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SubscriptionsAuthor: Josiah Mortimer
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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
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Top Parliamentary Standards Official Warns Britain Slipping Into ‘Elected Dictatorship’
An unearthed paper suggests there are fears at the very top of Parliament that democracy is under threat, reports Josiah Mortimer
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Boris Johnson Urged to Come to Parliament to Defend Millions in Outside Earnings Amid Bill to Ban MPs’ Second Jobs
The MP has earned £4.8m since he left office last September, more than 50 times his salary as a backbench MP, reports Josiah Mortimer
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‘It’s Shameful – A Life was Taken’: Anger from Family of Killed Driver as Safety Concerns over Ride-Hailing App Continue
Josiah Mortimer reports on a family’s campaign for change at company Bolt
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Government Could Face EU Legal Challenge Over Anti-Strikes Legislation
The Minimum Service Levels Bill – and plans to scrap all ‘retained’ EU laws – could be in breach of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, reports Josiah Mortimer
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BP Event Disrupted After Oil Giant’s Profits Double: Report Uncovers Widespread ‘Greenwashing’
BP has reported record annual profits – while also scaling back plans to reduce the amount of oil and gas it produces by the end of the decade
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Bereaved Families Hit Out at COVID Inquiry Lawyer who Suggested they are ‘Confused’ about Role of PR Firms Linked to Government
‘What exactly aren’t we understanding? It is a fact these companies worked with the Government’, a campaigner who lost his key worker father, told Byline Times
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Levelling Up Farce: ‘Whitehall-led Devolution is a Bureaucratic Nightmare – I know as I Spent Thousands Trying to Jump Through the Hoops’
Josiah Mortimer speaks to one of many “failed” applicants still reeling from the latest Levelling Up bidding war.
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Voter ID: Bouncers at the Ballot Box Could Turn Away Thousands in May Elections with No Right of Appeal
Up to two million people could be denied a vote unless they apply for ID – and even those with ID could be turned away by polling staff, reports Josiah Mortimer
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Inside Piers Morgan’s ‘Contrived Controversy’ Machine
Josiah Mortimer reports on how TalkTV’s Piers Morgan Uncensored struggled to get feminists to discuss “has Me Too gone too far” on the day a serial rapist was sentenced
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Major Transport Union to be Told to Make Sweeping Changes After Inquiry Into Sexism
‘When you raise concerns about sexism in your union, you get “the right-wing press will get hold of this”. We’ve heard it so many times’, one whistle-blower told Byline Times
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Government’s New Strike Breakers Get to Work
Some firms have ruled out using agency workers to break strikes – but others aren’t so discerning, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Supreme Court to Consider if Anti-Protest Power Grab Injunctions Should be Struck Down
Those breaching ‘persons unknown’ injunctions face an unlimited fine and up to two years in prison, with the potential for their assets to be seized. Their quiet roll-out goes far further than the Policing Act passed last year, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Secret Saudi Arms Sales Court Hearing
Anti-arms trade campaigners say UK-made weapons are contributing to thousands of civilian deaths in the devastating Middle Eastern war
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New Report Blows Apart Dominic Raab’s ‘Bill of Rights’
The Justice Secretary’s long and “dangerous” campaign to scrap the Human Rights Act was “pushed forward by parts of the media” smarting from privacy laws
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Keir Starmer Faces Fresh Calls to Back Westminster Voting Overhaul
The Labour Leader is being urged to keep his promises on reforming democracy, Josiah Mortimer reports
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The Corruption League of Shame
The stark drop in Britain’s score is driven by an increased perception of corruption in public office from business executives and experts
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Calls for Government to Publish ‘Secret’ List of Ministers’ Interests After Boris Johnson BBC Scandal
As the former PM continues to deny he sought financial advice from the BBC’s now Chairman, guidance from his civil servant at the time has contradicted this, reports Josiah Mortimer
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Strikers Could Face Prison Under New Protest Law, Say Legal Experts
The Public Order Act – launched to clamp down on groups like Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil – could be used against trade unionists too
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Anti-Strike Bill Gives Grant Shapps Extraordinary Power to Change Workers’ Rights in the UK
The Business Secretary will be able to set minimum service levels for six key sectors — and decide what workers are included in the new strike-busting definitions
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Tufton Street Fossil Fuel Backers Under the Spotlight
The Good Law Project and MPs have fired off a complaint to the Charity Commission alleging major rule breaches by the Global Warming Policy Foundation
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Labour MPs Quit Parliamentary Lobbying Group Set Up to Slash Tax on Petrol as Ties to Big Polluters Emerge
One Labour MP quit after a report by the APPG criticising the move to electric vehicles was backed by the Global Warming Policy Foundation – often described as the most high-profile climate ‘sceptic’ body in the UK
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Driver Lobbyist Group Targeting Sadiq Khan over Clean Air Plans is Funded by Road Haulage Industry
FairFuel UK is leading the charge against the Labour mayor’s expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone – which will hit the most polluting vehicles including trucks and lorries
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‘Greed is Good’: The Government is Quietly Rolling Out Dozens of Changes that could “Unleash the Next Financial Crash”
The Conservatives are gearing up for a ‘Big Bang 2’ deregulation of the City. At what cost?
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Ministers are Introducing a Form of ‘Pre-Crime’ so Protesters can be Arrested Before they Protest
“It’s out of science fiction. How are they going to guess who’s going to be disruptive?” one leading campaigner asked Byline Times
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Activists ‘Brandalise’ London Underground Adverts to Shame Barclays Bank over Fossil Fuel Investments
Climate campaigners are taking to ‘adbusting’ to get their message across and target oil and gas funders, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Senior Minister Accused of Trying to Dictate Which Reporter is Allowed to Interview Him as Press Freedom Groups Warn of Backsliding
David TC Davies refused to be interviewed by a journalist who’d dug into allegations of climate change denialism and his equal rights stance
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NHS Crisis: ‘Record Numbers’ of GPs Seeking Medical Help for Mental Health Issues
GPs have faced a barrage of attacks in the press and briefings from government over the pandemic. It’s taking its toll.
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Government Offers No Dedicated Cash for Councils to Warn People they will Need Voter ID in May Elections
Councils could have to choose between hiring extra staff to implement the change or informing voters that their vote is at risk, Byline Times has learned
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‘Daily Mail Tried to Shame Us for Backing Strikers – But Gave Us Free Publicity Instead’
As union laws become more draconian, activists are getting innovative. It’s giving right-wingers the jitters
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Conservatives Branded ‘Hypocrites’ Over Minimum Service Law Threat to Unions as Lords are No-Shows
Many members of the Conservative Party’s lords bench seem to be taking indefinite strike action, Byline Times analysis suggests
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NHS Staff Experiencing Mental Health Crises on ‘Scale of War Veterans’
Support services for NHS staff have seen a huge surge in demand in recent months, Byline Times can reveal
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Subcontracted: Amazon Christmas Worker ‘Blocked’ from Staff Transport
Josiah Mortimer reports on a night shift worker at an Essex logistics hub who has to walk hours in freezing temperatures
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Boris Johnson Continues to Break Ministerial Code, as Constituents Complain of Absentee MP
As the former Prime Minister makes £750k from just three speeches since being ousted from Number 10, his voters feel abandoned
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Government May Face Legal Challenge Over Voter ID in Elections Next Year
A legal briefing by Good Law Project says that election groups will have to closely monitor who loses out when mandatory voter ID comes into force in just a matter of months
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‘They Know Who I Am, They Know What I’m Doing’: Arrested Journalists Speak Out over New Policing Act
Josiah Mortimer talks to Tom Bowles and Rich Felgate who were locked up for covering an environmental protest, and reports on more repressive legislation to come.
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Voter ID: ‘It’s Far Worse than Any US State’
Josiah Mortimer reports on fresh voter suppression claims facing the Government – including the impact on young people – ahead of a rushed roll-out of mandatory voter ID for next May’s local elections
