Billy Bragg says philosopher John Stuart Mill would have changed his mind on free speech if he’d been subjected to a Twitter pile-on.
The folk singer and activist made the surprising claim about the author of On Liberty last night during a debate on cancel culture.
“There are no rules,” Bragg said. “All we have is John Stuart Mill. [He] was never the subject of a Twitter pile-on and if he had been I bet he would have changed his mind slightly”.
Bragg was speaking against the motion that cancel culture was a threat to our freedoms alongside Professor Kehinde Andrews from Birmingham City University.
Opposing Bragg and Andrews were Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Julie Bindel. Ali told the Intelligence Squared debate: “I’m a fan of John Stuart Mill. You have to hear what the other person has to say ... you have to respect the audience, let the audience decide what to hear.”
What last night’s audience wanted to hear was Ali and Bindel’s case, as they romped home in a vote after the debate as 77 per cent of the audience agreed with the motion.
Happily for Mill he died in 1873 — too early to be cancelled.
Brooks patiently works up to punchline, says Osman
Richard OSMAN, above, recalls Mel Brooks’s confidence and patience to work towards a punchline. Before Brooks appeared on Clive Anderson’s talk show he asked producers to give him a blind wine tasting as he’d just started learning the art. Anderson himself blindfolded Brooks and poured out the wine. “He’s sipping — this goes on for genuinely 25 minutes,” Osman tells Jay Rayner’s podcast, “and then he just goes... ‘Okay okay I’m ready, I think this wine is a red’.”
This Morning’s sofa goes chaise longue...
The Londoner has noticed the sofa on ITV’s This Morning looking a little long of late, so we asked the producers. They confirmed it has indeed been elongated. “We’ve always had a small extension piece,” a spokesperson said, adding it’s “so we can sit more people on it.” Since guests returned in July they’ve been using it “to ensure social distancing”. Sofa, so good.
Superfan in a fizz after surprise Jama dinner date
Maya Jama surprised a “superfan” at La Vita é Bella restaurant in London last night and then proceeded to have dinner with her. Given the nice gesture was arranged by Coca-Cola, The Londoner does wonder exactly how much of a surprise it was for the superfan when Jama appeared. Still, no complaints.
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SIR Keir Starmer got an unexpected surprise on his holiday to the New Forest, the Londoner understands. Local Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne turned up at his holiday cottage in a classic car to present him with a bottle of champagne. Swayne wouldn’t be drawn on the specifics of whether he visited Starmer, but did tell us: “I am always delighted to welcome other parliamentarians to holiday in my delightful constituency.” He added: “Actually, despite profound political differences, in my experience, Members treat each other with great courtesy when ‘off-screen’.” We’ll drink to that.
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A TOUGH start to the new season for the Parliamentary football club as their team was yesterday walloped by the London Fire Brigade FC. The charity match, in aid of The Firefighters Charity, finished 10-1, with the Fire Brigade scoring too fast for the Parliamentarians to keep up - they initially reported it was just 7-1. But the team's manager Mark Ramsdale tells us "It would have been more if it weren’t for Ben Bradley MP in goal”. Time to sign some Brazilian MPs?