Parts of the UK are a bit messy and run down - there, I've said it. Will these be enough to get me referred to the Prevent programme for vilfying the UK?

[cakeorwine]

www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/02/former-counter-terrorism-police-chief-attacks-rishi-sunaks-prevent-plans

"The former chancellor announced measures to beef up the Prevent programme on Tuesday night, as part of a bid to boost his flagging campaign to succeed Boris Johnson as the next prime minister.
These would lead to more people being referred to Prevent by widening the definition of “extremism” to include those who “vilify” Britain, with Sunak pledging to focus on “rooting out those who are vocal in their hatred of our country”.
But former counter-terrorism chief Sir Peter Fahy, who was also chief constable of Greater Manchester police, questioned the precise meaning of “vilification”.
He said: “The widening of Prevent could damage its credibility and reputation. It makes it more about people’s thoughts and opinions.
Reforming the Prevent strategy won’t work. It must be abolished
Ilyas Nagdee
Read more
“It is straying into thought crimes and political opinions.”"

I could go further:

The Monarchy is an outdated system and needs reforming or getting rid of.
FPTP is unfair
The House of Lords needs scrapping
Some countries have a better form of devolved Government
The public transport system in this country falls behind some other countries
Brexit was a bad idea and we are an insulated nation

This is not about debating these subjects - but a question behind what vilifying means and when does an opinion become an extreme opinion that needs referring to Prevent

So feel free to add your opinions and get ready to pack your bags to the re-education camps

I can't get upset about this, I thought we already had laws about inducing hate, racist speech etc? Haven't seen any 'hops' from that to ridiculous things so I don't know why people suddenly think there would be from this.

Anyone as old as me will recall Norman Tebbit's cricket test of nationality. I am still waiting to be deported to the West Indies, India, Australia, or any country with better sunshine than here. Pleeease.......

Ahhhh just seen that the 'Prevent' deradicalisation programme is voluntary. That'll work then!

How do you re-educate someone to like their country?

Is it a bit like electric shock treatment - so you get shocked if you say something negative about the UK?

A tweet.

Your boyfriend getting sent to the Government's deradicalisation Prevent program for tweeting "Michael Gove is a pudding-faced cockwomble"

As someone else said... there is nothing more British than moaning about Britain!

Excellent

Use it on every fucking member of the Tory party. They're the ones destroying the uk

Rishi's really gone full out fashco to try and coax the majority of his party members that he's willing to do their bidding. Absolutely crazy.

We have always been at war with Eastasia.

From what I have read, it doesn't seem to apply to right wing views

This reminds me of an old Joke. An American says to a Russian, "The difference between our two countries is that I can openly criticize our president and elected officials and nothing will happen to me". The Russian responds, "Wrong, Comrade. I too am free to criticize your president and elected officials without fear of reprisal".

😀

This is the kind of thinking that emerges once you try to limit to free speech and police the way people think.

Most of the country will need reprogramming after this shit show passes

Honestly, the HoL is the only thing keeping parliament in check and democratic at the moment (e.g schools bill), which must surely be some messed up joke? Fed up with the lot of them. Never trust a Tory.

They'll need an island the size of the UK to house all those discontented with the crap weather... oh wait!

"Sunak’s team vowed to broaden that out to include “vilification of the UK” to ensure “those with an extreme hatred of our country that leads them to pose a risk to national security can be identified and diverted away from a destructive path”."

That national security bit could be defined very widely to include a perceived risk eg someone might be targetted by a foreign power to spy, etc..

I write about the constitution and devolved government in Scotland (which hasn't been done well and lacks proper accountability and checks and balances as well as being led by a unicameral government) - I find it almost impossible to get published in the UK because in Scotland, universities generally now require articles to be approved before submission by the author to the various journals and in England, because no-one is interested. But its easy enough to get published in other European countries.

Given that in Scotland we have seen some women receive little visits from the police for discussing trans rights and how they affect women, even though the police admit that they have committed no crime, plus the new hate crime legislation, you can see the way things are going.

I don't like the sound of many of Sunak's policies, particularly this one. We are already signatories to the ECHR - why on earth would we need something like this? I'm not impressed by Sunak's background - theres a lot of gloss but not much substance by achievement due to individual, unassisted effort. I'd have expected to have seen a rather more erudite approach to this issue rather than this clumsy, heavy-handed approach.

I think most of us would need 're-educating'. I personally ''vilify'' corrupt MPs, Tory donors, greedy utility companies, Dido Harding and many more on a daily basis. And will continue to do so. He seems to have a problem with freedom of speech full stop.

Seriously though how did it go so badly wrong? our politicians are truly disgraceful...

Sunak is out of ideas. Not that he had any to begin with.

he only got the chancellor gig because Javid resigned. And happened to find himself in the right place at the right time to claim credit for handing public money out to the… erm, public.

This is actually brilliant! So if I criticise the country again I'll be shipped off somewhere, told a load of bullshit in a clockwork orange manner and then presumably monitored for the rest of my live as a dangerous radical with the potential to go full terrorist.

Nah, can't possibly see how that's a waste of time, money or resources...or how it could possibly lead to greater dissension and vilification of the police state government. 🙄

Well I better pack my suitcases and get my net contributing arse ready to go....
If I pay taxes and can't even vite, I will at least bitch about stuff😂

I'm going to go ahead and assume I'm immune as a middle-aged white woman. I can slag off the royal family, the weather, the piles of vomit in the street after a Saturday night, the class system, Brexit and places including but not limited to Croydon, Hull, Crawley and Reading with impunity.

How the fuck have these two managed to make Bumbling Boris look reasonable?

Midle aged white British (i oresume) woman might be more accurate.
You might have to now start slagging stuff on behalf of us others too😁

I love this country and would never live anywhere else.

Putting criticism of the government and aspects of society (the good the bad and the ugly) in the same basket as the sort of vilification that terrorist groups use, tends to show that you don't really realise how extreme the extremists are.

They'd be looking at sedition as a minimum, or possibly incitement to murder MPs etc

Midle aged white British (i oresume) woman might be more accurate.

Dual nationality so I might have to watch my arse a bit @Bubblebubblebah I have the whiff of foreign about me