Author Archives: Li-Teck Lau

Opinion: Protesting about policy issues by lay-people is inane sloganeering

I happened to walk past a small protest the other day occurring before the steps of a local town hall. The subject was climate change, and one protestor apparently had the wit to write ‘Gordon Green, not Gordon Brown’ on a large piece of paper. In total, I would guess there were 15-20 people – a local affair in which the protagonists’ children made up some 30-or-so per cent (I’m presuming present to symbolise that the issue is of protecting future generations, as opposed to implying they too believe in the cause).

But wait a moment; who are these people again? I’m …

Posted in Op-eds | 8 Comments

Opinion: Freedom of speech should not be filled with wrong-speech

OK, so basically, I will confess to enjoy reading the Daily Mail because it’s full of hate, and hate can be fun to read. Third world (or however you may wish to call it) debt, access to clean water and human rights abuses etc, are all very noble issues, but, at the same time, can get rather boring. Once you’ve read about one genocide, you’ll soon discover they’re all really quite similar.

I got to reading a wonderful Saturday commentary page by a certain Amanda Platell (I understand that she also writes for the Guardian giving a ‘right wing perspective’ on Wednesdays, but I have yet to waste time on it) titled ‘This baby boom will make us all go bust’, referring to the recent publication of birth and death rates . She starts off her piece stating,

Soaring immigration – and a migrant baby boom – has sent Britain’s population rocketing over the 61 million mark. We are now the second most densely populated country in the world, something that will be all too apparent on the roads and trains this bank holiday weekend’.

Ignoring the flame-stoking use of language for the moment, the second sentence claim that Britain has filled up to the point that it is now the second most densely populated country in the world, apparently in an attempt to shock the average housewife sitting in her flower-embroidered sofa into believing she will imminently be accommodating this influx in her garden, is only outdone in its disgracefulness by its shear wrongness.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged , and | 26 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • Roger Billins
    I joined ULS at UCL in 1975 and the party at the same time. I am still a member 50 years on. My activism is circumscribed by the drugs I take to fight prostate ...
  • Peter Chambers
    > £17bn of tax cuts to Income Tax and Fuel Duty So we are said to be proposing increased subsidy for fossil-fuels? Instead of pushing ahead with a Green t...
  • Bridget Biggar
    A great article Simon. And you are one of my dearest friends. We’ve been through those decades of activism. What would be your greatest argument for me even...
  • Mike Sammon
    A pleasant read. Well done Simon and thank you for all that you’re doing to support members as well as residents....
  • Rif Winfield
    Well said, Simon. I too remember you from 50 years ago, and discussions and campaigning we shared at that time, including not only the Party but including NLYL,...