Beyond mainstream politics: alternatives places to stay informed
If you like to keep up with political news (but don’t want to buy into biased right-wing media or ‘big newspapers telling you how to vote politics), then here is your go-to list to get your modern political news with accuracy and compassion.
The media is as important as political parties these days. As big media tends to not ask the right questions, and so MPs get away with lying, when they shouldn’t get away with it.
Most people in England are centre-right or centre-left, yet most media is owned by almost far-right billionaires, who don’t want the average person to be empowered. Let’s change that!
Good YouTube political pundits
- Maximilian Robespierre (not his real name, he’s Irish!) offers regular videos to desconstruct what’s going on in the world (mostly for the UK but sometimes abroad, like with Trump). His take is compassionate and often funny, he has over 250,000 followers.
- Novara Media is a fresh young channel with over 1 million followers, with all the latest take on what’s going on in politics.
- Peril Pending is another good smaller channel, just intelligent and again often funny commentary from a Geordie.
- Thomas Harries is a lovely young man who has regular videos looking at political events. He sometimes phones up or appears on national programs. He recently did a post on the proposed Reform PIP cuts (he has celebral palsy so in a unique position to comment).
- A Different Bias offers up knowledgable takes on politics by an ex-teacher from Manchester. He really goes into detail, if you like your politics!
Listening to the radio?
- James O’Brien is a popular presenter from 10am to 1pm weekdays on LBC. He often talks about politics, and his listeners are as interesting as him. Give this a listen when you’re cooking or gardening.
- Ben Kentish – also on LBC if you’re a night owl (10pm to 1am weeknights). He’s not afraid to give politicians a real grilling on policy, unlike most mainstream presenters. Yet is still polite and friendly.
Good ‘state of the nation’ Substacks
Neil Kingsnorth runs a social enterprise with his wife, and is soon to publish his first book (he used to work for The Orchard Project and Friends of the Earth). He combines gardening and climate change knowledge to write nice posts:
I look sideways, towards community. I look towards cooperatives, community buy-outs, citizens assemblies, small independent businesses, community transport, community supported agriculture and more. Where dormant power resides.
Harry Eccles is a registered nurse practitioner, who is passionate about us working together to change the world. He runs an interesting Substack account that covers healthcare, politics, the planet and social change.
So far the right wing press have slated Hannah Spencer MP for being too working class, not working class enough, too rich, too poor, being a plumber, not being a plumber, being married, not being married… Anything else lads?
Byline Times has its own Substack account, in addition to the online and print newspaper. It has no PR company or press baron telling it what to cover, so has complete editorial independence.
Richard Murphy is an Irish/English writer and a good one too. He focuses mostly on developing a fair and sustainable economy. And he could win anyone over, his writing is so good..
I think that journalists are asking politicians the wrong question. They should be asking every MP ‘What are your priors?’ Instead they ask ‘How are you going to pay for it?’ That’s the wrong question. Because a person’s priors shape what they believe government can do.
Special mention to Feargal Sharkey!
Irish Feargal Sharkey appears to only be on X at present. A former pop star, he now lives in England and is a fierce, outspoken and intelligent campaigner on cleaning up our rivers. One interviewer said he had never met a more articulate or educated voice on the subject.
Britain’s only desalination plant remains idle during drought. Built at a cost of £250 million to Thames Water customers. And it doesn’t work.
Just you wait until this drought breaks and that inevitable deluge of rain that comes. And with it millions of tons of sh*t getting dumped into our rivers and onto our beaches.
John Fugelsang (for your US news)
John Fugelsang is a Substack writer to make you feel hopeful over the pond. In a country where the vice-president claims to be Catholic (?), John’s own parents were a nun and Franciscan brother (they fell madly in love and were pen pals for 10 years before marrying). So he knows his religion and Bible, better than some bigoted people who preach it.
Jesus never called poor people lazy, was never even slightly anti-gay. He was a long-haired, community-organising, authority-questioning, brown-skinned, Palestinian, unarmed homeless Jew. But only if you believe what’s actually in the Bible.
