England Then and Now was built out of a simple belief: if you want to understand what is happening to England, you have to stop hiding behind slogans, stop confusing England with Britain, and start looking honestly at what has changed, what has been lost, and what still matters.
I have spent more than 40 years following English news and politics. In that time I have watched governments come and go, parties reinvent themselves, headlines change, and the same old failures get repackaged as “progress.” I have seen how easily the English story gets buried under British branding, party spin, and managed narratives that tell people not to trust their own eyes.
This site exists to push back against that.
Why I started this site
I created England Then and Now because I wanted a place that focused unapologetically on England. Not vague “UK issues.” Not safe, diluted commentary that dances around the obvious. England. Its history, its people, its institutions, its towns, its laws, its culture, and the steady changes that many ordinary English people can see all around them, even when much of the media pretends otherwise.
The idea behind the site is simple: compare then and now. Look at the England many of us remember, look at the England we live in today, and ask serious questions about how we got here. That means writing about politics, policing, immigration, history, public services, and everyday life without dressing things up in fashionable language or party-approved spin.
My background and family roots
My attachment to England is not theoretical. It is rooted in a family story that runs through some of the most recognisable parts of East London.
We have traced our family history back over 400 years in and around Silvertown, Poplar and East Ham in East London. That means generations who lived and worked along the river, around the docks, and in the old industrial heartlands that helped build this country. My dad served his apprenticeship on the barges. My grandad and great‑granddad were dockers. My nan worked in Tate & Lyle before she ran a working men’s club just off the Barking Road – the sort of place where people could still afford a pint, talk straight, and keep an eye on what was happening in their own patch.
My grandad served in the Navy during the Second World War. His brother lied about his age to join up because he was too young; he never came back. That kind of story used to be common in families like ours. It still matters now, even if it rarely fits the tone of modern news bulletins.
When you grow up in that kind of world – East London docks, barges, factories, working men’s clubs, wartime service – it shapes how you see the country. You remember what England felt like when people still shared a basic sense of who they were, what the rules were, and what they owed each other. You notice when that changes. You notice when the people who built and ran this country get pushed to the edge of their own story.
Those family roots are one of the reasons this site is called England Then and Now. It is not just about events. It is about continuity, memory, belonging and loss as well.
What you will find here
This site covers the subjects I believe matter most if you want to understand modern England properly:
- English news and political commentary.
- Policing, justice, crime, and public trust.
- Immigration, identity, and cultural change.
- English history, heritage, and constitutional questions.
- Everyday England – the things that tell you how a country is really doing, beyond the official line.
The thread running through all of it is the same: I want to separate fact from fiction and look at England as England.
My editorial stance
I am not interested in party loyalty, tribal talking points, or writing pieces just to flatter whichever politician is fashionable this week. I have followed politics too long for that. Forty years teaches you to be sceptical of salesmen in suits, and it teaches you that a great many public figures say one thing, do another, and then expect you to forget the difference.
So the site is independent in spirit and blunt by design. I care about facts, context, history and plain speaking. I also make no apology for viewing many issues through an English‑first lens, because too much commentary in this country still treats England as a backdrop rather than a nation in its own right.
That same clarity applies to policing. I believe in equal and fair policing for everyone. No tiers. No special treatment. No fashionable carve‑outs. If someone is dangerous, they should be handcuffed and restrained regardless of colour, religion, sexuality or anything else. If someone joins the police, they are a police officer, full stop. The law should be applied on equal terms or public trust will keep breaking down.
Why history and the constitution matter
One of the biggest mistakes in modern commentary is treating everything as if it started five minutes ago. This site does not do that.
England has a long constitutional, legal and cultural history, and I believe you cannot make sense of the present unless you understand the older foundations beneath it. That includes the English constitution, the legacy of Magna Carta, the difference between English and British identity, and the long habit the establishment has of blurring those distinctions when it suits them – for example through nationality laws and the way citizenship has been redefined in recent decades.
History matters here not because I want to live in the past, but because a people that loses its memory becomes very easy to manage. That is true of families, towns and nations alike.
What this site is for
England Then and Now is for readers who are tired of being patronised. It is for people who want serious commentary without the usual evasions. It is for people who still think England is worth talking about directly, and worth defending as something more than a regional subdivision inside a larger marketing label.
If you read this site, I hope you find three things:
- Honest questions.
- Straight answers where they can be given.
- A clearer sense of what England was, what it is becoming, and what might still be worth recovering.
Thanks for reading.