"A nation of such barbarous temper & mountainish inhumanity"

Today, in 2026, right wing politicians, rabble rousers and social media extremists can, and do, propose policies and actions that only a few years ago would have been howled down by the general public whatever their political viewpoint or standing. Hatred, resentment, and discontent underpinned by the hint or even threat of violent action are now the default setting of many; one only needs to read posts on social media to witness the truth of that. And all too often this is wrapped up in the cloak of flag waving "patriotism"; a phrase and word that has within it the idea that to be a "patriot" you have to subscribe to that hatred and resentment. Flag waving and "patriotism" rallies "us" around the flag, its intention to bring people of a like mind or background together - be they soldiers in battle or the crowd at a football match or the mob on the street. But in doing so they also separate "us" from "them" - the "others" not of our mind, background, creed or colour be they the enemy on the battle field with their own flag or the supporters of the opposition's team or those on the streets who are not one of "us". In short, it makes manifest the notion that you are either "with us or against us"; there are no grey areas with room for discussion or compromise; it is the deliberate removal of nuance. And in a world where grey areas of compromise and disagreement, nuance, difference of opinion, and other values are absent or removed there lie the seeds of tyranny. The world, and England in particular, are in my view, at a tipping point; increasingly it seems to me battle lines are being drawn, positions taken, threats becoming a reality.

In England in recent weeks we have seen black suited, balacavad men proclaiming their "patriotism" by blocking ports. We have seen increasing skirmishes with the police by those "patriots" claiming to "represent" the views of "ordinary man" or to "protect our women" from "others" - usually the asylum seekers arriving on our shores. We have seen members of the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) harrassed and threatened for their "crime" in rescuing refugees and asylum seekers from the English Channel. Each day brings another low in the moral compass of much of the nation. In recent days I have read daily on social media or in the press the latest mad, bad and dangerous utterances of Rupert Lowe, the self proclaimed leader of the Restore Party, and each one plumbs a new depth - things that only a few years ago even the most extreme politician would have viewed as unspeakable let alone propose as "policies". This week he has told his 1.5 million Facebook followers that if elected to government his Restore Party will bring in a policy of mass deportation of immigrants, stop all asylum seekers, dispose of human rights legislation, remove our independent judiciary by putting it under control of Parliament, ensure that only "British history" is taught in schools and that our universities represent British values, bring back the death penalty ..............the list goes on and on - and his followers shout back "Bring it on". And as I noted above, his supporters are quick to threaten and abuse if one expresses concern or disagreement; "if you are not with us you are against us" their motto.

And now, in recent days we have had an event that could only be described as peculiarly English; a tiny village, Piddington, deep in the rich (economically and agriculturally) Oxfordshire countryside has declared itself "independent" from the UK in order to highlight and prevent the planned use of a local Ministry of Defence site to house over a thousand male asylum seekers who are awaiting the processing of their claims for asylum in this country. The site was previously part of the Bicester garrison housing, amongst other things, military personnel. The BBC told us: "Residents of an Oxfordshire village have voted to become independent from the UK in a symbolic referendum held in protest at plans to house more than 1,000 migrants at a former military base. Villagers in Piddington, near Bicester, voted on Tuesday over Home Office proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at nearby MoD Bicester. The referendum was organised by the parish council and out of 312 votes cast, 285 voted to leave, 26 voted no, and one ballot paper was spoiled. Delivering the result, parish council vice chair Susannah Parden said: "We are Piddington the village that roars." Parish council chair Tim McNally added: "This is an example of democracy in operation. We went into this village hall as the underdogs - we had a plucky idea. We have given a message to the world."

Mmmm! Whilst I can admire the creative thinking of the village residents and the plan they have put in place and I can well understand their concern that the military base is being used in this way I'm also of the view that this is just another, more genteel variation, of "othering", base patriotism and prejudice cloaked in middle class "niceness". Maybe I'm wrong, and I must confess, if my own village was in some manner "threatened" in the same way I would have huge concerns about the impact on the village and the local community. But in saying that I hope I would also acknowledge the insidious, pernicious and irrational nature of the prejudice I was displaying in my anxious thinking. In short, prejudice and extremism - and by extension "othering" and ultimately racism - feed upon fear, irrationality, a lack of understanding and a consequent shortfall in empathy. And when that happens extreme "patriotism" steps in to fill the void. It is where we are at now in 2026 England and we should be very worried; prejudice, aggressive thought and deeds, and potential tyranny are becoming normalised in the national conversation and civic discourse.

These events do our country no service, they advertise our prejudice and insular nature (as the Brexit vote did) rather than our openness and willingness to understand, to build bridges with others; they are a stain on England as a nation and upon all of us as citizens. But, sadly, they are not new - to coin a phrase, we English "have form" with this sort of thing.

And as I read of these recent events and in the last day or two, witnessed, horrified, the hatred and venom pouring from Rupert Lowe and his "patriots", and thought of the upstanding residents of little Piddington and their quirky declaration of independence three words came into my mind. Three words, long forgotten, unthought of for almost a lifetime, three words: "The strangers' case". And as soon as they rooted in my subconscious more came tumbling back - at first jumbled, uncertain, nonsensical. But then their message made itself known and was immediately clear and sure in my mind, and above all a powerful sentence from my past crystallised in my consciousness: "This is the strangers’ case; And this your mountainish inhumanity."

Those words took me back to my late teenage years, to a Wednesday afternoon in Blackpool when I was studying at Blackpool Technical College for my A levels to gain entry to teacher training college. Each Wednesday afternoon we teenagers had a break from our formal A level studies (mine being History, Economics and Geography) to follow what was called General Studies. It still had an exam at the end of the two years but its real function was to give us callow youngsters some broadening of our understanding of the wider world we were growing up into. There were half term units on politics, media studies, art and music history, philosophy, scientific development and a myriad of other dips into mankind's development; each unit was, to me, magical, opening up interests and avenues that have stayed with me throughout my life. Each unit was led by different members of staff and all of these wonderful teachers had the capacity to light fires in our young minds; one however, I remember in particular with great respect and fondness. Dr Proudfoot was an elderly, tall, thin man with short cropped grey hair and of slightly unkempt appearance, often looking as if he had just come in from a little gardening; heavy cord trousers, crumpled shirt with aged tie, tweed jacket with leather patches on the elbows, and thin wire framed glasses perched on the end of his beak like nose - and what we all most remembered and commented upon were the open toed sandals that he wore whatever the weather. To us youngsters he was a light hearted figure of fun but when he opened his mouth we listened. Quietly spoken, his warm gentle voice had the capacity to encourage everyone to contribute as he opened up unknown worlds to us and to me. And one of the worlds he opened was the world envisioned in "The Strangers' Case" - we studied its words, its background and history and above all its relevance to the world into which we were growing up. He had started the lesson by writing on the blackboard six words: "No Irish, no blacks, no dogs" and asked us what we understood by them. We all recognised them for in the early 1960s it was not unusual to see adverts or signs in house/hotel windows for accommodation that said "No Irish, no blacks, no dogs"- looking back it was the brutal face of racism and prejudice made real. I can still picture that Wednesday afternoon now. A dozen or so of us sitting in the little upstairs room that the college rented in the Jewish Synagogue in Leamington Road and which we General Studies A level students used; all of us intently listening to the thin, gentle, grey haired man who seemed to my teenage eyes (and still today) so knowledgeable and right. A few years later in 1968 as I reached the final months of my teacher training course here in Nottingham I can remember thinking of Dr Proudfoot and that Wednesday afternoon. And the reason for my recalling it in April 1968? - it was when the right wing Conservative politician Enoch Powell gave his hateful and infamous "Rivers of Blood" speech which caused huge uproar then and is still a lightening rod for the hateful racist rhetoric which, as an 81 year old, I am now hearing again from people like Rupert Lowe, his followers and, by association, the polite and genteel people of Piddington who, I believe, would each be horrified to be called an extremist or racist or even just prejudiced.

So, what was "The Strangers' Case", what treasure trove did Dr Proudfoot open for us that Wednesday above the Jewish Synagogue in Blackpool? And why do I bring it up now as relevant and important today in our hate filled 2026?

On May 1, 1517 — since referred to as Evil May Day — xenophobic riots broke out in London in response to an influx of immigrant workers (called "strangers" by the mob) especially Flemish workers and the wealthy foreign merchants and bankers of Lombard Street accusing them of stealing jobs, bringing disease and suffering and "foreign knavery" to England. The mob threw stones, poured boiling water from windows, ran amok through the streets frightening citizens. This sparked panic and the mob looted foreigners' houses in the city. The Duke of Norfolk entered the city with his private army of 1,300 retainers to suppress the riots. By 3 a.m. the riot had died down, and 300 people under arrest were finally released. However, 13 of the rioters were convicted of treason and executed on 4 May 1517. During the riot Thomas More, who was a Sheriff of London at the time, spoke to the rioters to try to calm things down, asking the rioters to imagine themselves in the shoes of the immigrants they were attacking.

Eighty years after the events of 1517, a play called "Sir Thomas More" was written probably by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle. It wasn't published or performed at the time, because it was censored, the authorities afraid that it might cause more strife. But within the play there is a speech called "The Strangers' Case" made by Thomas More to the rioters. It's almost certain that William Shakespeare wrote it. It makes powerful, thought provoking reading and in my view says much about our English values both then and now. It made absolute sense to me in that room over the Blackpool Synagogue in 1963 when Dr Proudfoot presented it and explained it. It made even more sense in 1968 when I read Enoch Powell's hateful "Rivers of blood" speech and today, in 2026, as I read of Rupert Lowe's hateful rhetoric and and witness the actions of "patriots" blocking ports, threatening lifeboat men and women, posting dreadful hate and racist resentment on social media and hear the residents of Piddington declaring their independence it not only makes sense but tells me much about our English society and our "patriotism". It tells me that the words and actions being used today by "patriots" and rabble rousers like Rupert Lowe are just the same and just as hateful as in 1517; we haven't learned or moved on. And further, all our claims that to be English is to respect people and be fair in thought and deed are dubious at best. But of course in 2026 we are not alone. In Trump's America, the "land of the free" now with its Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seemingly happy to restrict freedom on a whim, walls between America and Mexico, and deportations and imprisonment a common place the Statue of Liberty's famous wording "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" has a dreadfully hollow ring. The reality is that as nations both we and America have a long history of hate and hateful rhetoric which dog whistle politicians like Lowe and Trump tap into - to further their own ends. We should be ashamed that we have not yet learned the lessons of history nor have we understood the implications and consequences of the path we are allowing to develop; a path that will surely and irrevocably spiral out of control - as it did in 1930s Germany - and where all will suffer. Sir Thomas More understood that in 1517 but we have forgotten and we will bear the consquences when fear and cruelty stalk the land and "mountainish inhumanity" has replaced empathy and kindness and decency and just action and love of our neighbour - whoever he or she might be.

Below are the words of "The Strangers' Case"; Sir Thomas More's words echo across the centuries as he confronts the angry mob not just with the threat of the law, but by asking them to reverse roles. He asks the rioters to show empathy - where they could go he asks them if they were banished from England, forcing them to imagine themselves as helpless refugees in foreign lands facing brutal hostility. And most powerfully the famous lines he ends with and which I remembered after 60 years are a striking condemnation of unthinking cruelty: "What would you think, To be thus used" he asks the rioters "This is the strangers' case, And this your mountainish inhumanity":

Click on the link

to watch the great Shakespearean actor Sir Ian McKellen recite these lines; if you have any sense of decency and justice, and empathetic genes in your body, you will find your heart racing and perhaps the hairs on your neck standing upright.

"The Strangers' Case"

Sir Thomas More

Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise

Hath chid down all the majesty of England;

Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,

Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage,

Plodding to the ports and coasts for transportation,

And that you sit as kings in your desires,

Authority quite silent by your brawl,

And you in ruff of your opinions clothed;

What had you got? I’ll tell you: you had taught

How insolence and strong hand should prevail,

How order should be quelled; and by this pattern

Not one of you should live an aged man,

For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,

With self same hand, self reasons, and self right,

Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes

Would feed on one another.

You’ll put down strangers,

Kill them, cut their throats, possess their houses,

O, desperate as you are,

Wash your foul minds with tears, and those same hands,

That you like rebels lift against the peace,

Lift up for peace, and your unreverent knees, Make them your feet to kneel to be forgiven!

And say now the King,

As he is clement if th’offender mourn,

Should so much come too short of your great trespass

As but to banish you, whither would you go?

What country, by the nature of your error,

Should give you harbour? go you to France or Flanders,

To any German province, to Spain or Portugal,

Nay, any where that not adheres to England,

Why, you must needs be strangers: would you be pleased

To find a nation of such barbarous temper,

That, breaking out in hideous violence,

Would not afford you an abode on earth,

Whet their detested knives against your throats,

Spurn you like dogs, and like as if that God

Owed not nor made not you, nor that the elements

Were not all appropriate to your comforts,

But chartered unto them, what would you think

To be thus used? this is the strangers case;

And this your mountainish inhumanity.