female genital mutilation (FGM) is a very british problem. there are at least 137,000 women living with it in the UK, but there have been zero convictions since it was first made illegal in 1985. in a longform multimedia reporting project for global citizen, i spent several months talking to activists and experts like leyla hussein to work out why.
|
"Leyla Hussein is — at first glance — glamorous, vibrant, and brimming with an unstoppable energy that can switch in a moment from bubbly to boiling. Across three interviews over the course of four months and two continents, she effortlessly bounds from cracking jokes about race to passionately recounting conflicts she’s had with the country’s most powerful politicians." |
henry bolton — mycroft holmes lookalike and ukip leader - is back on the market after his ex said meghan markle was going to "taint our royal family". i wrote this one just for fun so all my own views etc. i need a hobby.
|
"Relationships end and life begins anew. It’s the natural order of the world we live in. But UKIP is the regretful one-night stand that refuses to stop texting. Bolton is just another man, and all this noise is just another scandal. Yet the party somehow still stands, limping but alive, darkly muttering its final death rattle into obliging BBC radio mics." |
my 2018 has been defined by two new obsessions: "love island", and arguing with my family about the cultural significance of "love island." so i was giddy with excitement to interview former runner-up camilla thurlow about her life after the villa: primarily fighting the refugee crisis and taking down piers morgan on twitter.
|
"It’s suntan meets soft power. Indeed, bookies favourite Dani Dyer — the down-to-earth daughter of Eastenders actor, namesake, and total legend Danny Dyer — already has 25 times more followers than Theresa May on Instagram. |
gina martin has spent the last year trying to change british law — all alongside a full time job and banking some serious instagram likes. we chatted for a bit about what inspired her to take action — and why it's vital young people everywhere muck in to do the same.
|
It’s still mostly men who make the law — and they carry themselves with a certain lack of style. You know the sort — wide ties, big blazers, and expensive shirts limited to the holy pastel tripartite: ironed white, slightly striped, or a light, businessman blue. The look is somewhere between Bill Murray's Frank Cross from "Scrooged" , and every goblin in Gringotts — or the median of every actor in "The Office." Then there’s Gina Martin. |
the summer spoilt us rotten, didn't it? especially since i got to write a bunch of fun pieces around the footy (the value of migrants, teams donating match fees to charity, putin being a bit of a dick etc) — and this one was probably my favourite. welcome to the 2018 russia world cup: a tournament of stories.
|
"In 2002, Moses arrived in London as an asylum seeker. He was 11 years old, alone, and didn’t know any English. His family had sent him away from Nigeria just a week after his mother and father were killed in their home as religious riots hit Kaduna — all while Moses was playing football in the street." |
roger huddle founded rock against racism in 1976 to protest the rise of the far right. then, as ever, every fascist needed its friend: while we're mad at kanye and his red maga hat, huddle and his mates were pissed that eric clapton ranted on stage in support of enoch powell. i spoke to huddle to ask him: has anything really changed?
|
"But almost exactly 40 years later, has anything really changed? When Morrissey, The Smiths’ regrettably iconic frontman, openly supports the far-right For Britain group launched by UKIP leadership runner-up Anne Marie-Waters — a decade after claiming the “gates of England are flooded”because of immigration — can we really claim progress?" |
oh no, not another end-of-year listicle! bear with me for a brief 1,500 words, as i self-indulge into fond(ish) memories of al gore, gordon brown, and almost all of jeremy corbyn's shadow cabinet.
|
"But go just a little further afield, towards the sound of Chris Martin and Shakira dueting at Hamburg’s Barclaycard Arena, and you’ll find me backstage — sweaty palmed, repeatedly dropping my pen — running late for an interview with Erna Solberg, the Norwegian Prime Minister, because Gordon Brown wants another five minutes to privately enjoy a Kit Kat." |
i hit the red carpet to hang out with vice-president gore at the uk premiere of an inconvenient sequel: truth to power. we chatted about climate change, the power of young people, and how trump is losing the fight against the paris agreement.
|
“(Young people) are sometimes unencumbered by the barnacles of misconception that older people develop over time," Gore tells me. "They see this clearly. Every night, the news now is like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation. People are connecting the dots – Mother Nature is very persuasive." |
the actress joined bill gates, jon snow, and jamal edwards on a judging panel for a school debate on the british role in international development. i caught up with her afterwards to talk about why young people are more important than ever.
|
"The multi-Academy Award and Golden Globe-winning actress, 58, was not shy as she talked to me. She talked passionately and persuasively, using emphatic, powerful gesticulations to drive every point home. She had no problem with speaking her mind — remember, this is a woman who once turned down a date with Donald Trump." |
i explored tinder, happn, and bumble to find love + activism before the nuclear holocaust envelops us all.
|
"Love is like politics. It affects everyone, operates under rules that are often hard to understand, and can sometimes be quite hard work. But after you get past the bit where the public seem to vote on superficial things, everything can get rather interesting." |
it's a never ending saga. the sun's rob liddle wrote a column attacking emma watson + her campaign to end sexual violence on university campus'. this is my response.
|
"So where shall we begin? The patronising dismissal of Watson’s opinion to nothing more than a children’s fictional character? The sexist implication that famous women, coined ‘luvvie celebs’, should never be granted the opportunity to speak their mind? Or the insulting middle finger to victims of sexual abuse at University, arrogantly shoving the issue to one side as nothing more than “whining, leftie, PC crap?”. |
wtf is universal credit, anyway? i get down to the detail of why universal credit — the new all-in-one benefits system — is a “disaster waiting to happen”,
|
"Private landlords are even beginning to refuse tenancies to universal credit claimants because of the high risk of arrears. The National Housing Association have claimed the rollout is a “significant challenge”, while council after council after council have urged David Gauke, the work and pensions secretary, to pause the rollout until the issue is addressed. Instead, the process is being accelerated." |
oh yeah. it's brexit, baby. relive all the action so far in glorious hd, from boris' bendy bananas to the bonkers thames armada.
|
"Damn those straight bananas! Damn them all! Don’t they realise they’re supposed to curve around the middle? They must be bent over, humpbacked, like Gollum with jaundice, or a pregnant Pikachu." |
will the next domino fall? it's the election that will demonstrate how powerful the far-right has become in europe. but first, it's important to get how the system works.
|
"Elections in the Netherlands are like IKEA furniture: rich on choice and at first simple to unpack, but then painstakingly complex when you’re trying to put it all together again." |
can music really change the world? i go all-in on the five best albums of 2017 so far (imo) — from four different continents — to find out.
|
"The record lurches from facing the ludicrous truth of politics in turmoil to wondering if it can even be real to begin with. It’s an epic, eccentric rock opera teaching truth to power. Everything Everything can’t offer an answer that doesn’t exist. But they do ask some damning questions." |
as parliament returns from a post-election summer with an tan of orange hue, i write an irreverent back-to-school guide on all the big names in british politics.
|
"Acting UKIP leader Steve Crowther now rules in the shadow of late-night radio DJ Nigel Farage, blood of his blood, who quit the party to perpetually celebrate June 23rd like it's Groundhog Day." |
forget everything you know. there's a very good chance that you've been lied to since primary school.. read this + prepare to have your whole world transformed.
|
"Basically, it’s like Toblerone. If you make something look smaller, everybody will think it’s worth less. If you take someone's chocolate away, people lose their minds. It’s an “ apocalyptic wasteland ”, it’s “ dreadful ”, it’s the biggest talking point on the internet . But when it’s a continent you might never visit, it’s relegated to the dregs of forgotten dialogue that nobody wants to talk about, thrashing limply with the final season of Scrubs and the American reboot of The Inbetweeners." |
remember when the word of the year was "selfie"? times have changed — but now, more than ever, we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves.
|
"Too often in 2016 there have some who have spoken without thought, and, in the worst cases, with deliberate misintention. Respect for language in its fiercest form is the first step toward reunifying societies that seem heavily divided. Words spoken with fire breed action that can burn." |
this breakdown of every party manifesto will help you decide who to vote for in the general election — based on the world's most challenging issues.
|
"Information is everywhere. It contradicts itself, often, depending on the newspaper you read. It’s on posters, billboards, and attached to magnets on your family fridge. It leaks into every dusty corner of your Facebook feed, and might change depending on who shares it. With less than a week to go until the June 8 general election, it’s perhaps a useful time to refocus on the facts." |
i went to new york to see world leading voices in art, politics, journalism + business — from every space across the spectrum — to learn about how make a movement.
|
"How do you change the world? You start by bringing it together. Every corner must be pinched, every idea must be shared. Movements set sail with momentum, and are steered by expertise — or, if you’re just starting out, with enough passion to rock the boat." |
don’t believe the daily mail comments section: the new doctor is female, and most think it's fantastic.
|
"In posts categorised by sentiment, it appears that 80% of people reacted positively, compared to 20% who did not. So, for the most part, the majority of humanity dig the new Doctor being female. The optimism isn’t rose tinted. If anything, it’s Rose-approved." |