Alan Lester
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alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester
@alanlester.bsky.social
15K followers 6.8K following 1.8K posts

British Empire Professor, University of Sussex. Co-editor, MUP Studies in Imperialism series. Views here own.
Blogs on politics of colonial history here: https://alanlester.co.uk Editor https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/the-truth-about-empire/ .. more

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Alan Lester is a British historical geographer and author who has worked for Sussex University since 2000. He was appointed Professor of Historical Geography in 2006. He is known for his research on imperial networks, colonial humanitarianism and imperial governance. .. more

Political science 40%
Sociology 34%
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alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · Apr 30
The podcast of David Olusoga and I discussing Empire & the rewriting of history:

howtoacademy.com/podcasts/dav...
HOW TO PODCAST | David Olusoga & Alan Lester - The Truth About the British Empire
David Olusoga and Alan Lester reveal the dark realities of the British Empire, and reflect on the importance of historians amid the resurgence of nationalism and misinformation.
howtoacademy.com

Reposted by Alan Lester

russincheshire.bsky.social
Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 57m
"The allegations that I used to use hammers to murder rabbits are only being made because people don't like my policy of killing rabbits with hammers."
Is Farage right to claim that racism allegations are response to a dislike of his politics?

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 10h
I don’t think this Telegraph contributor has actually watched the Empire series by @davidolusoga.bsky.social that he’s attacking. He suggests Olusoga focuses only on atrocities such as Amritsar, when that massacre wasn’t mentioned, and gets the date range wrong, saying it ends with WWI.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 12h
As Farage and Reform keep insisting, it’s not so much about 50 years ago; it’s all about what he’s like and what he does now …

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Starmer calls on Farage to apologise to his alleged victims of racial abuse at school
Prime minister says Reform leader’s explanations about alleged comments are ‘unconvincing to say the least’
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 13h
All things considered, a sensible budget that might just allow for lower debt repayments and future growth. Very unlikely that the baying Tories who still insist on treating voters like simpletons and the economically illiterate Reform could have pulled this off.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 22h
Another way of putting this: has the relentless ‘war on woke’ propaganda of recent years been so effective that millions of conservatives & former Labour supporters are now once again unashamed of overt antisemitism & racism?

Reposted by James Connelly

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 23h
The big question is whether it would matter to most Reform supporters that Farage was an antisemitic bully and now seems pretty clearly to be lying about it.

Farage's racism denials are dishonest, says ex-classmate www.bbc.com/news/article...
Nigel Farage's racism denials are dishonest, says ex-classmate
Peter Ettedgui tells the BBC Nigel Farage targeted antisemitic abuse at him when they were teenagers.
www.bbc.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
Both in @thetimes.com today. There you go Daniel.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
If you’ve appreciated @davidolusoga.bsky.social’s marvellous BBC Empire series, you might be interested in our conversation about the writing of its history:

Reposted by Alan Lester

angrydigit.bsky.social
AngryDigit @angrydigit.bsky.social · 1d
Now if only they allowed a historian to give his opinion that Trump is the most corrupt US president, ever….. Historian criticises BBC for removing Trump line from Radio 4 lecture www.bbc.com/news/article...

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
Unlike Channel 5 who just aired his denial with no mention of the 20 witnesses who say he’s lying.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
Well done BBC News for covering Nigel Farage’s antisemitic bullying at school and his lies about it since.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
My guide to populist-proofing your democracy – before it’s too late | Timothy Garton Ash
From public service broadcasting to an independent judiciary, these are the things that we must fight to keep, says Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
1. According to 20 witnesses he actively performed racism as part of his identity and bullied kids for being Black, Asian or Jewish.
2. He won’t take any responsibility or express any remorse.
3. He leads a party that is leading in the polls and is widely associated with the same racist mindset.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 1d
1/2 Racism in schools was commonplace in the late 70s/early 80s. White kids in my school, including me, would routinely resort to racist terms of abuse when in conflict with Black, Asian or Greek kids. How is Farage different? Well …

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Nigel Farage responds to racism claims saying he never ‘tried to hurt anybody’
Reform leader denies racist or antisemitic behaviour ‘with intent’ at school, but says he can’t remember everything from 49 years ago
www.theguardian.com

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 2d
A cowardly, racist playground bully trying to weasel out with double talk when finally held to account. Can you imagine the shameful depths to which he’ll plunge Great Britain as PM?

Farage says he's 'never directly racially abused anybody' after school racism claims www.bbc.com/news/article...
Nigel Farage says he's 'never directly racially abused anybody'
The Reform UK leader was responding to reports he made racist remarks to his peers in school in the 1970s.
www.bbc.com

Reposted by Gavin L. Foster, Alan Lester

adambienkov.bsky.social
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 2d
Asked again and again whether he ever racially abused his fellow pupils, as 20 people at his old school have now said he did, Nigel Farage will only say that he never did so in a "hurtful way" or "with intent"

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 2d
Great to see this out in the world

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
This is a political figure closely tied to the leader of the party leading in the polls taking instructions from the state that is waging hybrid warfare against our nation. It is portent of a calamitous threat to Britain.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 3d
Thanks Ben

Reposted by Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Steve Peers , and 22 more

dieworkwear.bsky.social
derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 3d
Twitter pays people based on engagement (views, retweets, comments, etc). It appears that many MAGA accounts are based abroad and they use AI technology to generate low-effort rage bait.

My guess is that this will get worse as AI tech improves. For instance, fake videos of minorities doing crime.
A Twitter account called Ivanka News tweets an AI image of a young woman wearing Muslim garb. The woman is holding a sign that says "I came here illegally. Should I be deported?" Ivanka News writes: What is your response to this person ?? In the "About this account" tab, it appears the account is based in Nigeria An account called MAGA scope writes: Who, in your view is the great enemy of the United States? Communism, Islam, Democratic Party, or Satan? The account is based in Nigeria. An account called MAGA Nadine writes: You go to work and find this. What would you do? The attached pic is an AI image that shows a microwave. The microwave has a sign that says "For religious reasons, this microwave is now making halal food only." The account is based in Morocco. An account called America First posts an AI image of Tulsi Gabbard. They wrote: How would you rate your trust in Tulsi Gabbard on a scale of 1-10?

Reposted by Paul Matthews, Michael H. Whitworth, James Connelly

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
Actual analysis of the BBC’s coverage of Gaza is devastating for Prescott and the right wing attacks on the BBC. Ratio of Israeli-Palestinian deaths: 1 /34. Ratio of coverage of those deaths: 19 / 1.

cfmm.org.uk/bbc-on-gaza-...
BBC On Gaza-Israel: One Story, Double Standards - Centre For Media Monitoring
cfmm.org.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
This is the calibre of Reform’s intellectual heavyweights. Admiration for the USA’s gun laws.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 4d
Well that’ll correct its right wing bias!

Daily Mail publisher agrees to buy Daily Telegraph for £500m www.bbc.com/news/article...
Daily Mail owner agrees to buy Daily Telegraph for £500m
The publisher of the Daily Mail says it is in talks to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph for £500m.
www.bbc.com

Reposted by Alan Lester, James Connelly, Pam Jarvis

adambienkov.bsky.social
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 4d
The same people who convinced the British public to back a catastrophic Boris Johnson premiership are now pulling the same trick again with Nigel Farage

www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-confid...
The Confidence Trick That Put Boris Johnson Into Power Is Now Being Used on Nigel Farage
The same people who convinced the British public to back a catastrophic Boris Johnson premiership are now pulling the same trick again with Nigel Farage
www.adambienkov.co.uk

Reposted by Timothy Snyder, Kori Schake, Joanna Bryson , and 19 more

anneapplebaum.bsky.social
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.bsky.social · 4d
This is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Trump Has a Recipe for War and Corruption, Not Peace
Who would benefit from the White House’s 28-point proposal for Ukraine?
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Steve Peers, Alan Lester , and 3 more

mrjamesob.bsky.social
James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 4d
Farage can now be easily boxed in to a corner where his only ‘defence’ becomes: “Yes I spouted Kremlin propaganda & Putin worship but, unlike Nathan Gill, I didn’t need bribes to do it.”
It is, once again, a question of whether interviewers have the temerity to shut down his whining obfuscations.

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 5d
Enjoyable debate at University of Exeter last night, narrowly winning the vote for ‘This house believes decolonisation ended Empire in name only’. In case of interest, my referenced notes for the proposition available here. Thanks for the invitation!

alanlester.co.uk/blog/this-ho...
‘This House Believes Decolonisation Ended Empire in Name Only’
University of Exeter Debating Society 22nd Nov 2025 Argument for the Proposition Alan Lester The modern European empires were many things, but above all they were vehicles for the transfer of asset…
alanlester.co.uk

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 5d
He’s been revealed as an unapologetic racist antisemite at school, he took political & financial advice from Epstein, his partner’s house ownership looks like tax avoidance and his Welsh wingman was working for the Russians. Any chance any other party leader would still be in post with all this?

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 5d
‪And by the way the MP Nus Ghani should be ashamed of herself for encouraging these racist activists. ‬

alanlester.bsky.social
Alan Lester @alanlester.bsky.social · 6d
The leaflets they’ve distributed urging people to show up and demonstrate their fear and loathing at these rallies suggest that anonymous sources spread rumours of sexual assaults before the asylum seeking men have even arrived!