Southport journalist Martin Hovden writes: Forty years ago I remember sitting in a Merseyside council chamber as the local elected representatives debated a really important issue.

Those present, including council officers, were being paid to be there – at great expense to local residents through their council tax.

And this most vital and important issue? Should manhole covers in the borough be renamed PERSONHOLE covers to avoid causing offence to women?

Thankfully, despite a long, long debate the motion was defeated.

Foolishly, I thought we had put all that nonsense to bed.

But fast forward to today.

The Rolling Stones have just been forced to delete Brown Sugar, released in 1969, from their song list as its lyrics may cause offence to black people.

Just the latest example of cancel culture and I'm sure you can think of your own examples of woke warriors demanding we rewrite history.

Welcome to the UK in 2021.

But enough is enough. I'm convinced the vast majority of people totally disagree with cancel culture. But they're reluctant to say so because they know they will be bullied on social media.

Thankfully, I'm retired. Everything I write on social media is on a voluntary basis. So my critics have no one to complain to, no one to demand I be cancelled or be sacked.

And I say now: we must never, ever allow ourselves to be dictated to by a small minority of people - and I have to say from the left wing of politics - because if we do we put the much fought-for principle of free speech at risk.

You have the right to say what you think. Be proud of that and use it.

As you point out, this 'bossy' type behaviour seems to come in cycles - but in your desire to criticise anyone on the 'left' (so much for balanced reporting) you forget that a lot of it has also come from people on the 'right' - think back even to Puritanism, when people were told that they had no right to enjoy themselves...
And of course when Germaine Greer (personally not a fan..) and Ken Livingstone started campaigning in the 70's and 80's for women's rights, gay rights, children's rights, anti-racism etc., they were ridiculed as 'Lefties' - now their ideas are mainstream, and society is the better for it.
Or maybe you'd prefer to return to the times when wives had to get their husband's permission to get a loan?
Is there really a 'woke brigade'? - or is it the usual rubbish reporting from our (mostly right-wing, establishment controlled) media? Clearly certain student unions are behaving in an anti-democratic way in threatening lecturers who hold views which do not align with those of probably a vocal minority of students, and that should be abhorred.
However you forget that social media now allows tiny groups of people to have far greater publicity than ever before - meaning that there are probably only a very few extremists out there. However when our media run front pages on these 'woke' groups in an effort to foment hate amongst their readership, they actually help make these small groups seem much more important than they are.
Maybe time for you to look at those right-wing 'conspiracies' which are so seldom reported by the media - for example, the fact that neo-liberalism ("trust the market more than government") which led to privatisation, austerity and the fracturing of society since the 70's was aggressively promoted behind the scenes by extreme right-wingers such as the Koch Brothers in the US, and the fella who made his dough from Buxted chickens!
By all means, feel free to criticise the Left - but if you claim to be a balanced journalist, take time to look at the Right as well.

Just been reading about a road name in a Dorset village being changed to appease outraged characters, Darkie Lane it has been suggested should be changed to Dark Lane. Let's be honest if it were Whitey Lane would anyone except a clown be so upset by the name that they "Demand" it's alteration.

I'd love to know which Merseyside council was debating personholes 40 years ago. I note that Martin worked for the Wirral Globe and the Southport Champion. Both Wirral and Sefton were Conservative run 40 years ago.

Odd that a former newspaper editor and radio presenter thinks he's being silenced just because some people happen to disagree with him, which they have every right to do. Feels he's being cancelled yet gets his personal Facebook posts replicated on a local news site!

This is the same Martin Hovden who stated "Keir Starmer is a dead man walking" on his Facebook page a few days ago.

This “news” site is slowly turning into an online edition of The Daily Fail.

By the way he's not a journalist.
He's a retiree not a journalist so please don't introduce him as one in a post where he clearly states he has retired.

But if a retired journalist can still get his views published as news then cancel culture doesn't exist.

Originally Posted by Little Londoner

Just been reading about a road name in a Dorset village being changed to appease outraged characters, Darkie Lane it has been suggested should be changed to Dark Lane. Let's be honest if it were Whitey Lane would anyone except a clown be so upset by the name that they "Demand" it's alteration.

So, if you actually bother to read the full DM article, there are various issues here which mean that you making it an example of 'woke culture' doesn't work.

Firstly, there was only one complaint made before the Council decided to change the name. Therefore the issue is that we have (yet another) undemocratic Council who take decisions without consulting with their own residents. Nothing to do with 'woke' culture. Fortunately Dorset Council (the level above) said in the article they are going to consult further. Note that they say they have not even received a formal confirmation from Swanage yet.

Secondly, as far as I can see 'lefty' Labour are in a minority around there - so the decision is likely to have been taken by a mix of Con/LibInd.

Thirdly, the objection was raised by a tourist, rather than someone who actually lives there, so probably doesn't hold as much weight anyway. Changing something after one complaint from a non-resident seems fairly premature. Although the skin colour of the complainant is not mentioned, from previous experience I've noticed that the most vocal objections to this type of thing often come from those least affected - i.e. whites complaining about black discrimination, and non-transexual people complaining about transexual discrimination.
In other words, busybodies - the same busybodies who like Mr Hovden have plenty of free time to moan and complain, without really taking the time to think through the issues.
I suspect that your average black-skinned person is more concerned about having their car pulled over randomly by certain ignorant police officers, being followed around a store by the store detective when they are honest people, or having their neck stamped on.
Your average white-skinned person doesn't go through all that, so probably has more time to complain about 'Darkie Lane'. Note however that, as the Council said, the original name was 'Dark Lane' - so they would be simply changing the name back to the original.
But do continue to feel hot under the collar if it gives you a buzz.

What a sad, pathetic little man this Martin Hovden is.First off, he isn't a 'journalist' - as he says, he's retired so he's just a member of the public like you and me. Why is he given a platform to give his views like this?Don't forget also this is a man who decided that exam results back in the summer weren't 'real', and that students who sat them knew as much. To say that to young people after what they'd experienced during the pandemic really was disgusting.As for 'Brown Sugar', it's a song that explicitly references slavery. Does Martin support slavery and the Rolling Stones' ability to sing about it? And what evidence does he have that the 'vast majority' of people agree with him?

Originally Posted by editor

The Rolling Stones have just been forced to delete Brown Sugar, released in 1969, from their song list as its lyrics may cause offence to black people.

Just the latest example of cancel culture and I'm sure you can think of your own examples of woke warriors demanding we rewrite history.

"Gold Coast slave ship bound for cotton fields
Sold in the market down in New Orleans
Skydog slaver know he's doin' all right
Hear him whip the women just around midnight
Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good
Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should...
... Brown Sugar, just like a black girl should"

You don't think those lyrics might be offensive? Or are you complaining because the Rolling Stones were being historically accurate in their joyous depiction of slavery, rape and abuse of 'young girls'?

Edit: apparently the original title was 'Brown Pu$$y'. Charming.

Stupid old fart.