Helen

Environmental socialist, anti-racist, singer, feminist, teacher, optimist. Art, theatre, museums, gigs, birds, natural history.

[Victoria Smith @glosswitch]

Ffs, leave this woman alone. This isn't some love story. It's total red flag behaviour.

[Sonia Sodha @soniasodha]

Many in our industry still don't understand why this undermines trust in news. When journalists lie about the sex of a violent perpetrator to satisfy ideologically-captured editorial policies, it makes some question their trust in news media more generally. It's very damaging.

[Sonia Sodha @soniasodha]

Crazy that some news outlets are reporting as fact that the Canadian shooter is a woman despite local reports it is a man who identifies as female. The brain-scrambling impact gender ideology has had on journalism: it encourages news outlets to lie.

[Jason Brodsky @JasonMBrodsky]

A brave Iranian woman, who is bloodied amid an #Iran regime crackdown on pretests, continues on. She and others are fearless.

[AK Arshi @ak_ar3hi]

This is an urgent message to the world 🚨 the islamic regime in Iran is falling and has shut down the internet as millions of iranians are in the streets. We need you all right now to help us raise awareness about this beautiful revolution. #iran #IranProtests #IranRevolution2026

[Sharon Quinn👀 @ChaosInMyCourt]

The absolute shite I'm reading about motability cars, wild. See when yer all done dehumanising asylum seekers & wanting disabled folk to go back to driving the wee 3 wheelers & have the bare minimum in life,who's next? Who are the billionaires going to tell you to shout at next?

[Helen @futurestand]

@Craigc1892 @CMG3432 He was only in the marines for just over a year, more than 3 decades ago, and didn’t even see active service. He’s a Reform and cryptocurrency lover, and his own dashcam footage shows he drove dangerously from the minute he left home that day. Stop making excuses for shit men.

[Helen @futurestand]

This person thinks that council housing is only for the unemployed. What an idiot.

[Jess @jessgill03]

There shouldn’t be any council housing in London.

Cities, especially the capital, should be for the productive.

It’s not fair on young professionals who have to spend thousands of pounds each month for simple food, transport and rent.

[Hadley Freeman @HadleyFreeman]

I meant to post this earlier: here is a v bad photo of the trans flag flying from the roof of Newnham Colleg. Once the beating heart of a British feminism, now an endorser of reductive pink and blue gender stereotypes. Might as well be a white flag of surrender

[Cathy Devine @cathydevine56]

Subjugation & submission.
Disturbing image.

[Adam Wagner KC @AdamWagner1]

An important development:

A music venue in Bristol has apologised to Oi Va Voy, a band of Jewish musicians who brilliantly combine Jewish and other cultures, and are non-political.

The venue, Strange Brew, cancelled the band's appearances at the last minute under pressure from activist groups.

They have now apologised and recognised that under the Equality Act Jewish performers cannot be excluded based on their nationality or ethnicity.

This is not an isolated incident and has been happening across the UK to Jewish people especially since 7/10/23.

https://t.co/1fju2fks62

[Helen @futurestand]

@minorninth @AdamWagner1 @ProfAliceS Yep.

[Prof Katherine Sleeman @kesleeman]

I’m reminded of something @HackneyAbbott said at third reading:

“What could be more unjust than to lose your life due to poorly drafted legislation?”

[Kate Clanchy @KateClanchy1]

I agree with @HadleyFreeman . I am the witch that is easiest to talk about because, as a friend told me, ‘You’re only a racist, not a terf’.
After the witch trials at Salem had stopped in 1692, it took a long time for the community to find words for what had happened. They began with the reputation of one witch, Rebecca Nurse. She was 71 when she was hanged, had a large family and a great reputation for piety. She behaved well on the gallows. People might not be ready to say that witches didn’t exist, but they could admit she might not have been one. In 1706 one of her child accusers, Annie Putnam, apologised for what she did. Annie was recommunicated into the church. It all helped bring the Salem community back together.
So
1) I hope discussing what happened to me helps to open discussion on what happened in my community of UK books and letters. I hope we get to the point where we see there are no witches.
2) In 1712 Rebecca Nurse was recommunicated into the church. She was still dead though.

https://t.co/81RwHZ8l7v

[Helen @futurestand]

@KateClanchy1 @andrewbillen @AmandaPCraig @panmacmillan @RSLiterature Yes, it’s shocking to see people stampede to fall in line with the loud accusing voices. A twisted sense of self-preservation. I’d hope a lot of people are reflecting on their actions - but honest reflection doesn’t seem to be such a well-developed part of human behaviour.

[Helen @futurestand]

@andrewbillen @AmandaPCraig @panmacmillan @KateClanchy1 @RSLiterature It’s an excellent - though hard - read. Your interview has lots of detail missing in other’s articles.
Purity spiral cancellations are frightening, and the cowardice shown by those who opted to join in throwing Kate under the bus speaks volumes about their character.

[Sonia Sodha @soniasodha]

I was interviewed by the BBC for its new podcast series on Kate Clanchy's cancellation. I couldn't believe how nasty and cruel it got - I wrote this at the time and stand by every word.

https://t.co/XeHwzzXwxR

[Kate Clanchy @KateClanchy1]

' I’m surviving life in Afghanistan
and maybe dreaming is its own kind of freedom'
Shadmana is fifteen, writing, learning and teaching entirely online, mostly in English. Please pass her poem on. @WRNAfghanistan

[Helen @futurestand]

@Tim_Kelly @jdpoc Yep. Men again. What the hell is wrong with you all?

[Helen @futurestand]

@JamesLatha18453 @StephenOWC33 What is the knife attackers turn out to be British? Will you be retracting your ‘blood will be spilt’ threat then?