A “journalist” by the name of Harry Shukman has written an article to imply I attended a demonstration organised by Patriotic Alternative – a group with BNP origins (as I understand it). The demonstration, if we can call it that, to the best of my knowledge, was organised by a Linton resident and I had no prior knowledge of PA’s attendance. But as a blogger with an innate sense of curiosity I would have gone anyway because unlike Shukman, I actually talk to the people with whom I disagree.

I did speak on camera with prolific video blogger, alias Active Patriot. I am not aware of any of his affiliations, though his stated views on the dinghy crisis differ little from my own. Shukman also asserts that I’ve been “stirring up tensions”. By this, he means I expressed my opinion on a blog. He further claims that I am “in communication” with Sam Melia of Patriotic Alternative, “feeding him blogs about villagers he dislikes”.

This is a lie. I replied to a comment by Sam with a link to my blog which was about the chair of the Ripon City of Sanctuary charity; a woman who has inserted herself into the Linton Action Group despite not living in or near Linton. Every claim made about her, to the best of my knowledge, is true.

Shukman also writes that I “fantasised about lefty QCs “swinging from lampposts”. That much is true. I still do. But the actual context was a Twitter reply to Jessica Simor QC, in which I remarked that if the establishment succeeded in overthrowing the 2016 referendum then we would see a low grade civil war and that it would be “lefty QCs” swinging from lampposts. I was convinced of that at the time, and I remain convinced that vexatious legal activism is likely to provoke civil disorder. Simor claims to her Twitter followers that my remarks amounted to a death threat because she’s a liar.

Shukman also mentions that I accused the Remain-voting philosopher AC Grayling of paedophilia and was successfully sued for libel, having to pay £20,000 in damages. That much is not strictly true. I jokingly remarked that he had a hard drive full of “underage botty sex videos” – to a small twitter audience and the tweet could not be considered a serious allegation.

I would have apologised and retracted had he approached me privately but he immediately initiated legal action, knowing I couldn’t afford a legal defence. This was a politically motivated act of spite because I'm a brexiteer. As far as I’m concerned, that says more about him and the content of his character. He never received a penny. He continues to harass me with bailiffs, but they leave empty-handed. It has not gone unnoticed that Carole Cadwalladr can defame Arron Banks with serious intent and get away with it, but I was to be ruined for an irreverent tweet.

Harry Shukman has attempted to smear me as far right by association, by way of simply participating in a local debate. I am not a member of any far right organisation. I don’t know of any that would even have me as a member being that I do not subscribe to ethno-nationalism and find the anti-Semitic conspiracies of far right groups absolutely abhorrent.

All the same, my reputation as a Brexit blogger was one of objectivity in that I managed to offend and annoy both sides. I continue to walk that line on other issues. I do have members of far right and far left groups as Facebook friends because I do believe in diversity of opinion, and I don’t want to live in an echo chamber. Harry Shukman is a liar and his “journalism” is gossip and innuendo.

This is very much standard fair for the far left. Guilt by association padded out with gossip. He selectively quotes me but doesn’t address the arguments, and if he did I’d take him to pieces. But then I’ve had near ten years of this on Twitter. It goes with the territory.

I’ve talked to a few of these “far right” types, and most of them are just ordinary working class people from the area. James Goddard has made an appearance at the second demonstration organised by the Linton Action Group. A number of right wing activists showed up along with most TV media. I spoke to Goddard on camera, not actually knowing who he was. I don’t know much about him other than his harassment of Anna Soubry. Patriotic Alternative have been active in the area. They’re not my cup of tea. Mark Collett is a close to Nazi as Nazi gets in Britain.

The problem for the left is that the far right have better, more persuasive, and more accurate arguments. That’s why the likes of Shukman resort to smear. There are gaping holes in the “destitute refugees” narrative that they’d rather not address. The far right will talk about grooming gangs, Islamic extremism and violent crime while the left sweep it under the rug. The speak to people’s legitimate fears.

Where the actual far right is concerned, though, it’s not what they say in public when they’re on good behaviour. It’s what they’re saying in their Telegram channels and Whatsapp. There you’ll find unguarded racism and antisemitic conspiracy theories. I have nothing to do with that and I never will.

But then, by the same token, the left have their own antisemitic conspiracy theories based on ancient fictions. The right talks about “Jewish lobbying” – which is just an offshoot of the oligarchy (Gates/Soros/WEF etc) that meddles in top level western politics – and much of it is actually true. It’s a matter of what weighting you put on it. But that’s another debate the left doesn’t want to have.

When it comes to the likes of Hope Not Hate etc, they talk up the terror threat of the far right, completely ignoring Islamic extremism, because their game is to manufacture a dangerous threat in the public eye, and associate political opponents with it so they’re pre-cancelled – which is a great way of completely silencing the working class. A number of Linton residents have told me that they’re afraid to speak up because of the professional consequences.

As it happens, I concur that there is a growing far right movement. The Telegram channels and Whatsapp groups are useful indicators. They tend to be the canary down the mine in certain circumstances. But these subterranean chat bubbles only exist because of Facebook and Twitter censorship. Some activists have thousands of followers, competing with many of the lefty Twitter bubbles in size.

Ultimately people just want to feel heard. The Linton issue has become a microcosm of national politics, where polite society with access to the institutions has moved in, supplanting genuine democratic sentiment and has jealously guarded their position, smearing anyone who’s off message. When people aren’t listened to they will turn to those who do listen. And in this case, it’ll be Patriotic Alternative and Britain First. York Central MP, Rachael Maskell has made it abundantly clear that she equates opposition to the Dover invasion with racism, and Kevin Hollinrake has made similarly mealy mouthed remarks about the “far right”.

The politicians aren’t listening, the local media is completely biased, Facebook is heavily censoring debate on the issue, and Twitter is policed by far left activists who take great pride in having opposing voices suspended. Consequently dissent finds its way to Telegram and gaming channels. You don’t kill an idea by stifling it. Censorship doesn’t work. All the left is succeeding in doing is swelling the ranks of the alienated and disenfranchised, many of whom will turn further to the right. When you’ve already smeared and silenced a person, they have nothing left to lose. The antidote to the growing far right is open and frank debate and effective border controls but these are the two things the left refuses to entertain.