4 d. ago Minority Rule by Ash Sarkar review: A light in the dark for leftists

There are occasional moments, on social media, that become larger than themselves. It was the intense summer heatwave of 2018, and I had just opened Twitter during the lunch break of my summer job. For a moment, it seemed like there was a glitch – my entire feed was flooded with one video playing on a loop, shared, liked and signal-boosted by hundreds of thousands of people. It showed an exasperated 26-year-old journalist being interviewed about an anti-Trump protest on Good Morning Britain by Piers Morgan, shouting the words that would propel her to fame: “I’m literally a communist, you idiot!”.

Politics

4 d. ago ‘I have a pathological need to be right’: Ash Sarkar on culture wars, controversy and Corbyn’s lost legacy

She’s been described as divisive by the left and ‘the Queen of woke’ by the right, but does the journalist’s new book really signal a change in her entire belief system?“You’re not going to believe me when I say this: I’m a conflict-averse person,” says Ash Sarkar. She’s laughing as she says it. Even if I did believe her, a lot of people wouldn’t. Over the past decade, Sarkar has built a reputation for bringing the fight, robustly defending her positions, and generally putting herself in the line of fire – on television panel discussions, on social media and in her journalism (for this paper and as a contributing editor at Novara Media, among others). Even her detractors would admit she’s very good at it, cutting through the politicians’ earnest bluster and articulating what’s on ordinary people’s minds – none of which has endeared her to the rightwing.Now Sarkar has annoyed the leftwing as well. In her new book Minority Rule, she contends that embracing identity politics and cultur...

Events

6 d. ago Voices: I’m a former BBC newsreader – Gaza is the reason I resigned

The controversy over the pulling of the ‘How to Survive a Warzone’ documentary is a distraction from a much bigger problem my old employer has with impartiality, writes Karishma Patel

Politics

8 d. ago Conan’s Karla cracks and Timothée’s beaut zoot suit: Oscars 2025 viral moments

It was a deeply unpredictable year – and Conan O’Brien, Adrien Brody and Timothée Chalamet all pulled out the anticsAnora dominates the Oscars. Here is the complete list of winners and photos from the red carpetAt the 2003 Oscars, Adrien Brody – who had just become the youngest best actor winner for his turn in The Pianist – planted an unplanned kiss on Halle Berry, the award’s presenter. The moment has stirred controversy in recent years, but the pair warded off any untoward discourse by recreating their lip-locking stunt at this year’s ceremony. Berry greeted Brody on the red carpet with a warm embrace before the pair smooched for the cameras. “Tonight I had to pay him back,” Berry told Variety. “He deserved that.” The academy, meanwhile, called it “a reunion 22 years in the making”. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Ash Sarkar: ‘I no longer care about microaggressions – pronounce my name however you want’

The so-called ‘Queen of Woke’ – as Tories love to call her – is declaring time of death on the culture wars. As she publishes her first book, she speaks with Maira Butt about moving past identity politics and debates over unisex bathrooms, sparring with Piers Morgan – and going to therapy

Politics

2 w. ago Major Wales v Ireland incident sparks controversy as Sam Warburton and Nigel Owens have say

While most seem to agree that the right call was made in upgrading Garry Ringrose's challenge from a yellow card to a red card, one prominent TV analyst has said the contact was accidental and was not reckless

Events

2 w. ago Minority Rule: Adventures in the Culture War by Ash Sarkar – identity fraud

A Marxist critique of left-liberal politics that delivers its message with punch and panacheThe British left used to be a force to reckon with. Edward Heath’s government was famously felled by the miners in 1974 – the only instance in postwar European history when working-class power resulted in the overthrow of a ruling party. These days, however, the concept of the working class has an almost retro feel. Trade union membership has plummeted. Expressions of collective solidarity have likewise vanished. Disaffection has far from disappeared, only now it manifests in the form of petty crime and race riots.In Minority Rule, Ash Sarkar blames the rightwing press for this shift. Thanks to tabloid agents provocateurs and their political creatures in Westminster, she says, the lower orders have abandoned class war for the culture wars. Accordingly, more and more of them spend their weekends not on the barricades but behind computer screens, fuming over small boats and gender ideology...

Events