Defining Extremism
In a week where the Labour MP Diane Abbott was found to be the subject of violent and racist abuse from a Conservative Party donor, the government is being caught flat-footed as it attempts to redefine extremism.
Speaking to the BBC this morning, the Levelling Up minister Michael Gove was put in the awkward position of being asked to confirm whether or not said donor was engaged in "the promotion or advancement of... violence, hatred or intolerance," which is the new definition of extremism.
The government claims that this new policy is designed to combat anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hatred in the wake of the October 7th attacks by Hamas and the genocidal response by Israel. In reality, instead of combating hatred, this new approach is an attempt to score political points during an election year and to stoke the fires of the culture war which this government has happily fostered during its time in power.
In practice, the new definition will be used to identify a number of so-called extremist groups and then blacklist them from partnership with the government, public funding and contracts. This is what is being promoted with the launch this morning but, as is often the case, the policy actually goes much further than this.