The Sceptic

How the Government’s social media ban for kids is a Trojan horse for digital ID, why Britain’s free speech laws are broken and the eye-watering cost of Net Zero.

In Episode 87 of the Sceptic, Ellie Hodges is joined by Alan Miller, co-founder of the Together Declaration, to discuss the Government’s plans for an under-16s social media ban, the push for digital ID checks, VPN restrictions and what they could mean for free speech and privacy.

Barrister John Holbrook explains why he thinks Britain’s hate speech laws are failing, how they have helped fuel cancel culture and why he believes free speech protections need a major rethink.

And for premium subscribers, energy analyst and author Richard Lyon digs into the eye-watering cost of renewable subsidies – now topping £227 billion! – the growing pressures on the UK grid and why he believes Net Zero could leave Britain facing a serious energy trap.

Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. 

Follow Ellie on X.

Follow Alan on X.

Join the together Declaration here. 

Follow Jon on X.

Read his report here.

Follow Richard here.

Buy his book The Energy Trap here.

Check out his Subsidy Clock here.

Produced by Richard Eldred.

Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

 

00:00 Intro

02:29 Alan Miller on the Incoming Social Media Ban

09:13 Response to Katherine Birbalsingh on Child Safety

12:47 Has Australia’s Under-16 Ban Worked?

14:45 Expectations Under a Burnham Government

17:39 What Will Britain’s Internet Look Like in 5 Years?

23:57 Jon Holbrook on Being Cancelled

28:29 What Language Should Be Criminalised?

31:42 Repeal All Hate Speech Laws?

34:12 Protected Beliefs vs Cancel Culture

37:48 Reforming Online Speech Laws

41:08 Can These Reforms Roll Back Cancel Culture?

45:19 Richard Lyon on the True Cost of Net Zero

48:07 The Subsidy Clock

51:16 What Is the Energy Trap?

55:27 Being a Climate Sceptic is Irrelevant

1:04:15 A Sensible UK Energy Policy

How the Government plans to control the UK’s online media landscape, and is Britain’s electricity grid being pushed towards breaking point?

In Episode 86 of the Sceptic, host Ellie Hodges talks to journalist, lawyer and UsForThem founder Molly Kingsley about the Government’s little-noticed plans to reshape Britain’s online media landscape, why she believes they could sideline independent voices in favour of establishment broadcasters and what they could mean for free speech online.

And for our premium subscribers, Ellie sits down with independent energy consultant Kathryn Porter to discuss whether Britain’s electricity grid is being pushed to breaking point. They dig into recent low-frequency events, claims that NESO is downplaying serious risks, explosive whistleblower allegations and whether this winter could bring a real risk of blackouts.

Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content.
Follow Ellie on X.
Follow Molly on X.
Read Molly’s article here.

Follow Kathryn on X.

Produced by Richard Eldred.

Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

 

00:00 Intro

01:25 Molly Kingsley on the Government's Sinister New Green Paper

04:02 Why "Trusted News" Is a Dangerous Framing

05:11 What This Means for Your Social Media Feeds

07:43 Is the Government Picking Winners & Losers

09:23 Protecting BBC Influence

14:06 Is There Still Time to Stop It?

19:08 The Shift Toward State Control Online

24:53 Kathryn Porter on the Grid's Near Miss

32:06 Whistleblower Allegations

35:47 Why NESO Stayed Quiet

42:51 Real Time Grid Risk

47:48 How Worried Should We Be This Winter?

51:03 What Needs to Happen Next

How the Equality Act has morphed from anti-discrimination law into a vast tool of social engineering, and whether the Met Office’s recent temperature records really are the ‘hottest evah’.

In Episode 85 of the Sceptic, host Ellie Hodges speaks to Alka Sehgal Cuthbert, Director of Don’t Divide Us and co-author of the new report Some More Equal Than Others: The Case Against the Equality Act, on how the 2010 Act has morphed from anti-discrimination law into a vast tool of social engineering, its corrosive effects on workplaces and free speech and why it should be repealed.

And for our premium subscribers, Ellie speaks to Chris Morrison, the Daily Sceptic’s Environment Editor, on the latest so-called record-breaking heatwave, whether the Met Office’s temperature records are really the ‘hottest evah’ and why the data is nowhere near robust enough to justify the madness of Net Zero.

Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. 
Follow Ellie on X.

Follow Alka on X.

Read Alka’s report here. 

Follow Chris on X.

Produced by Richard Eldred.

Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

00:00 Intro

01:21 Alka Sehgal Cuthbert on the Equality Act

03:44 Should the Equality Act Be Repealed?

06:15 Existing Laws Before the Act

08:28 Public Sector Equality Duty & Positive Action

13:27 Protected Characteristics

15:44 The Granger Test & Protecting Beliefs

18:28 Appetite to Reform the Act?

19:48 Chris Morrison on the Hottest Summer Evah?

29:34 How Does It Compare to 1976?

35:51 Is the Data Robust?

Sir Bill Cash on the 10th anniversary of Brexit, his 40-year fight to restore British sovereignty and why we must resist Labour’s EU reset.

In Episode 84 of the Sceptic, guest host Jack Hadfield speaks to Sir Bill Cash, lifelong Eurosceptic, former MP and chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, on the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote, his 40-year battle to restore British sovereignty and why Labour’s “EU reset” is a dangerous path back into subjugation.

Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content. 
Follow Jack on X.

Follow Bill on X.

Produced by Richard Eldred.

Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

 

00:00 Intro

00:56 Bill Cash on the EU Problem

08:08 The Maastricht Rebellion

10:35 When Brexit Became Possible

12:46 Brexit Night 2016

16:06 Has Brexit Been Delivered?

19:31 Brexit's Biggest Missed Opportunity

22:02 Labour's EU Reset and Andy Burnham

26:48 Warning Signs of Backdoor Rejoin

34:32 Immigration and Taking Back Control

40:01 Brexit 2.0 and International Law

45:18 Optimism for Britain's Future

Charles Talbot on how the Blob is stifling democracy in Britain and turning the state against itself.

In Episode 83 of the Sceptic, guest host Michael Murphy speaks to Charles Talbot, author of the new Cambridge Circus Research report ‘Breaking the Blob’, about how a sprawling ecosystem of activist charities, quangos and captured institutions exerts a powerful chokehold on British political life, undermines government policy and leaves Britain feeling increasingly like a state at war with itself.

Donate to the Daily Sceptic to access our premium content.
Follow Michael on X.
Follow Charles on X.
Read ‘Breaking the Blob’ here.

Produced by Richard Eldred.

Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio.

 

00:00 Intro

00:00:47 Charles Talbot on the Blob

00:03:35 The Blob's Left-Wing Bias

00:05:16 A State at War with Itself

00:07:41 Why Government Funds Its Own Opponents

00:10:17 How the Blob Kills Policies it Doesn't Like

00:14:15 The Rwanda Scheme

00:16:17 Can Any Policy Survive the Blob?

00:18:19 Laws That Must Change

00:20:20 The Funnel Model & Weak Regulation

00:24:37 Charity vs Political Activism

00:27:12 Should Government Track Undermining Spending?

00:29:11 The Media’s Role in Aiding the Blob

00:36:08 What a Serious Government Must Do

00:39:05 Radical Reforms

00:42:29 Conspiracy or Ideological Alignment?

00:45:52 Future Work from Cambridge Circus Research

00:52:15 Where to Find the Report