The Government thinks I am an extremist

[cakeorwine]

I am a member of Republic.
Republic are a pressure group that wants to see an end to the Monarchy.
The Monarchy is an institution in the UK.
I will try ti undermine it.

That makes me an extremist.

Revealed: plan to brand anyone ‘undermining’ UK as extremist | UK security and counter-terrorism | The Guardian

Government officials have drawn up deeply controversial proposals to broaden the definition of extremism to include anyone who “undermines” the country’s institutions and its values, according to documents seen by the Observer.

@AllProperTeaIsTheft - I totally agree with you. And yet, on numerous private vs state school threads posters pop up and say exactly this - parents who privately school their kids undermine state schools.

I opposed Brexit, and went on some pro-Remain marches. That would definitely make me an extremist and an Enemy of the People!

You are an extremist.

I'll be joining you.

Do you reckon they'll set up a Guamtano Bay type thing, but somewhere like in Margate?

Nigel Farage has infact been refused banking services.

Once these rules are in place, the political views and risk aversion of compliance officers can make anyone an outcast.

@Fifteenth you keep saying this about Farage. It's not true. Farage has been offered a standard NatWest account. His Coutts account has been shown to gave been withdrawn because it wasn't making Coutts enough money. And the former NatWest CEO has received an apology from the ICO because she did not in fact breach GDPR re Farage.

This proposed law is bad for everyone, but Farage isn't a good illustration of why.

Oh Farage was annoyed at the lack of status. He didn't have enough money and still doesn't.

The comments about his politics were irrelevant to the bottom line which is money.

A storm in a tea cup

How is "undermine" defined?

I think the official dictionary definition is when you hurt the feelz of somebody who isn't confident and mature enough in their own beliefs, or sufficiently democracy-loving, to be able to accept that other people aren't just an echo chamber who exist purely to validate them.

Have Coutts definitely confirmed that it was because of Farage's level of solvency that they closed his account?

I would have guessed that, although the majority of their account-holders will of course be rich, by virtue of their position, getting an account with them in the first place would be far more about who you are and who you know rather than how much you have in the bank.

I may well be wrong here, but I'd have expected them to be much more likely to want a now-penniless aristo with the right breeding in a crumbling stately home on their books than Kevin and Tracy who won last Saturday's Euromillions.

I haven’t followed the apology. But she left because what she said about him want true. Also, if they keep most old customers below the limit then excluding him on that ground would also have been discriminatory.

However …

How about the ordinary Canadians whose bank accounts were frozen for supporting protestors?

Maybe Laurence Fox being told a drug dealer would have a better chance of a mortgage?

Banking licenses are the issue. Govt shouldn’t be able to decide who can use money.

Specifically the left new ruling elite in all public sector and compliance roles.

Coutts is invitation only on the basis of cold hard assets. Don't let the old English wrapping fool you

And the ordinary Canadians with frozen bank accounts?

And Laurence Fox being unable to get a mortgage?

And the UKIP supporting foster parents who were threatened with having the kid removed?

There is so much wrong with the level of Govt power in so much of the former West right now.

I think Suella Braverman is seriously undermining British values through her assault on freedom of expression and her utter lack of compassion towards vulnerable people such as the homeless.

Do I get to send her to Rwanda now?

How much was Fox wanting to borrow? What is his income?

No idea. His broker told him a drug dealer would have more chance. WhilstI dare say drug dealers can earn well, that wasn’t the point being made.

The marginalised people are the canary in the coal mine.

If we don’t stand up now, when they come for us there will be nobody left to say anything.

Agree.

And would add I am also getting sick and tired of protests that cause unnecessary disruption to ordinary people, and damage public property. Far from winning me over, I utterly despise the cause and those behaving in such a manner.

I didn't see where the article specifically mentioned the cause you support, or was it simply your interpretation?

"No idea. His broker told him a drug dealer would have more chance. WhilstI dare say drug dealers can earn well, that wasn’t the point being made."

My point was without having an in-depth knowledge of his finances, income and security, existing debts and commitments (like maintenance) and how much he was looking to borrow it's impossible to give a view on why Fox might not be able to get a mortgage.

A flippant comment from an unnamed mortgage broker is neither here nor there.

Today you look for an excuse for why those who stood up to Govt feel financially excluded.

Tomorrow the good citizen will look for an excuse for why you should have no access to banking.

That way that person can say “Oh it could never happen to me”, and try to go about their life without fear.

Nobody can feel secure that their views/ actions/ jobs/ family will not be targeted in the future.

Yes. I’m autistic. I will be one of the early targets.

But for you as well as me, the only way to be safe is not to give Govt power to do that to anyone.

@Fifteenth I reckon Lozza Fox couldn't get a mortgage based on affordability criteria. What with him not having a job and all. But you enjoy your conspiracies.

Canada is irrelevant - we do not live under Canadian law.

The situation with the UKIP supporters was 1) far more complex than a simple matter of political preferences and 2) 11 years ago.

pointythings
It's not true. Farage has been offered a standard NatWest account.

Only when he went public and not a business account initially (Farage had more than one account with Coutts);

4 July 2023
Mr Farage said: “Nobody has mentioned any thresholds to me in the previous 10 years.
“More importantly, they are putting out that they have offered me a NatWest account. At no point was I offered anything within the group until last Thursday after I had blown the gaff and put the story out in public, and they were obviously panicking.
“The idea that they have been generous in offering me a NatWest account is absolute cobblers. As far as they were concerned, I was to leave the group and they were perfectly clear about that.”
Mr Farage also said that he had not been offered a business account, making it much harder to operate had he stayed with the bank.
Last week the former Brexit Party leader said his bank accounts were closed “without explanation” and other high street lenders refused to allow him to transfer his funds to them.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/07/04/nigel-farage-coutts-claims-bank-account-insufficient-funds/

1 August 2023
Mr Farage said the interim chief executive of Coutts, Mohammad Kamal Syed, [has made an] offer to continue banking with them.
"He has written to me to say I can keep both my personal and my business accounts,"
Mr Farage did not say whether he planned to accept the offer...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66367896

And the former NatWest CEO has received an apology from the ICO because she did not in fact breach GDPR re Farage.

The ICO didn't investigate Alison Rose personally - the apology is here;

The ICO recently investigated a complaint from Nigel Farage. The ICO's investigation was solely into NatWest's actions as a data controller.

Our comments gave the impression that we had investigated the actions of Alison Rose, the former CEO of NatWest Group. This was incorrect. We confirm that we did not investigate Ms Rose's actions, given that NatWest was the data controller under investigation.

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2023/11/an-apology-from-the-ico-to-dame-alison-rose/

I've probably been on several lists for 40 years. Being on another one is hardly newsworthy...

But you are wrong. "Free speech" is neither a value nor a law. Quite the reverse. There are many restrictions on free speech, and there should be. Hate speech is a crime. It should be. Supporting terrorists is a crime. It should be. There is a valid debate to be had about the details and boundaries of what that means. But we should never be in favour of unfettered "free speech".

Roussette
they also managed to arrest Westminster Council's Women's Safety Team who hand out rape alarms to women

One member of the team (there were three volunteers) just happened to be an Extinction Rebellion member/spokesperson - somewhat suspicious even if it was an unlucky coincidence. Rape alarms can frighten horses.

Here you all are worried about Nigel Farage.

Today, the Government announced that they would legislate so that the police can enter your house without a warrant.

Look out for yourselves, not the concerns of a man who is well capable of articulating his concerns.