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SubscriptionsAuthor: Josiah Mortimer
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Met Police Accused of Twisting the Truth Over Coronation Arrests – As Labour Refuses to Back Bid to Repeal Controversial Protest Law
Commons session turns to farce as Conservative Deputy Chair suggests all protestors should just stand for election instead, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Demands for More Scrutiny of Political Donations as Conservative Donor Tied to ‘Laundromat’ Court Case
Javad Marandi, a major Conservative Party benefactor, is named as a ‘person of importance’ in a money laundering court case, sparking fresh questions over party donations, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Calls for Parliamentary Investigation into Potential Breach of Ministerial Code Over Rees-Mogg’s Shocking Voter ID Admission
The former Commons leader said it was a deliberate attempt to ‘gerrymander’ elections in the Conservatives’ favour. Josiah Mortimer reports
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‘Why I Disrupted Jacob Rees Mogg’s Speech at Controversial National Conservatism Conference’
Demonisation of migrants and a focus on ‘going back’ to some made-up glorious past means Brits need to be alert to ‘fascism’, XR activist Dirk Campbell tells Josiah Mortimer
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Up to Two Million Potential Voters Put Off by New Photo ID Rules in May Elections, New Poll Suggests
In the latest in a series of damning reports, Byline Times reveals that the new mandatory voter ID requirements have caused confusion and anger among would-be voters. Josiah Mortimer reports
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Police Protest Clampdown: Just Stop Oil Supporters Arrested After ‘Blanket Ban’ Imposed on Their Peaceful Marches in London
Josiah Mortimer reports on a spree of arrests of peaceful protestors in the capital
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Special Investigation: Voter ID– From Free Voting to ‘Papers Please’: Experiences from England’s Experiment in US-Style ‘Voter Suppression’
In the latest in a series of damning testimonies from voters across England, Byline Times reveals how the new mandatory voter ID requirements have created confusion, frustration – and potentially a real risk of discrimination. Josiah Mortimer reports.
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Special Investigation: Voter ID – More Voters Denied a Vote in Local Elections than Total Convicted of Impersonation Fraud in Recent Years, Byline Times Finds
This newspaper has spoken to people who fell foul of the new mandatory voter ID requirements in May’s local elections
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Republican Arrests: ‘The Right to Protest is Dead. We Need a New Movement to Win it Back’
When ministers and police argue the ability to protest is based on ‘context’ like TV viewing figures at the King’s coronation, it ceases to exist, says Josiah Mortimer
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Anti-Monarchy Campaigners Vow to Resist Home Office Attempts to ‘Intimidate’ Them
The Home Office sent campaign group Republic a letter setting out new powers to crush “disruptive” protests ahead of planned peaceful protests against King Charles, Josiah Mortimer reports
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VOTER SUPPRESSION LATEST: More Revelations of Voters Turned Away for Lacking Photo ID in England’s Local Elections
Latest updates as Byline Times reports on the rollout of mandatory voter ID in England
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VOTER SUPPRESSION WATCH: Voters Turned Away Without Photo ID Across England Amid Local Elections Concerns
‘It’s totally unnecessary… They are disenfranchising people.’ Josiah Mortimer and colleagues report from across England as ID is rolled out for the first time.
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LOCAL ELECTIONS 2023: Left-of-Centre Vote ‘Hopelessly Split as Twice as Many Progressives Running Against the Right in England’
Campaigners warn of vote-splitting as new analysis finds that the ‘progressive’ vote will be more split than the right in 69% of England’s council wards on 4 May
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UK Lags Behind on Press Freedom as Media Dominated by Handful of Oligarchs and the Rich Target Journalists
Just three media groups dominate the national newspaper market – and help shape our political narrative, while the Government has failed to act against ‘lawfare’, a new report finds
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Voter Plans One-Man Protest Against ‘Gerrymandering’ Mandatory Photo ID Law at Local Elections on Thursday
Just a fraction of the two million people who lack photo ID have applied for the government’s free scheme. How many will be denied a vote – or simply not bother – on Thursday? Josiah Mortimer reports
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We May Never Know How Many Voters are Turned Away for Lack of Photo ID
Just 85,000 voters signed up for the Government’s free photo ID – out of a potential two million. Now we may not find out the true scale of ‘voter suppression’, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Keir Starmer Now Opposes Scrapping Westminster’s Voting System for PR in Blow for Reformers
His spokesman told Byline Times that the Labour Leader has a “long-standing view against PR”
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Majority of Labour-Linked Trade Unions Now Back Electoral Reform After Shop Workers Call for PR
Keir Starmer has refused to back changing the voting system – but calls to do so are becoming difficult to ignore, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Desperate Last Push to Get Photo ID to Voters Ahead of Mandatory Roll-Out Next Week
A last-minute rush is unlikely to be enough to prevent large numbers of people being effectively disenfranchised on 4 May, Josiah Mortimer reports
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More Than 1,000 Anti-Monarchy Campaigners Set to Disrupt King Charles’ Coronation
The ceremony is set to cost the public around £100m. With a quarter of voters backing abolition of the monarchy, will the opposition get a hearing? Josiah Mortimer reports
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No 10 Rejects Calls to Delay Voter ID Plans Despite Tiny Uptake of Free ID
And election experts have warned of battles at the ballot box if people are denied a vote, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Hundreds of Police Stations Have Shut Under the Conservatives – at a Cost of Rising Crime
Two thirds of police stations in England have closed since 2010. A new study digs into the dire consequences, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Rishi Sunak Could Be in More Trouble as Maths Announcement May Have Broken Election Rules
The guidance says ministers must take ‘care’ and avoid announcing decisions that could influence elections – such as England’s local elections in just two weeks
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MPs Urged to Ditch Ties to Parliamentary Lobby Group Run by ‘Climate Denialist’
A controversial parliamentary group that successfully opposes fuel price rises and tough climate action is backed by a campaigner who denies that humans are causing climate change, Josiah Mortimer reveals
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Government ‘Must Defy’ Developers’ Calls to Drop Vital Leasehold Overhauls
Housing secretary Michael Gove is facing pressure to abandon popular plans to reform England and Wales’ feudal leasehold system, Josiah Mortimer reports
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‘Cover up’ Allegations as Most NHS Trusts Say No Staff Died of Covid on Their Watch
EXCLUSIVE: “Conspiracy of silence” among NHS Trusts means most NHS employers recorded not a SINGLE Covid death among their workers during the first two waves
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Why Teacher Walkouts Aren’t Just About Pay
A striking teacher talks to Josiah Mortimer about what the pay crisis looks like on the ground in a Cornish secondary school
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‘Voter Suppression’: Huge Numbers Set to Lose Vote as Only 2.5% Of ‘Missing Millions’ Apply for Voter ID
Just 50,000 out of an estimated two million voters without ID have applied for the new ‘free’ voter identification certificate ahead of England’s local elections
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Disrupting Grand National is ‘Just the Start’, Says Animal Rebellion
The direct action group plans to ‘liberate’ animals in slaughterhouses and farms over the summer – and halt horse-racing events, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Watchdog ‘Examining’ BBC Chairman’s Charity over Donations to Right-Wing Political Groups
Richard Sharp pumped money into a group that funds causes like the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Eurosceptics and the BBC-bashing News-Watch. Now the Charity Commission is “engaging” with his foundation
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Ricin and the Red Tops: How a Made-Up Terror Plot Helped the Media Build the Case for the Iraq War
Josiah Mortimer talks to a leading lawyer who took part in the 2003 ricin trials on the terror cell that never was
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Last Ditch Bill Introduced to Scrap Mandatory Voter ID in England’s Elections this May
Lib Dems are trying to reverse the legislation they fear will cause chaos at the ballot box, while activists warn that trans people may be excluded by photo ID
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The Real Truth About the European Court of Human Rights? It Hardly Ever Overrules the UK
Per person, the ECHR dealt with fewer human rights challenges concerning the UK than anywhere else in 2022, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Insulate Britain Activists Defiant After Being Locked Up for ‘Speaking Truth’ on Climate
“I’ve always known that it was the right thing to do, and paying this price is the right thing to do as well. It had to be done,” one ex-prisoner tells Josiah Mortimer Insulate Britain protesters locked up for defying a judge’s ban from speaking about climate change and fuel poverty have told Byline Times…
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The Downfalls of Johnson and Truss ‘Have Not Brought UK’s Constitutional Chaos to an End’
Nearly 100 areas of concern for UK democracy are highlighted in a worrying new report
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Labour has ‘More Seats to Gain by Rejecting Brexit than it would Lose in Red Wall’, New Poll Suggests
Keir Starmer could win an increased majority by turning against Brexit – but party officials are still rejecting any notion of rejoining the EU
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PM’s Power to Preside Over Breaches of Ministerial Code Should be Removed, Proposes New Bill
‘We can’t continue to have a situation in which the government is allowed to set and mark its own homework’, says campaigner Jennifer Nadel
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Starmer Under Pressure to Commit to PR Voting System and Breaking Up Media Giants from Labour Grassroots
The party’s consultation process for the next manifesto has just closed – as democracy groups call on the Labour Leader to seize the mantle of reform, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Grant Shapps’ Latest Anti-Union Law ‘Likely to Be Struck Down’ in Embarrassing Blow
The Minimum Service Levels Bill is ‘almost certainly’ against international law – meaning any fines or sackings would be thrown out, according to a leading labour lawyer
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The Public Needs Answers on BBC Chairman Richard Sharp’s Donations to Groups Campaigning Against BBC
Pressure is mounting on the Johnson-appointed BBC Chairman – but no answers have been forthcoming from him or the corporation, reports Josiah Mortimer
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Vodafone HQ Cleaners ‘Threatened with Blacklisting’ Over Protests at Outsourcing Giant
Outsourced Vodafone HQ cleaners face ‘victimisation’ after pushing for higher pay while cleaning next to millionaire boss, Josiah Mortimer reports
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HGV-Lobby Funded Group Faces Parliamentary Investigation Over Transparency ‘Rule Breaches’
A controversial parliamentary group failed to disclose its list of ‘active members’ among other potential breaches, Josiah Mortimer reports
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BBC Chairman Donated Tens of Thousands of Pounds to Right-Wing Group Funding Criticism of BBC
Richard Sharp has pumped money into a group that almost funds organisations like the TaxPayers’ Alliance, Eurosceptics, and the BBC-bashing News-Watch
