Identity politics – the tyranny of it – Jon Holbrook

Is the Bar a left-wing club?

12th February 202123rd February 2021jonholbLeave a comment

Barrister Jon Holbrook criticised the equality law that empowers schoolchildren to use race and culture to undermine school uniform policies. A few days earlier he tweeted: ‘The Equality Act undermines school discipline by empowering the stroppy teenager of colour.’ He was subsequently expelled by his Chambers. Here he writes an open letter to the chairman of the Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales.

Identity politics vs the wisdom of the crowd

24th March 202017th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

Douglas Murray’s The Madness of Crowds provides a compelling take-down of the woke left.

Maya Forstater: a champion of democracy

23rd December 201917th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

It is unacceptable for the law to denounce Forstater’s views on sex as ‘not worthy of respect’. She is a true champion of democracy, and the Tribunal’s dismissal of her case highlights the extent to which the law has become a menace to the institution it is supposed to uphold: democracy.

Feminists think stereotypes are only bad when others use them

21st August 201917th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

The Advertising Standards Authority has banned two adverts for ‘promoting gender stereotypes’. Meanwhile Green Party MP Caroline Lucas called for an emergency female-only cabinet ‘to work for reconciliation’ a solution only women can secure. Feminists are happy to use stereotypes to help themselves get promoted.

Equality law fuels campus censorship

4th February 201917th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

Government-backed guidance on free speech in universities shows how the Equality Act is the main driver of campus censorship.

Diversity: the new favouritism

3rd August 201817th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

Ben Cobley’s book, The Tribe, is a searing attack on the diversity industry. In Britain today, if you are non-white, female, Muslim or gay you are favoured. If you are white, male, Christian or straight you are unfavoured.

Transgenderism: a top-down politics of identity

19th January 201617th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

Far from being about liberty, transgenderism is backed by undemocratic power exercised in the spheres of medicine and law.

Ul Nasir: a case of victim-centred injustice

22nd September 201517th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

The Court of Appeal was wrong to view the sexual abuse of Asian girls as more serious than sexual abuse of other girls. Justice does not vary according to a victim’s culture.

The legal tyranny of gay marriage

29th July 201517th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

The European Court of Human Rights has turned gay marriage into a legal issue and deprived citizens of their right to treat it as a moral issue for them.

Gay marriage: a victory for therapy

6th July 201517th March 2021jonholbLeave a comment

Marriage, which has for millennia been defined as a heterosexual institution, has been redefined by the US Supreme Court. It’s historical essence has been declared illegal.