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Martha Gill

@marthagill.bsky.social
6.7K followers 332 following 71 posts

Observer columnist

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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
New piece from me on Farage, and what his trial-and-error flip-flopping tells us about the new line of tolerance in British politics
theguardian.com
As Farage sacks an acolyte for his ‘shameful’ words, how far is too far for the high priest of toxic politics? | Martha Gill
The Reform leader cynically pushes the boundaries of how far he can go without alienating too many of the voters he needs – but it’s a perilous calibration, says politics and culture writer Martha Gil...
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
For this week’s Observer I wrote about Britain’s strange relationship with plastic surgery What surprised me is that any doctor - even e.g. a psychiatrist with no surgical experience at all - is allowed to perform facelifts or liposuction in the private sector
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
For this week’s Observer I wrote about Britain’s strange relationship with plastic surgery What surprised me is that any doctor - even e.g. a psychiatrist with no surgical experience at all - is allowed to perform facelifts or liposuction in the private sector
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Patricia Clarke @paticlarke.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Mind-boggling from @marthagill.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/opinion...
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
I’ve got two articles in this week’s Observer. One is a big piece of reporting on lone asylum seeking kids arriving in Britain - a group is often missed out of the conversation observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
‘They are treated with the most appalling hostility’: the...
The number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Britain has soared, and many are being put at risk having got here
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
The second is on a little noticed counter to the narrative that social bonds are unravelling. By almost every indicator we are becoming more isolated, polarised and antisocial. Except one. Absolutely loads of people are volunteering observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
Altruism is holding Britain together | The Observer
Volunteers keep vital services afloat and offer an antidote to our ever more isolated society
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
I’ve got two articles in this week’s Observer. One is a big piece of reporting on lone asylum seeking kids arriving in Britain - a group is often missed out of the conversation observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
‘They are treated with the most appalling hostility’: the...
The number of unaccompanied children seeking asylum in Britain has soared, and many are being put at risk having got here
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denismacshane.bsky.social @denismacshane.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
observer.co.uk/news/opinion... The anti-science obsession of British politics has done UK great harm, Good new Observer taking this seriously by @marthagill.bsky.social
observer.co.uk
Nuclear power is the future Britain rejected. Now it’s ti...
Energy projects in the UK are among the world's most expensive as we insist on reinventing the wheel
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Willard Foxton @willardfoxton.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Yes. Huge incentives, notably keeping your own job, in staying quiet about this stuff. Great examples in ents where various alarming individuals keep working for years after it’s known they are dangerous because the dynamic is if you speak up you will be the one who loses your job
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Why do people choose to cover up scandals? My theory is that it's not 'bad apples', or 'dysfunctional institutions', as we like to pretend Every modern workplace contains the incentives for coverups
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John Kell @jmkpolicy.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Exactly right. Any substantial organisation will be likely to circle the wagons and cover up failings. Within it there will be some people who should know better but don't recognise their own complicity. And others who do but will lose their livelihood if they speak up.
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Maternity scandals, grooming gangs, the infected blood scandal, the Hillsborough disaster, the post office scandal, Grenfell, Windrush, sexual abuse by priests...... wherever we find serious harm we almost always find large numbers of people choosing to conceal it I call it "the cover-up rule"
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Phil Tinline @philtinline.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
This is very good - it skewers the way institutions' leaders will convince themselves that bad behaviour can't happen because rules. But we need to think more about how things actually work. We - especially senior managers - need to think much more in terms of who has power, and who really doesn't.
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
I've written about institutional cover-ups in this week's @ObserverUK . From grooming gangs to the post office scandal, wherever we find serious harm we almost always find very large numbers of people choosing to conceal it Why? I think we've been getting it wrong
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Enjoyed doing @lbc.co.uk cross questions just now with @simonmarksfsn.bsky.social - great fun
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
Among all the groups of elites that have attracted political fury over the last decade - one percenters, Etonians, metropolitan dinner partygoers, bankers - one category has always managed to slip under the radar. Q: Which group is this?
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
When it comes to adoption, demand usually outstrips supply. But right now the number of kids in care is rising and the number waiting to adopt them is falling Why? observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
Prospective parents are no longer queuing up to adopt children in care | The Observer
For every young person who finds a new home, 28 are left desperately hoping for parents – and the cost of living crisis is often to blame
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Did you know the only listed tree in Britain is a dead one? (The stump of the Elfin Oak in Kensington Gardens - because it was decorated by a children's illustrator) While we are talking about the Sycamore Gap, we should ask why culturally important trees and landscapes aren't better protected
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
How is it that so many kids leave the UK education system without basic qualifications?
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
I wrote about how Europe's last remaining monarchies are held to account - they survive because they have twisted themselves into pseudo-democratic institutions observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
The monarchy is caught between reverence and irrelevance | The Observer
As King Charles enters his third year on the throne, the future of the monarchy may depend on lying low and staying out of trouble
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Is there really a 'revival' of churchgoing among Generation Z? It's been widely reported but the evidence is shaky.... I look at the state of the church in the UK observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
Britain stands on centuries of Christianity but the faith no longer lives in its people | The Observer
Reports that young people are flocking to the church may be overstated and the wider decline in attendance raises existential questions
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Is there really a 'revival' of churchgoing among Generation Z? It's been widely reported but the evidence is shaky.... I look at the state of the church in the UK observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
Britain stands on centuries of Christianity but the faith no longer lives in its people | The Observer
Reports that young people are flocking to the church may be overstated and the wider decline in attendance raises existential questions
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The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Britain stands on centuries of Christianity but the faith no longer lives in its people Reports that young people are flocking to the church may be overstated and the wider decline in attendance raises existential questions. ✍️ @marthagill.bsky.social bit.ly/3EYw4BT
bit.ly
Britain stands on centuries of Christianity but the faith no longer lives in its people
Reports that young people are flocking to the church may be overstated and the wider decline in attendance raises existential questions
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Is generation Z really flocking back to church? The evidence is slim... Meanwhile the bigger religious shift is among boomers and the silent generation I look at the state of the Church for the new Observer observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk
Britain stands on centuries of Christianity but the faith no longer lives in its people
Reports that young people are flocking to the church may be overstated and the wider decline in attendance raises existential questions
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
For my weekly column in the new Observer I looked at the state of Christianity in the UK Is Generation Z really flocking back to church?
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
We need to make a self-interested case for green policies www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
I looked into why young people are taking fewer drugs - and why some drugs are bucking the trend
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Mark Braund @markbraund.substack.com · 23/03/2025
Great piece my @marthagill.bsky.social on men's rights activists, social media and the chilling effect on boys, as portrayed in Netflix's Adolescence. While I generally dislike banning stuff, our children's and therefore society's futures are at stake here. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Adolescence reveals a terrifying truth: smartphones are poison for boys’ minds | Martha Gill
When a Netflix drama highlights how online influencers can turn a teenager into a killer, it’s time to rethink social media
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British Pregnancy Advisory Service @bpas.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
The Pill was revolutionary in its time, but women are voting with their feet – and more can and should be done to take this unfinished revolution forward. Excellent piece from @marthagill.bsky.social in @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/society/comm...
theguardian.com
The pill hasn’t been improved in years. No wonder women are giving up on it | Martha Gill
When contraception has stagnated for decades, it is hardly surprising it’s fallen victim to culture wars and a wellness cult
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Chelsea Polis @cbpolis.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
I helped draft a white paper which addresses this question: newgencontraception.org/contraceptio..., and which then turned into this paper: www.contraceptionjournal.org/article/S001... Some contraceptive innovation is happening, but investment has been far too scarce. cc: @marthagill.bsky.social
newgencontraception.org
Contraception Is Not Meeting the Needs of People in the United States - NewGen Contraception Project
Click here to edit the dot navigation module. This text is only for editing and will not appear after you publish the changes. Table of ContentsOverviewFAQsAbstractSection ISection IISection IIISectio...
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 15/02/2025
Our inhumane jails are promoting a vicious cycle that is criminal in itself | Martha Gill
theguardian.com
Our inhumane jails are promoting a vicious cycle that is criminal in itself | Martha Gill
A medieval system is oiling the revolving door for reoffenders and seeing prison staff leave in droves
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 08/02/2025
Sorry, Lily Collins, but when people outsource childbirth, their motives really count | Martha Gill
theguardian.com
Sorry, Lily Collins, but when people outsource childbirth, their motives really count | Martha Gill
Whether it’s infertility, to save a career or pure altruism, is there ever a reason that can morally justify surrogacy? An online row last week underlines something we all know but which many prefer to ignore. There is something not right about…
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Nicola Bown @niminypiminy.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
'If some reasons for surrogacy are unacceptable, then so is the practice itself.' On the nail. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Sorry, Lily Collins, but when people outsource childbirth, their motives really count | Martha Gill
Whether it’s infertility, to save a career or pure altruism, is there ever a reason that can morally justify surrogacy?
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Peter Ormerod @bowiegod.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Quite aghast at some of the responses to this. There's a pretty widespread hostility to the idea there could ever be any ethical issues around surrogacy. Some supposedly progressive folks evidently have a massive blind spot when it comes to class and power. Caring about vulnerable women? 'Misogyny!'
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marie-claude lortie @mclortie.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
« As with assisted dying, motives do matter. If surrogates are being coerced by financial need or by other people, that is a problem. If the rich are delegating pregnancy to others merely because they can, that is another. » réflexion très intéressante sur le recours aux mères porteuses.
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Frances Ryan @francesryan.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
“As with assisted dying, motives matter. If surrogates are being coerced by financial need or by other people, that’s a problem. If the rich are delegating pregnancy to others merely because they can, that’s another.” Thought-provoking by @marthagill.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Sorry, Lily Collins, but when people outsource childbirth, their motives really count | Martha Gill
Whether it’s infertility, to save a career or pure altruism, is there ever a reason that can morally justify surrogacy?
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 11/01/2025
Jane Austen’s plates or the woods near her home? I know which I’d rather save | Martha Gill
theguardian.com
Jane Austen’s plates or the woods near her home? I know which I’d rather save | Martha Gill
Why this hierarchy of heritage? Our obsession with buildings and artefacts is blinding us to the value of nature I was struck last week by a story about Alton, a town in Hampshire, where residents have hit on a new basis for object to development in the…
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Jonathan Last @johnnythin.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
There may be something to this "hierarchy of heritage" in that it's easier to protect buildings than trees, but it's the opposite of environmental policy which favours natural landscape over historic. It all reflects the unhelpful policy division of heritage (DCMS) and environment/landscape (Defra)…
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
I've written about what I call our 'hierarchy of heritage'. We fetishise and protect buildings and artefacts that famous people have touched and lived in. But culturally important landscapes, trees and rivers are left undefended www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Jane Austen’s plates or the woods near her home? I know which I’d rather save | Martha Gill
Why this hierarchy of heritage? Our obsession with buildings and artefacts is blinding us to the value of nature
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TiCL 🍃💚🍃 @ticl.me · 14/01/2025
Is our obsession with buildings and artefacts blinding us to the value of nature? @marthagill.bsky.social @paulpowlesland.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Jane Austen’s plates or the woods near her home? I know which I’d rather save | Martha Gill
Why this hierarchy of heritage? Our obsession with buildings and artefacts is blinding us to the value of nature
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Madam Trashheap @madam-trashheap.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Great article by @marthagill.bsky.social posing some excellent questions - why are structures and objects more valued than the resources and areas from which they were made #nature #heritage #WoodlandTrust www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Jane Austen’s plates or the woods near her home? I know which I’d rather save | Martha Gill
Why this hierarchy of heritage? Our obsession with buildings and artefacts is blinding us to the value of nature
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Dr Amy-Jane Beer @amyjanebeer.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
‘We fetishise anything touched by famous literary hands; why do we not work harder to preserve the landmarks they wrote about?’ Excellent by @marthagill.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... Jane Austen’s plates or the woods near her home? I know which I’d rather save | Martha Gill
theguardian.com
Jane Austen’s plates or the woods near her home? I know which I’d rather save | Martha Gill
Why this hierarchy of heritage? Our obsession with buildings and artefacts is blinding us to the value of nature
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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Wondered for years why we seem to value so protect built heritage/“material assets” more than habitats & landscapes — and of course sometimes there are inseparable ties between. Thank you @marthagill.bsky.social Why not, for example Scheduled Trees, Areas of Significant Literary Interest.
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E G Nomad @egnomad.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
The best summary I have seen about this - beautifully put @marthagill.bsky.social #autism #neurodiversity
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Both sides of the assisted dying debate must acknowledge they are arguing for a brutal utilitarian compromise Either: a group of people will be left horribly suffering. Or: a group will be at risk of coercion Either way, the interests of one group must be sacrificed. The question is, which?
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
That assisted dying campaign ad is so bad it almost looks like deliberate self-sabotage. The only way to argue for assisted dying is to present it as the least worst of two brutal options - the other being to prolong useless suffering Not to tout it as a positive lifestyle choice
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Brian Carwana @religionsgeek.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Brilliant review of Jordan Peterson book (with great ties in to culture more broadly). Thanks to @marthagill.bsky.social for this insightful review. #religion
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Martha Gill @marthagill.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
On @bbc5live.bsky.social tomorrow morning talking about vaping Imagine we'd found a way to get people to quit alcohol for coffee But then imagine we'd got so worked up over the risks of coffee that we'd started to sabotage this public health miracle.... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
In the moral panic over vaping, we risk forgetting that cigarettes kill | Martha Gill
Bans and taxes on the most popular and effective aid for giving up smoking could lead to a major health crisis
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