SubscriptionsCategory: UK Politics
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The Hospital Bed Crisis Preceded COVID-19 – And Will Outlive It
Acute NHS hospital consultant David Oliver considers how the Coronavirus pandemic has exposed structural healthcare problems caused by years of neglect and underfunding
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The Other Calais Crisis
Kevin O’Hara reports on a recent trip to Calais and the brutal conditions faced by asylum seekers
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How the Chaos of Brexit has Turned Off Euroscepticism Elsewhere
Sian Norris took the temperature of Euroscepticism in EU countries and found that Brexit wasn’t inspiring copycats across the continent
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Journal of the Plague Year: And What to Expect in 2021
Byline Times’ chief medical officer, Professor John Ashton, looks back on the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and warns that –without radical change – next year will be even bleaker
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The Government Created the Conditions for the New COVID Strain to Emerge
Epidemiologist Deepti Gurdasani and neuroscientist Hisham Ziauddeen explore how the new variant of the Coronavirus in Britain is likely to have developed and warn that an urgent Zero COVID strategy is the only option to prevent it happening again
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The Sidelining of Parliament During the Twin Crises of COVID and Brexit Could Set A Dangerous Precedent
With a highly virulent new strain of the Coronavirus circulating rapidly and a hard Brexit imminent, why have MPs not been recalled to Parliament in this time of national emergency?
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‘Eat Out to Help Out’ Scheme ‘Epidemiologically Illiterate’ As Sunak Failed to Consult Scientists, New Report Reveals
While the Chancellor avoided consulting experts, other ministers used them as scapegoats – as chaos reigned in Downing Street, a damning new report into the pandemic suggests
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‘Really Scary’ and ‘Utterly Reckless’: Schools Feeling Exposed to COVID-19 by Government Centralisation
Sian Norris reports on confusion and concern in the education system as key workers accuse Gavin Williamson’s department of incompetence and failing to listen
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300 Scientists Reveal how Boris Johnson has Locked Britain into a Cycle of Draconian Lockdowns
Nafeez Ahmed reports on a new statement published in the Lancet which explains why the Government’s flawed Coronavirus response is likely to lead to repeated waves of the virus and lockdowns – risking lives and livelihoods
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The Sick Man of Europe Again: The Mutant Etonian Variant of English Exceptionalism
Peter Jukes and Hardeep Matharu argue that the Coronavirus itself is the main beneficiary of Boris Johnson’s neo-imperial policies leading to the inevitable ‘cordon sanitaire’ around Britain even before a hard Brexit
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UK ‘Mega Lab’ Cut Working Hours Last Week Amid ‘Shortages’
Byline Times understands that one of the UK’s largest ‘Lighthouse’ labs was forced to scale down its operation last week, despite surging demand
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£66.7 Million Birmingham Nightingale Hospital Has Admitted No Patients in Eight Months
Sam Bright reports on how Birmingham’s flagship facility has been free of patients since Prince William opened the hospital in April
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‘Test and Trace’ Replacing Corporate Giants With £800-a-day In-House Consultants
Sam Bright has the inside track on a new Government hiring blitz and its attempts to oust expensive, controversial consultancy giants
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The Tyranny of the Brexit Minority
Boris Johnson’s ‘no deal’ posturing is a reminder of how Brexit has violated British democracy, argues Sam Bright
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Last In Line: The Forgotten Learning Disabled Soldiers of World War One
Saba Salman explores how a century of prejudice still finds echoes today in the treatment of people with learning disabilities during the Coronavirus pandemic
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Lies, Damned Lies and Housing Statistics
Julian Mercer continues his investigation into the erroneous calculations underpinning the Government’s house building programme
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Systemic Failings Mean Most Rapists Can Attack Women with Impunity
The dropped charges against the Conservative MP accused of rape reveal shortcomings which mean rape survivors rarely see justice done in England and Wales, reports Sian Norris
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Evidence of Fraudsters Claiming Billions in COVID Loans Passed to MPs
A new report by the Public Accounts Committee sheds light on the Government’s Bounce Back Loan Scheme, with applicants self-certifying and not subject to credit checks
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Serco and G4S May Be Excluded from Government Contracts Under New Proposals
Sam Bright digs into the Cabinet Office’s new manifesto to fix the UK’s private sector procurement system
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Pregnant and on the COVID Frontline
Frontline NHS doctor Meenal Viz reflects on a momentous year – in which she gave birth to her first child and took on the Government over its lack of protection for healthcare workers during the Coronavirus pandemic
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Uprising to Rising Up: The Education of Alex Wheatle
Bryan Knight speaks to Alex Wheatle, whose life was recently brought to television screens by Steve McQueen in the BBC’s Small Axe series
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Hotel Carpeting Company Awarded Contract to Supply COVID-19 Tests
A small carpeting supplier has been contracted again by the Government, having already being awarded deals for personal protective equipment worth £5.3 million
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Britain’s Descent: Supremacy Not Sovereignty was Always the Dark Heart of Brexit
The central myth of Britain leaving the EU reveals the country’s insecure imperial ambitions and unresolved identity crisis, says Hardeep Matharu
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The Student Grading Debacle Has Entrenched Social and Racial Inequality
Dr Suriyah Bi explains how this Summer’s grading fiasco renewed class discrimination, further disadvantaging young people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds
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Book Burning: Library Cuts Are an Affront to Democracy
Maheen Behrana reflects on the harsh austerity imposed on libraries, and its impact on political consciousness
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Britain Faces Disruption at Ports Without Facilities for Enhanced Checks on Goods As Brexit Looms, MPs Warn
Plans to create new inland lorry sites to check goods have not gone beyond the drawing board, a parliamentary committee reports
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Government Set For £16.2 Billion Private Sector ‘Test and Trace’ Splurge Despite Repeated Failures
The spending watchdog documents the failures of the corporate-led ‘Test and Trace’ system, yet says we should brace for more private sector involvement in the Coronavirus response
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Firm with Links to Matt Hancock’s Family Awarded £5.5 Million COVID Testing Deal
The chairman of the healthcare firm is the former business partner of Matt Hancock’s mum and step-father
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The Brexiters Who Fled Britain
With more jobs shipped abroad by the very people who supported leaving the EU, the Byline Times Team considers which members of the Brexit battalion have moved their residences or businesses to other shores
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Starmer’s Strategic Silence on Brexit Is Not Enough
Mike Buckley argues that the Opposition must be able to provide a frank appraisal of the situation facing Brexit Britain and how the country can progress from its current state of crisis
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Government Refuses to Condemn HSBC for ‘Colluding’ with China in Hong Kong
The British bank froze the accounts of people involved in Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy as leading activists are convicted of their roles in mass protests
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Home Office’s E-Border Controls Plan Lags Behind Costing Taxpayers Hundreds of Millions, Watchdog Reveals
Delays uncovered by the National Audit Office coincide with other delays in Government plans to introduce new Brexit border controls and custom checks
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‘I Contacted Cabinet Office and Offered to Buy a Machine in China’ says Marine Firm Owner Given £5 Million Contract for Masks
Sam Bright speaks to the owner of a naval design firm about how he acquired a contract to supply face masks – who also appears to reject the consensus of scientists and officials on the Coronavirus pandemic
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UPDATED: Britain’s Cod Awful Fishing Fiasco
There is currently no legal basis for the UK’s distant-waters vessels to fish cod in Norwegian waters from the end of this year, reports David Hencke
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Britain’s Last Day in Brussels: A Populist Punch-Up
As the end of the Brexit transition period fast approaches, Blaise Baquiche recalls the day British MEPs said goodbye in the European Parliament
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The Upside Down: The Year of No Yule – How the Puritans Created Christmas Without Meaning To
John Mitchinson explains how increasing intolerance around festivities in the 17th Century helped promote a reactionary backlash
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Government Outsources Responsibility for Outsourcing
The professional services giant Deloitte is being employed to help the Government to interpret and implement its own ‘Outsourcing Playbook’
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George Eustice’s Trumpian Dog-Whistle Will Only Embolden the Far-Right
With the Government minister failing to condemn Millwall football fans’ booing of players taking the knee, Adrian Goldberg argues that this was no isolated incident
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Misguided Priorities: Britain Cuts Foreign Aid While Boosting Defence Spending
Boris Johnson has promised Brexit means a Global Britain but plans to cut foreign aid in favour of defence spending is likely to mean the opposite explains Jonathan Fenton-Harvey
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Brexit Will Leave ‘Global Britain’ Internationally Redundant
Now that Brexit Britain is isolated on the international stage, it will be down to America and the European Union to lead the liberal, democratic alliance, says Mike Buckley
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Wealthy London Areas With Low COVID Case Rates Included in Rapid Testing Programme
Westminster and the City of London are among the areas receiving lateral flow tests, despite having relatively low case rates, reports Sam Bright
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The Truth of the Matter: How the BBC Can Save Itself
Patrick Howse reviews a new book about the forces raging against the BBC, and offers some solutions to the broadcaster’s current predicament
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For All was Lost: Comparing US and UK Soldier Deaths in the ‘War on Terror’
New analysis by the Action on Armed Violence charity has tracked how many British and American combatants have died since 2001
