more grown-up approach
aLook, if people donat like the mug, they donat have to get the mug,a Ed Miliband said, exasperated. We were on a train to Manchester for a televised leadersa debate, a month before polling day in 2015. The mug in question bore the slogan acontrols on immigrationa. It was one of a set of five, each branded with a campaign pledge. aOther mugs are available,a the then Labour leader reminded me.
But the border control one had provoked paroxysms of indignation from the left and sneering disbelief from the right. Milibandas frustration was palpable. His advisers spelled out the logic: the slogan was uncontroversial; the alternative to controlling immigration was not controlling immigration, and no one ever won an election promising that. On paper, it was a rational campaign priority.
Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist
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