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SubscriptionsAuthor: Hardeep Matharu
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The Cummings Scandal: A Benchmark for Political Impunity
Three months after his breach of lockdown rules came to light, Hardeep Matharu explores the precedent set by the No 10 chief advisor’s callous hoodwinking of the public – a fundamental degrading of democracy that was missed by the Labour Party at a dangerous cost
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REFLEXIVE CONTROL: Boris Johnson is Doing Putin’s Job for Him
Hardeep Matharu explores how the Government’s entire approach to the notion of foreign interference and the Russia Report reveals how far it is willing to go to erode the British political system itself
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Prince Harry Calls Time on the System of Secrets and Lies Modern Britain is Built On
Comments by the Queen’s grandson on the need to ‘right those wrongs’ from the past across the Commonwealth reveal why he is rebelling against the system that created him
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Priti Patel Cannot Make Herself a Poster Girl for a ‘Non-Racist Britain’
By using herself as an example of how Britain is not a racist a country, the Home Secretary is blind to how such thinking keeps structural inequality firmly in place against others from minority communities, writes Hardeep Matharu
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Beyond Exceptional: The Etonian English Imperialism at the Heart of a Deadly COVID-19 Crisis
With one of the highest Coronavirus death rates in the world, the UK has proven itself to be exceptional. But its problems go beyond shallow notions of complacency and are rooted in deep-seated structural and cultural oppression
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BAME COVID-19 DEATHS: The Coronavirus Might Not Discriminate – But Societies Do
Public Health England’s report into risk factors associated with COVID-19 deaths has revealed the structural inequality and poverty endangering lives.
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Dominic Cummings’ Biggest Blind Spot is Dominic Cummings
Hardeep Matharu explores why the chief advisor’s revelation about his failing eyesight was so revealing – about his lack of self-knowledge and need for reality.
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Britain’s Chernobyl: COVID-19 and the Cost of Lies
Hardeep Matharu finds echoes of the nuclear explosion that helped end the Soviet Union and the UK’s response to COVID-19, which has resulted in one of the highest Coronavirus death rates in the world.
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The Coronavirus Crisis: Officials Accuse Britain and US of ‘Hubris’ and ‘Complacent Exceptionalism’ in their Response to COVID-19
A former WHO director blames ideology, years of austerity and the downgrading of public health for the UK’s failures in dealing with the pandemic. The UK and US Governments have suffered from “hubris” in their response to COVID-19 and failed to get a grip on the deadly disease because they believed they were “untouchable”, according…
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The Coronavirus Crisis: ‘We’ve Followed the Science’ – The Ultimate Revenge on the Experts We’ve ‘Had Enough Of’?
Hardeep Matharu explores how those at the heart of Government have quickly switched from deriding experts to loving them – and why this volteface may not be so benign.
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Did Experts Fail to “Speak Truth to Power” Over ‘Targeted Herd Immunity’?
Hardeep Matharu speaks to a NHS consultant about how the politics of inevitability infected the UK Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Coronavirus: We Must Resist this Exercise in Hypernormalisation
Hardeep Matharu warns against becoming numb to the constructed reality being created by politicians as the UK gets to grips with the immense human cost of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Year of Living Distantly: We Were Boxed In Before Lockdown
Byline Times’ Editor Hardeep Matharu reflects on some of the profound questions raised by the Coronavirus pandemic and how we have been living our lives.
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The Coronavirus Crisis: A “Distraction” of the Government’s Own Making – Why ‘Herd Immunity’ Won’t Go Away
A concept first discussed publicly by the Government itself, the Health Secretary is trying to put the genie back in the bottle – something which must not be allowed when people’s lives are the cost.
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The Coronavirus Crisis: The Cloud of Unknowing and the Veil of Ignorance
Hardeep Matharu explores how the uncertainty around the Covid-19 pandemic has reanimated forgotten philosophies of social justice and mutual aid.
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Labour Must Win Over England or Accept Never Winning Power Again
Hardeep Matharu explores the findings of a new report suggesting that the Labour Party must go beyond economic and social concerns and engage with people’s feelings about their identity.
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Life in the Farage Lane
Gawain Towler spills the beans on the fast and furious task of being Nigel Farage’s right-hand man, an era which seems to have drawn to a close with the end of the Brexit Party.
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‘Downstream of Culture’: How Identity Politics Swept Labour Away
While the right has turned politics into a culture war, the left has yet to tackle the politics of culture, says Hardeep Matharu.
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From Sajid Javid to Rishi Sunak: Boris Johnson’s New Version of the Old Colonial ‘Divide and Rule’ Game
Hardeep Matharu explores what the rise of Conservative ethnic minority politicians reveals about the party’s approach to race and diversity.
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Psychology Isn’t Enough: The Failure to Prevent Individual Terror Attacks
Hardeep Matharu looks at how longer sentences and current counter-radicalisation policy fails to address the real risks.
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‘This Happens to Other People – and then You Realise Other People Are You’
The father of terror victim Jack Merritt celebrates his son’s priso reforming spirit and speaks out against the Government’s approach to religious radicalisation
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‘Baseball Cap Politics’ Can Offer No Solutions – We Need to Work Out How to Fix Things Again
Former Conservative MP and independent Mayor of London candidate Rory Stewart gives his take on the biggest issue facing politics today.
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Boris Johnson Will ‘Play the Nationalist Card’ to Stay in Power, Gordon Brown Warns
The former Prime Minister said in a speech that he agrees with George Orwell’s distinction between “patriotism” and “nationalism” and fears the Union of the UK could be over without fundamental constitutional reform.
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History Isn’t ‘Woke’ – It’s the Best Defence we have Against Tyranny and Hate
Hardeep Matharu explains how Laurence Fox’s myopia about the role of Sikh soldiers in World War One is a wider British problem of imperial amnesia.
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The Harder the Brexit, the More Likely a United Ireland
MEP and leader of Northern Ireland’s Alliance Party says the DUP were fools for trusting Boris Johnson who was always going to betray Unionism.
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‘Refusal of Corbyn’s Labour to Fight Back Against the Right’s Culture War a Big Mistake’
Hardeep Matharu speaks to Faiza Shaheen, a Labour candidate in the General Election, about why the British left cannot simply bury its head in the sand over the dangerous politicisation of race and class.
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‘English Nationalism is the Real Threat’ says former Ulster Unionist Leader
Brexit is a fault line which has triggered a realignment of loyalties in the island of Ireland – will Northern Ireland be left behind by English nationalism?
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Brexit and the Fracturing of British Identity: A Warning From Ireland
Hardeep Matharu speaks to acclaimed playwright Frank McGuinness about where the nationalist Brexit project being trumpeted by Boris Johnson could end up
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How My Punjabi Immigrant New Labour-Supporting Parents were Charmed by Boris Johnson
Hardeep Matharu reflects on the personal story of her parents’ political shift towards the right – and what it might represent about Britain as a whole.
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The Humanity of the London Bridge Victims is the Real Fight Against Terror
Hardeep Matharu mourns the death of two young reformers and the horrific exploitation of their legacies by Boris Johnson and the tabloid press.
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John Sweeney: ‘BBC hasn’t Told Truth to Power and Tony Hall Should Resign’
Veteran investigative journalist joins a growing chorus of criticism of the public service broadcaster.
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Beyond the Law: Tory Dystopian Propaganda Scam Goes Unpunished
The Conservative Party deceived in plain sight when it changed its press office Twitter account name during last night’s Leader’s Debate to “factcheckUK”. Voters must remain vigilant to all attempts to mislead.
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Where has the BBC’s Quest to Inform through Uncovering Truth Gone?
In the weeks before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the BBC’s news team went out of its way to show the world the factual reality of East Germans protesting for a better life. Does it have the same desire now?
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The 2008 Financial Crisis Paved the Way for Brexit – Why Don’t We Talk About it Anymore?
A decade ago, the financial crisis presented the most pivotal economic, political and social moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall. We need to examine its effects if we are to learn lessons in Brexit Britain.
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Fighting Division and Disinformation – from Outside the Westminster Media Bubble
After 18 years, and with an important role in Parliament’s landmark fake news inquiry, a veteran Labour MP diagnoses the real echo chamber in politics.
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‘Men Need Spaces to Talk About Masculinity. Cutting Hair Can Save Lives’
As part of her Why Masculinity Matters series, Hardeep Matharu speaks to Tom Chapman, founder of the Lions Barber Collective, about the need for spaces for men to speak to each other about the challenges of navigating masculinity.
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‘The Idea is Trump and Boris are Alpha Males and their Ludicrous Sex Drive Tells You they are Winners’
As part of her Why Masculinity Matters series, Hardeep Matharu speaks to cultural commentator and writer Peter York about why ideas of toxic masculinity seem to be more relevant in politics than ever.
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‘It’s Men. That’s the Common Denominator in Crime and We have to Address It’
As part of her Why Masculinity Matters series, Hardeep Matharu speaks to Frances Crook, chief executive of the UK’s oldest prison reform charity, about why masculinity must be discussed by those in power if we are to effectively address crime.
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‘A Sikh Man Standing Up for Muslim Women Mattered in Exposing Boris Johnson’s Divide and Rule Dog Whistle Politics’
Hardeep Matharu sat down with MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi to discuss his passionate taking down of the Prime Minister and his derogatory comparisons labelling Muslim women as letter boxes and bank robbers.
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How We Came to Forget: Imperial Amnesia Helped Propel Brexit – It’s Time to Set the Historical Record Straight
Hardeep Matharu explores a new National Trust project designed to shed light on the colonial roots of country houses and the need for a more honest, less mythical discussion of Britain’s past.
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David Lammy: ‘Young People are Dying On Our Streets – We Need to Get On with Legalising Cannabis’
Hardeep Matharu sat down with MP David Lammy to discuss privilege, knife crime and cannabis at this week’s Labour Party Conference
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‘Children Dying from Deep Fake Videos and Anti-Vaxxer Messages Spread on Social Media Platforms’
The threats posed by technology to our democratic processes will only get worse in the years to come unless action is taken, MP Damian Collins warns.
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‘Brexiters Used Empire in the Mind to Weaponise People’s Prejudices and Fantasies’
A sense of British exceptionalism based on our colonial past is “alive and kicking” in hearts and minds – and we must make ourselves aware of it, warns Lord Victor Adebowale
