Can we just take a moment to celebrate how brilliant HIGNFY still is?
I’ve been watching it for years and it remains one of the few programmes that actually makes me laugh out loud while also being properly sharp about what’s going on in the world.
Friday's one with Katherine Ryan had me in stitches.
But there's predictable right-wing rage online about the show every single week, because it's not afraid to mock Reform / Restore / Tory voters for being thick.
The same crowd who used to bang on about “free speech” and “you can’t joke about anything anymore” suddenly lose their minds the moment the jokes are aimed at the Tories, Reform, dodgy billionaires, or the latest culture war nonsense. The hypocrisy is hilarious.
When it was lampooning Blair or Brown they didn’t seem to mind so much, but now it’s “biased lefty propaganda” apparently.
Sorry, but holding politicians to account, especially the ones actually in power or trying to get it, is literally the point of satire. Ian Hislop is still as good as ever at skewering the lies and incompetence, and Paul Merton’s surreal tangents are comedy gold. The guest hosts and panellists are usually excellent too (yes, even when they’re not right-wing).
It feels like a proper British institution that hasn’t sold out to the lowest common denominator or turned into yet another culture war shouting match. In an era of endless online propaganda and unfunny “own the libs” YouTube channels, HIGNFY is a reminder that you can be clever, funny, and actually say something at the same time.
Anyone else still a fan, or am I the only lefty left who thinks it’s held up brilliantly?