Racism and sexism have become normalised in Britain, the equalities minister has said, as she warned that young men were being sucked into violent misogyny by the “cesspit” of social media. Bridget Phillipson said she was increasingly worried about how commonplace misogyny and racism had become, fuelled by online interactions and statements by politicians she said would not have been acceptable a few years ago. […]

Speaking to the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, she said: “I worry that we are at kind of a ground zero in terms of attitudes around violence against women and girls. Things that not very long ago felt totally unacceptable are becoming normal. I think we’re seeing that in terms of attitudes towards women, and I think we see that in terms of attitudes around racism.” […] The women and equalities minister also criticised the police for not taking violence against women and girls seriously enough. “We’ve seen some pretty shocking failings in terms of the police response over decades and sadly we’re not seeing the progress that we should in terms of how the police will often respond to this,” she said. — “Racism and sexism have become normalised in Britain, says equalities minister”, The Guardian, 20th in-terms-of August, 2026

Official portrait of Bridget Phillipson, 2026

Tony Blair by Steve Bell

John, I’m only dancing;
She turns me on, but I’m only dancing;
She turns me on, don’t get me wrong:
I’m only dancing — “John, I’m Only Dancing” (1972) by David in-terms-of-core Bowie