IN THE words of Gandhi, first they ignore you; then they ridicule you; then they attack you; and finally, you win. But this can be a laborious process, and ultimate triumph over an authoritarian regime may be hard to foresee. Mainstream media keep approved narratives at the forefront, censoring and suppressing critical perspectives or inconvenient truths.

However during the covid debacle various means of bypassing state and corporate censorship have emerged. ‘A Stand in the Park’, open gatherings of ordinary people in their local park to stand for freedom, was one of the first and has spread across the country. ‘Yellow Boards’ were displayed on busy roundabouts. Stickers proliferated on lampposts. The Light, a free newspaper funded and distributed by volunteers, and independent websites such as TCW have played an important role in confronting propaganda and getting an ‘alternative’ analysis and commentary out there.

In some areas the awakening movement has been particularly effective: Totnes in Devon, Stroud in Gloucestershire, Hull, the Sussex coast (excluding woke Brighton) and Cornwall, among others. London, sadly, is relatively asleep. Those huge rallies against lockdown were largely attended by people who had travelled in by train or bus. Only in certain suburbs was there an appreciable resistance. One of these was Carshalton, where I had lived since 1994.

On January 4 2021, after the government, police and judiciary quashed protests, six of us arranged to meet on Carshalton High Street. This was against the rules at the time, and we felt nervous whenever a police car passed. Steadfastly, we met there every Thursday for at least an hour, our number soon reaching double figures. In March a pharmacy next to our meeting place opened for Covid-19 vaccinations, and sometimes we exchanged derisory comments with people in the queue (‘nutters’ from them, bleating noises in retort).