Between Truths - Hello and Welcome

Hello and Welcome to my Substack.

I’m Roland Smith and I will be writing here about the UK culture wars that really started rolling from the time of the 2016 Brexit referendum - a moment that transcended and opened up UK party politics to new and greater divisions that are still playing out to this day.

I’m specifically interested in where the culture war’s sides ‘meet’, whether on Free Speech, Trans, Immigration, Brexit, DEI, the ECHR, British History etc. Setting aside the noise, can the warring sides find any common ground between their differing ‘truths’ and where might the points of agreement be found? How do we interpret what is happening?

I’m a disillusioned former Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute, now of no fixed political abode. Known for years for Brexit commentary, I have patrolled the boundary between ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ and have walked in the shoes of both Leavers and Remainers. I have built respectable followings, first on X/Twitter and later on Bluesky, as I have charted the descent of the political Right - my former home - down the populist rabbit hole.

Having been through my fair share of personal soul-searching and also despair at my former political allies, the time has come to step back and look at what is going on dispassionately, and just maybe start the process of healing.

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