The 'r-somalia' page is one of the most interesting places on the Internet.

A community of more than 40,000, it's a fascinating insight into Somali culture. Lots of infighting between Somalis and Somalilanders, Somalis and Arabs, Somalis and Ethiopians...

Some highlights 🧵 Under the post above - a discussion about integration amongst UK-based Somalis.

The consensus seems to be that second and third generation Somalis in the UK have integrated poorly - but the blame is largely placed with other Muslim communities, such as Arabs and Pakistanis.

As of 2021, London was 53.8% White, and 36.8% White British - but how do White Londoners actually vote?

Despite living in a major urban area, White Londoners are actually quite a right-wing group of voters.

A 🧵 on the political habits of London's White population But first, some caveats.

In the UK, we don't collect granular data about racial or ethnic voting patterns.

Given the scale and speed of demographic change over the past few decades, these tools haven't had time to develop - unlike in countries like the United States.

Britain has some of the best human capital in the world - and some of the worst government policy 🇬🇧

We mustn't lose sight of this fact. There is so much to celebrate about our country.

A 🧵 with some reasons to be bullish on Britain - if we can just get the basics right Let's start with London.

The capital ranks alongside New York as one of the world's truly 'global cities'.

The City of London in particular is a financial powerhouse. 38% of global foreign exchange transactions take place in London - more than any other city in the world.

By the 1500s, England's murder rate was lower than the murder rate in modern-day Africa 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

And by the 20th century, Britain was one of the least violent societies on Earth - but why was this the case?

A 🧵 on the history of how England crushed crime Mid 20th-century Britain was one of the least violent societies on Earth.

By the late 1930s, despite the mass unemployment caused by the Great Depression, the murder rate in England was similar to that of modern Japan (about 1 per 100,000 people).

But this wasn't always true.

A Turkish heroin peddler has been allowed to stay in the UK - because deporting him would infringe upon his "right to a family life" 🇹🇷

Somehow, this case is even worse than it sounds.

A short 🧵 on our broken asylum and immigration system

telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/12/1… This case concerns a Turkish man, who first entered the UK in 1988.

He claimed asylum but was removed to Turkey just four days after arriving.

Nevertheless, in 1991, he was allowed to return to the country while his claim was being considered. Why was this necessary?

In 1700, Manchester was an obscure village of fewer than 10,000 people - by 1900, it was a metropolis, the world's first industrial city 🇬🇧

Its remarkable growth is testament to the power of trade, industry, and British ingenuity.

A 🧵 on how capitalism built Manchester For most of its early history, Manchester was entirely unremarkable.

In c. 79AD, a Roman fort was constructed on the banks of the River Medlock, the first settlement in modern Manchester.

The area remained largely depopulated and impoverished throughout the medieval period.

The British invented the modern world 🇬🇧

Few other countries can boast such a proud legacy of innovation and invention - for centuries, we have led the way on the development of new technologies.

A 🧵 on some of the world-changing innovations birthed here in Britain In 1668, Englishman Sir Isaac Newton built the world's first reflecting telescope 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Newton's discovery was based on his understanding of prisms and optics.

It allowed scientists to develop a sophisticated theory of colour, and paved the way for the modern telescope.

In 2023, after decades of turmoil, Argentinians elected maverick libertarian Javier Milei as President 🇦🇷

Milei promised to cut tax and spending, fire government employees, and get the economy moving again. 1 year on, it seems to be working.

A 🧵 on Argentina's nascent recovery But first, some context.

In the early 20th century, Argentina had one of the highest per capita GDPs in the world - ahead of countries like France and Italy.

But thanks to decades of mismanagement, the economy is now in turmoil - in relative terms, it has declined steeply.

The UK economy has flatlined since 2007 🇬🇧

In terms of Gross National Income - a measure of the goods and services produced by residents and businesses from a country -, the UK has been practically stagnant.

A short 🧵 on the countries that the UK has fallen behind since 2007 But first, some context - what is Gross National Income?

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the value of goods and services produced in a country (including by foreign multinationals).

GNI focuses on income produced by residents and businesses from the country in question.

Today's new immigration figures highlight the scale of Britain's mass migration crisis.

Politicians have allowed migration to skyrocket, against the repeatedly-stated wishes of the public.

A 🧵 on where immigrants to the UK are coming from, and what we can do about it Since 2021, migration to the UK from outside the EU has increased steeply - this has colloquially been titled 'the Boriswave'.

In 2022, 2023, and 2024, total inward migration to the UK was higher than 1.2 million.

That's a city the size of Birmingham each year.

What makes the British unique? 🇬🇧

There are many things that make us unique - but one of the most important is our tradition of empiricism.

For centuries, the British have preferred concrete evidence over abstract rationalism.

A 🧵 on the history of empiricism in Britain But first, what is empiricism?

Empiricism is the idea that knowledge comes from experience and evidence.

Rather than seeking knowledge from first principles, empiricists derive their knowledge from the world as it really is - whether in philosophy, science, or public policy.

Britain often comes under attack for its role in historical preservation - we're accused of looting, appropriating, and orientalising.

In fact, Britons have made an outsized contribution to historical study around the world.

A 🧵 on the British role in preserving global history First, it's worth reflecting on the fact that the British approach to history isn't shared by everybody.

Objective study, cataloguing, and preservation is not the historical norm around the world.

Many now-famous sites were simply abandoned when they lost their original use.

People across the political spectrum say that the UK needs an industrial strategy.

In fact, it was industrial strategy that killed our industry in the first place - Attlee is more to blame than Thatcher.

A 🧵 on how we can really revive British industry

adamsmith.org/blog/how-indus… According to the popular narrative, British industrial decline started in the 1970s and 1980s, as free trade and neoliberalism shifted us towards a more globalised economy.

Today, advocates of industrial strategy argue that Government needs to intervene to redress the balance.

We often hear about outrageous asylum cases, in which efforts to control our borders are frustrated by legal interference.

This is a systemic issue - it's useful to see these cases lined up side-by-side.

A 🧵 on some of the recent cases produced by our broken asylum system First, a procedural note.

In the UK, we don't publish decisions from the First-Tier Tribunal - the body which initially rules on immigration and asylum cases.

We only get details of these cases if they're appealed - so today, we'll be looking at Upper Tribunal reports.

Yesterday, news broke that a Congolese paedophile, who sexually assaulted his stepdaughter, had been allowed to stay in the UK on human rights grounds.

Somehow, the case is even more outrageous when you look into the detail.

A 🧵 on the MD Case, and our broken asylum system The man, known as 'MD', arrived in the UK in 2008 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He launched an asylum application on unknown grounds.

He was 36 at the time, and settled in the Glasgow area.

His bid for asylum was rejected - and yet he was allowed to stay in the UK.

The Allison Pearson case has highlighted the terrible state of free speech in the UK.

But this isn't a problem caused by a few bad police officers - anti-free speech rules are a feature of our legislation and regulation.

A 🧵 on the rules behind the UK's free speech crisis First, some context.

On Remembrance Sunday, Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson was questioned at her home by two police officers, investigating her on a charge of inciting racial hatred.

Police refused to tell Pearson which of her online posts had sparked their investigation.

Yesterday, it was announced that ministers would intervene in Tower Hamlets, after inspectors raised concerns about local mayor Lutfur Rahman. This isn't his first offence!

A 🧵 on the history of sleaze, corruption and patronage in Tower Hamlets:

theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/n… The Guardian yesterday reported that the government will appoint an 'envoy' to monitor management decisions in Tower Hamlets.

Government inspectors were appointed earlier this year, after the Local Government Association raised concerns over management decisions in the borough.

In January, Donald Trump will be back in the White House as President.

But many people haven't yet fully processed the sheer scale of his victory - unlike in 2016, it wasn't even close.

A 🧵 on the incredible scale of Donald Trump's second Presidential Election victory With all states now declared, Trump is the clear winner.

He won every single one of the six swing states that were up for grabs at this election - and expanded on the margin of his 2016 victory, winning Nevada (the first Republican to do so since 2004.)

With Donald Trump securing a second term as President, many British commentators have begun to panic about the future of the UK-US relationship 🇬🇧🇺🇸

In fact, Trump is the most pro-British President in decades - a huge opportunity.

A 🧵 on Donald Trump's Anglophilia Trump's connection to the UK is ancestral.

His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in the village of Tong on the Scottish island of Lewis.

Mary as raised in a Gaelic-speaking household, and was a Presbyterian - a faith that she would later pass on to her son, Donald.

Today, Americans go to the polls to choose their 47th President - but could the result be influenced by England's 17th century civil war? 🇺🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

It's more likely than it sounds.

A 🧵 on how early British migration shapes America's regional cultures to this day In his 1989 book "Albion's Seed", David Hackett Fischer details four 'folkways' - four groups of people who moved from the British Isles to North America before 1775.

Fischer argues that these four groups have had an outsized impact on America's diverse regional cultures.

Our politicians often talk about institutions or principles as if they're a foundational part of our constitution 🇬🇧

In fact, many of our institutions were created in the past 30 years - they're new, and can easily be changed.

A 🧵 on Britain's surprisingly young constitution: COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS IN PUBLIC LIFE (1994)

The Committee's role is to "advise the Prime Minister on standards in public life."

In practice, this appointed body polices the behaviour of elected MPs and ministers, with reference to seven ill-defined 'principles of public life'.