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SubscriptionsAuthor: Josiah Mortimer
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Anger as Labour Refuses to Back Bid to Stop Government Quietly Changing Definition of Disruptive Protest
The government is preparing to quietly amend the definition of disruptive protest in ‘chilling’ change already rejected by peers
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Coronation Controversy Continues: The Met Police Keeps Defending the Erosion of Peaceful Dissent
As the dust settles on the coronation, peaceful protesters need more than hints at a forthcoming apology, writes our Chief Reporter
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Plans for a Mass Tactical Voting Campaign to Defeat an ‘Unholy Alliance’ of Conservatives and Reform UK
The next General Election could be decided by millions of tactical voters turning out to defeat Rishi Sunak’s party
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Government War on Transparency Threatens COVID Inquiry: What We Learnt from this Week’s Hearing
The Government’s refusal to provide key documents to the inquiry is a blow to the pursuit of truth in the COVID Inquiry – but bereaved families and inquiry chiefs are determined to get answers
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Lawyer Warns COVID Inquiry Chair May Have to Resign if Government Continues to Withhold Key Messages
As the Government battles to not disclose WhatsApps to the official pandemic probe, a solicitor for bereaved families hints at the chair’s potential resignation
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Illicit Pacts and Power-Sharing: Labour Activists Face Suspensions and NEC Veto Over Council Coalitions
A party crackdown on local party cooperation is preventing Labour councillors from leveraging their election victories to unseat the Tories in some towns, Josiah Mortimer reports
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Sadiq Khan’s Pollution Paradox: On the Silvertown Tunnel, and When Rhetoric Doesn’t Match Action
Kids in one of London’s poorest boroughs, Newham, are struggling to breathe. So why is the London Mayor pushing ahead with a new road tunnel that could make the situation even worse?
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Government Preparing to Quietly Amend the Definition of Disruptive Protest in ‘Chilling’ Change
‘Sneaky, cheating bastards’ – Josiah Mortimer reports on a peer leading the charge against the Government’s fresh protest clampdown
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Female Met Police Officer Cleared of Domestic Abuse Allegations After Three-Year Probe Triggered by ‘Controlling’ Senior Police Ex
An extraordinary Met Police disciplinary hearing concludes with a female officer being exonerated from abuse claims from her former partner, a more senior cop himself facing abuse claims
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Thousands in England Denied a Vote as Exclusive Snapshot of Photo ID Rollout Revealed
Over 6,000 voters were turned away and didn’t return across around 50 council areas, Byline Times can reveal.
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No Parliamentary Investigation Into Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Comments that Conservatives Introduced Voter ID to ‘Gerrymander’ Elections
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, Electoral Commission and Cabinet Office will not be looking into remarks by a former member of the Government that introduced the controversial policy
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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
