CultNEWS101 Articles: 5/13/2026
Patrick Ryan
"In March 2026, Cheshire Police were made aware of allegations of serious sexual offences, forced marriage and modern slavery, reported to have taken place in 2023.
All of the offences involved one victim, a woman, who was a member of the group at the time the offences occurred.
Following a detailed investigation into the allegations, officers executed three warrants in Crewe on Wednesday 29 April, including at Webb House, leading to the arrest of seven men and three women, all of whom have since been released on conditional pending further enquiries.
Since the warrant, officers have been conducting evidential searches at the property, which have concluded today, Sunday 3 May, and the site has now been released to the residents of Webb House.
The 10 suspects who were arrested in relation to the allegations, including the cult's leader, all have strict bail conditions which prevent them from returning to the site."
Journal of Political Ideologies: Perceived grievance and individualising moralities: exploring the psychological structure of left-wing authoritarianism
"Research shows a sharp increase in political polarization over the last two decades. While right-wing authoritarianism has received considerable academic attention, the psychological mechanisms of left-wing authoritarianism remain under-explored. This study used structural equation modeling to empirically test the factors that influence left-wing authoritarianism and its relationship with features of identity politics and psychological distress. Moral foundations theory was used to assess the moral concerns underlying left-wing authoritarianism. Participants from English-speaking countries (52.4% female, aged 18 to 85 years old) were recruited from various political groups on social media. The final sample (N = 299) voluntarily completed an online survey measuring left-wing authoritarianism, psychological distress, moral concerns, need for cognitive closure, and emotional reactivity. The final model explained 53% of the variance in left-wing authoritarianism and demonstrated that psychological distress indirectly affects left-wing authoritarianism through perceived grievance. However, perceived grievance had the strongest direct impact, providing support for the premise that perceived grievance, a feature of identity politics, constitutes a strong positive predictor of left-wing authoritarianism. Additionally, non-hypothesized mediating effects were observed from perceived grievance to the individualizing foundations and left-wing authoritarianism."
INFORM is partnering with the Centre for Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds to deliver a free online seminar on New Religiosities in Contemporary Britain and free registration is available here. All are welcome - including students!
The speakers joining us on the day will be:
Dr Susannah Crockford (University of Exeter)
Dr Caroline Starkey (University of Leeds)
Prof Rod Dubrow-Marshall (University of Salford)
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