Who likes to be told what to do or what to think? There’s a strong libertarian tradition, inspired by John Stuart Mill and others, that maintains the individual is generally the best judge of his or her own interest. That includes the licence to do things, which, by one’s own admission one may live to regret. Making mistakes, and having the liberty to do so, is an essential ingredient in learning to do better and getting to do better in the long run.
Authoritarians think they know best. They are not just unflinching in their promotion of certain causes, but determined to get you and me to act and think like them. Quite independently of the merits or otherwise of what they might be selling, these authoritarians despise any kind of challenge to their worldview. By diminishing your autonomy, they undermine one of the preconditions of human flourishing. Freedom, as George W. Bush said, is a wonderful thing.
The tradition of scepticism, properly understood, is not an invitation to be contrary for the sake of it. It’s an appeal to critical reason, coupled with the investigation of evidence, to establish the best grounds for explanation and belief. The trouble with authoritarians is they act as if they’re infallible, that their beliefs are not subject to correction or review. Therein lies the road to hell; none of us is infallible.
Freedom versus authoritarianism is at the heart of my Gender Critical discrimination case against the Green Party of England and Wales. In February 2022, I was removed as a national spokesperson for the Party following my reappointment in June 2021. A coordinated campaign of harassment and online abuse, perpetrated or facilitated by members, officers and elected politicians at all levels of the Party, followed by the arbitrary construction of additional review processes, were used to remove me from the post. These were ideological extremists in all but name, or those prepared to facilitate the same, who would brook no reasonable disagreement to their way of thinking.
It’s often boasted that Greens do politics differently. By God, we do; but not in a good way. I survived multiple attempts to silence me after fake allegations of transphobia were filed against me and defeated. I stood up to this network of bullies and several members were suspended from the Party as a result of their smear campaigns against me.
As a national spokesperson, I adhered to the Speakers’ Code of Conduct and was duly reappointed following an application process. Imagine having a change in job role or even a new job, then, within weeks of already signing a contract, being required to sign up to a new one, being made to participate in a sort of retrospective probation process, then hauled before a specially convened committee designed to grant a hearing to your detractors. A number of executive board members raised the alarm about the treatment of me and one even resigned ahead of the meeting at which they correctly predicted I would be unjustly removed from the post.
This case will provide insight into how the authoritarian mob was unleashed upon me for daring to express my gender critical beliefs. It will also reveal just how hostile the environment had become inside a political party which claimed to want to speak truth to power.
I stand for human rights for all – equal rights and equal treatment. That did not require me to turn a blind eye when female prisoners were being subjected to the risk of sexual assault after being housed with rapists in the name of inclusivity, which then happened. Nor would it have required me to campaign against an amendment in the Scottish Parliament (as happened to Andy Wightman, former Green MSP, against his conscience) which would have guaranteed that a victim of domestic violence or rape should have had the right to be examined by a clinician that matched their sex.
In 2021, Maya Forstater’s appeal ruling demonstrated that the belief that sex is immutable is a belief ‘Worthy of Respect in a Democratic Society’, as is its reasonable expression. It’s a fact known by us all, on which much legislation relies.
Mine is the first case of its kind to reach the courts to uphold the principle that these are beliefs ‘Worthy of Respect in A Political Party’, too, which would be a clear implication of my winning this case. Party representatives or spokespeople, such as the Labour MP Rosie Duffield, should not be discriminated against by their parties for the reasonable expression of such beliefs. There are other gender critical court cases in the pipeline, including within my own party.
This case has taken a lot out of me, but I would not have been able to take this stand were it not for the hundreds and thousands of citizens, across the political spectrum, who were prepared to support me, often publicly.
As I head for trial next week, I have to make an urgent appeal for more funds. £95,000 has already been raised through two successive crowdfunders and I need to raise another £10,000 over the next few days to make sure all the costs that have already been incurred in preparation for the trial can be paid.
I have put all my life savings into this case and I assure you that your hard-earned money will be spent wisely and effectively in this just cause to defend our political institutions from authoritarian subversion.
Please donate here: Worthy of Respect in A Political Party (crowdjustice.com). I am represented by the exceptional Didlaw law firm.
Dr Shahrar Ali is a British politician and academic who served as Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2014 to 2016.
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There are no doubt a good few old A340s in service with commercial services that don’t have their flaps fail to retract on their revenue-earning services.
I think the Luftwaffe needs to up its maintenance game somewhat.
Not with the budget they have.
“I think the Luftwaffe needs to up its maintenance game somewhat.”
Some of us might prefer that they didn’t.
Wir verenden Annalena!
Baerbock is infamous for her inability to use the correct polysyllabic words in German sentences. One of her famous wrong statements (from the election campaign) was Wir verenden Europa! What she obviously meant to say was Wir vollenden Europa! — we’ll finally turn the EU into what it should always have become, this being code language for We really want to get rid of the German nation state. (and preferably, also all others). The verb she used instead – verenden – means dying, usually of animals, due to old age or succumbing to injuries.
Germanys very own Kamala Harris
So what? Apart from the waste of money, what’s the problem?
I seem to remember that one of the reasons why Ursula Von der Leyen was moved on by Mutti from her role as defence minister was because she couldn’t keep Mutti’s Luftwaffe operated executive transport in the air long enough for Mutti to go anywhere. But the had very nice crèche facilities. It looks like nothing much has changed.
Yeah.. the German Defence Minister Von Der Liar.. the one who couldn’t keep the German army in boots.. says it all.. move her to the EU Commission where she can screw up everything good and proper.. job done..
Now, that’s a great story.
Well knock me down with a feather! Their loyalty to the cause will always be rewarded. *Behind a paywall but the ‘Esc’ trick worked*.
”Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s former deputy chief medical officer who became one face of the government Covid pandemic response, has taken a job as senior medical consultant at vaccine giant Moderna.
The move is likely to prompt fresh consideration of the “revolving door” for prominent government figures who move into business roles.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jonathan-van-tam-job-moderna-vaccine-b2395006.html
Or as they like to put it nowadays, “There are fears the move will only encourage the conspiracy theorists who say there is a revolving door…”
There is no shame involved with these dirty dirty lying po faced Barstewards ! I had him pegged as a complete sh1thouse with his regular televised public covid procrastinations ! Bought & Paid for duplicitous Chunt ! Where,s a lamppost when you need one
I can just imagine the ceremony if the “priceless cultural artefacts” were handed over.
1st aborigine “Pressies!”
Baerbock “There’s this”
1st aborigine “What is it?”
2nd aborigine “It’s a stick”
1st aborigine “Is it a stick, Baerbock”
Baerbock “Yes, but it’s a special kind of stick. When you give it away it comes back”
Slight caricature of Black Adder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfTdnWLMLDA
I don’t deny the cultural value of the artefacts, which have their devotees on the antiques market.
But just imagine a contemporary parallel to the giving of gifts to long-serving missionaries bringing faith, or maybe education and medical care, in the nineteenth century.
“You teenage English volunteers have helped us so much here in [name developing country] by building us a school and showing us how to pipe fresh water from the well you dug. We have little, but would like to thank you by giving in return some of the locally woven fabric you see every day in our clothing to remember us by.”
“No, we can’t possibly accept that, because it is cultural appropriation. But maybe a couple of those imported Swiss Army knives?”
Or, being naive teenagers, perhaps they’d accept, only to be castigated by the sending organisation, whose CEO has to take a special flight and Land Rover trip to return the roll of cloth.
Couldn’t she have posted the sticks?
Isn’t she the innumerate politician who referred to an about face as a 360 degree turn?
Yes.
Another famous one would be that she got once trapped in a discussion about EV batteries and lenghtyly blathered about these containing kobold. No one can really tell if she confused this with cobalt or possibly actually believes it. She isn’t very technical. She also once referred to eastern Ukraine as Ostkokaine — eastern cocaine.
Sorry to hear she has so much trouble with her flaps
I think we all know full well what the purpose of the trip was: a nice little holiday, courtesy of German taxpayers.
Spot on..
Its a toss-up between what dies first.. Germany or its politicians.. the only way Germany won’t is if its present day politicians do.. excluding the AFD of course..