CP
By Stephen Bailey.
Three of the UK’s senior police officers have stated that recording ‘non-crime hate incidents’ has become a distraction that is damaging public trust.
Sir Andy Marsh, Head of the College of Policing, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson, and Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy have jointly called for an overhaul of the legislation.
They say it needs “sorting out” because the issue can do “immeasurable damage to trust and confidence” in policing.
Stephen Watson said: “It’s easy to assume that we have some sort of weird fetish chasing stuff in social media, frankly we would rather really not if we can avoid it.”
“In the context of things that are communicated online, people will accuse us sometimes of pursuing hurty words on the basis, somehow, it’s an attack on free speech,” he added.
What Is the Real State of Policing and Free Speech in the UK Today?
It has been clear for some time now that genuine free speech doesn’t exist for most of the UK population.
For cultural Marxists, liberty means licence for them to say and do whatever they want. This is done without any hindrance, while they act as self-appointed censors. They monitor and record everything their opponents say or do for future use. At the same time, they obsessively shut down real debate. They place a steel ring around any topic they want to ban from discussion.
They use various means to achieve this. These include verbal or physical intimidation, oppressive censorship, and laws. Some of these laws, introduced after the Macpherson Report, are used to unfairly silence valid arguments—or to stop people from speaking at all. This is not free speech. It must be addressed urgently.
The Impact of the Macpherson Report
The Macpherson Report, published in February 1999, gave the cultural-Marxist ‘liberal’ left (a misleading label—they are neither liberal nor tolerant of opposing views) a powerful new tool. It has helped advance their campaign against traditional UK values and aided their march through the institutions.
This campaign has many sides. It can be labelled Macphersonism. While its roots go back to the 1960s, many of its current forms come directly from the Macpherson Report. Its effects have been wide-ranging throughout UK society.
Although the idea existed earlier (first proposed by the Frankfurt School during the interwar period), cultural Marxism gained massive momentum in the UK after the 1999 report. Since then, it has taken control of key areas of society. These include the police, the judiciary, politics, education, and the media.
Because of this, those who follow this agenda are now able to steer public policy. UK society has been transformed—away from its traditional values and towards one ruled by extreme left-wing rules and beliefs.
Policing and Cultural Marxism
One of the most serious areas of influence has been in policing. For decades now, the UK has moved steadily towards an authoritarian, cultural-Marxist theocracy. In this system, the police act as the paramilitary wing of the left-liberal state. Their role is no longer focused on crime prevention. Instead, they enforce the political ideology of that state.
The police have become a kind of state secret police. Like East Germany’s Stasi, they monitor people’s thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes. They target anyone who might disagree with the state’s left-wing agenda.
Erosion of Legal Principles
One of the key principles being undermined is the presumption of innocence—a core part of UK justice. This shift began in the Macpherson era of policing (1999 onwards).
In some crimes, the assumption that someone is innocent until proven guilty has been dropped. It has been replaced by left-liberal ideas that automatically believe the accuser.
Instead of requiring the prosecution to prove guilt, it’s now often the case that the accused must prove their innocence. This is a very dangerous change. It forms part of a wider campaign by cultural Marxists to politicise prosecutions and use them for ideological goals.
There have even been reports of police officers withholding evidence from defence teams—evidence that could prove the accused’s innocence.
How the Police Now Operate
Here’s how many police investigations now work. An accusation is made. The police automatically believe it, regardless of any actual evidence. In fact, no evidence is needed at all. Once an accusation is made, the police are required by law to investigate. They do not examine the reliability of the claim beforehand.
If the case goes to court, the accused is often assumed to be guilty. They must prove otherwise.
This system is wide open to abuse. It’s a charter for troublemakers. People with political motives or personal grudges can use it to harm those they dislike. They know they can make false claims and that their target will likely be investigated or even taken to court.
Even if the accused is found innocent, the damage is done. Suspicion remains, and reputations are ruined. It’s an effective tool for political activists to discredit those they oppose.
Politicisation of Justice
Justice in the UK is being politicised by the cultural-Marxist left. The system is being reshaped into an adversarial model, designed to advance the cultural-Marxist agenda of the elite.
The judiciary has also been affected. Over the past 25 years, it has been deeply influenced by the liberal-left. People with these views have entered the legal profession and gradually taken control of key roles, allowing them to steer national policy.
A key example is Keir Starmer, now the Labour Prime Minister. Before that, he was head of the Crown Prosecution Service during the New Labour era.
Starmer is not a moderate. At the CPS, he oversaw a major push to politicise prosecutions. Under his leadership, a highly politically correct culture took hold. Many serious crimes—like burglary, anti-social behaviour, and even violent offences—were ignored. At the same time, politically motivated cases were pursued aggressively, such as the investigation into Cliff Richard.
The cultural-Marxist view sees crime as caused by social deprivation, not by individual choice or character. This has led to increasing leniency from judges. The result is the lawlessness we now see in cities like London and even in suburban areas.
Free Speech Under Pressure
Macphersonism has also harmed free speech. Free speech is either protected or it isn’t. You cannot have limited or conditional free speech.
If some topics can be debated openly but others cannot—or only within strict limits—that is not free speech. It is controlled speech. The UK Constitution needs to guarantee free speech for all, not just the political left.
This problem is especially clear in today’s police forces. A recent example involved an officer being caught on video shouting pro-Palestinian slogans at a London rally. It’s just one of many incidents showing that the police have embraced woke ideology.
Most people’s view of the police is shaped by how they remember them from their youth. But policing in the UK has changed dramatically. It is no longer the same force it was in previous decades.
Modern UK policing is now built around politically correct, left-liberal ideas. Officers focus less on preventing or solving crime and more on promoting a certain ideological agenda.
Recognising the Reality
We need to recognise that policing has changed. Continuing to treat the police as if they operate like they used to allows this politicisation to go unchallenged.
Today’s police forces have become enforcers of the cultural-Marxist project. They often act with hostility towards anyone seen as opposing this agenda.
They see their role as protecting certain groups and promoting certain ideas, rather than serving the public by enforcing the law fairly.
The only way to reverse this is to stop acting as if we still live in the past. We must see the police for what they have become.
Like all bullies, if you stand up to them, they will eventually back down.
It is unwise to keep giving them unearned respect when they do not return it. If the politically correct agenda is strongly opposed, the police may be forced to abandon it. Then, real policing—focused on preventing and solving crime—can be restored.
For more from Stephen Bailey please visit: https://ukunionism.wordpress.com/blog-2/
© 2025 Stephen Bailey
This article (The Police, the State of Free Speech and Debate in the United Kingdom) was created and published by Conservative Post and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Staphen Bailey
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