Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Freethinker

Home
Nonreligious
Satire takes another hit: UK’s new Culture Minister is a right-wing Catholic bigot

Satire takes another hit: UK’s new Culture Minister is a right-wing Catholic bigot

Last updated on: September 16, 2021 at 1:22 am by Barry Duke

Satire takes another hit: UK’s new Culture Minister is a right-wing Catholic bigot 2021-09-16T01:22:04+02:00 Barry Duke

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

TOM Lehrer, described as “the most brilliant song satirist ever recorded” once said “political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel peace prize.”

Image via YouTube

Since then, countless examples of “you can’t possibly make that up” have come to my attention, the most recent today when it was announced that Nadine Dorries, above, former junior Health Minister, was handed a major promotion as part of a major cabinet reshuffle and is now Minister for Culture.

What do we know about Dorries? First, she was among at least 14 Conservative MPs, including several British ministers, cabinet minister Michael Gove and a number of prominent Tory commentators who joined Parler, the social media platform favoured by the far right that was forced offline earlier this for hosting threats of violence and racist slurs.

Parler was taken offline after Amazon Web Services pulled the plug on Parler, saying violent posts and racist threats connected to the recent attack on the US Capitol violated its terms.

Analysts from the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) said that Parler had become a platform where the ideas of mainstream Conservative MPs coalesced with those of extremists.

Milo Comerford, senior policy manager at ISD, said:

By positioning themselves as a safe haven for free speech and an alternative to the alleged ‘liberal bias’ of social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter, platforms like Parler attracted a motley crew of ultra-libertarians, violent extremists and conspiracy theorists, as well as more mainstream ‘free speech fundamentalists.’

At least nine of the Tory MPs on Parler joined the platform in an apparent show of support for free speech following Donald Trump’s clashes with Twitter over remarks he made following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota last year.

Dorries joined Parler on June 21. Weeks earlier she been reprimanded by Downing Street for sharing a video from a far-right Twitter account that falsely claimed Labour leader Keir Starmer blocked the prosecution of grooming gang members when he led the Crown Prosecution Service.

Images via YouTube

Other notable Conservative figures on the site included pro-Brexit campaigner, the loathsome gay Darren Grimes, pictured above with the equally horrible Catholic “activist” Caroline Farrow. In June he told his followers on Parler that:

It’s about time we fought back against big tech’s assault on free speech, free expression and freedom of association.

Second, we know that Dorries voted against gay marriage.

All three of my daughters told me that the only time that they’d felt embarrassed by any vote that I’ve cast or position I’ve taken as a politician was my vote against gay marriage. They couldn’t understand why I had done it, because I have so many gay friends – it sounds really corny, doesn’t it? And I do – don’t ask me why, I just love gay men. So, all three of them gave me a hard time about that vote and kind of left me thinking: Have I done the wrong thing?

But it’s such a complex one, because it wasn’t an easy Bill – and I go to church and as an MP I’ve got the entire congregation, almost, telling me: ‘You’ve got to vote against this!’ And then you go into Parliament and you’re being battered from all sides by people who you like, you respect, you trust, all beating you up with different arguments.

In the nine years I’ve been in Parliament, there have been three issues that have torn me, but that tore me the most; and it was probably the one I went into with the heaviest heart, not knowing if I was absolutely doing the right thing.

If anyone had any doubts that Boris Johnson is an idiot, this appointment confirms just how much an imbecile he is.

Please report any typos/errors to [email protected]

If you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee – and boy, do I get through a LOT of coffee keeping this site active – please click the link below.

I’d love a cup of coffee

Previous Post

September 15, 2021

'Wrath of God' lawmaker convicted for assaulting a schoolboy

Next Post

September 16, 2021 'Lukewarm' Christian Sherri Tenpenny reaches boiling point

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Archive My Atheism News Opinion Reviews Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 March 2007 April 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which city did the believers first call themselves "Christians"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Antioch Rome Corinth Jerusalem

Books by This Author Books by The Freethinker

See All Titles »