SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Crypto Politics
Dark money, lobbying, regulatory capture, state institutions hollowed by donor factions, foreign interference, and the financialisation of political power.
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Fake Newspapers Sent by Political Parties Should be Banned, Voters Say
Two thirds of Conservative voters also want the tactic currently being pushed by Rishi Sunak’s party to be outlawed
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Rishi Sunak’s Many Failures to Fully Declare his Conflicts of Interests
The claim that the PM’s failure to declare his wife’s investment in a childcare company subsidised by his Government was ‘inadvertent’ is open to question
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Gambling Firms Hit With Huge Increase in Fines as Industry Splashes out on MPs
Gambling companies received 31,500% more in fines than in the same period a decade ago, Byline Times’ analysis reveals
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Voters are Posting the Conservative Party’s Fake Newspapers Back in Bid to Cost Them a Fortune
There has been a major backlash to the party’s attempts to pass off campaign leaflets as independent local newspapers
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Tufton Street-Linked Trans-Exclusionary Charity Receives Surge in Funding
The LGB Alliance has received a surge in donations amid ongoing calls for it to lose its charitable status
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Revealed: The Scandal of the Fake Newspapers Pushed by Conservatives in ‘Dirty Tricks’ Campaign
The elections watchdog has said the fake newspapers from local Conservative parties appear to be within the rules
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All the President’s Lies: How Trump Fell Into the Georgia Indictment’s False Statement Trap
One of the key elements of the Georgia false statement criminal statute is ‘knowing’ misrepresentations are false
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Blood, Faeces, Rubbish, Mice: The Student Accommodation Crisis Laid Bare
Student housing has never been known for its quality but, in recent years, the system has been pushed to breaking point
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‘Code of Conduct’ Review: A Brave and Important Work – With a Few Omissions
The proposals set out by Labour MP Chris Bryant to clean-up Parliament should be adopted by his party’s leader for its next manifesto, writes Peter Oborne
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Anger as Nadine Dorries’ Year-Long Silence in Parliament is Deemed ‘Within the Rules’ By Standards Watchdog
Despite failing to speak in Parliament for over a year, Tory MP Nadine Dorries has made time for her lucrative TalkTV job
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Another Trump Indictment Looms, but What Can Georgia Add to January 6?
The Fulton Country District Attorney is looking at the same facts as the federal indictment, but under different laws and with the potential for new uninvestigated evidence
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The White Ear of Ofsted and the ‘Sonic Surveillance’ of Education
The focus on ‘language’ policing by the arbiters of educational standards exacerbates class and racial inequalities argues a new report
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‘Nothing But a Ruse’: The Cambodian Elections are Another Assault on Democracy
The appointment of the current leader’s son is another example of how oligarchy and autocracy is turning the tide against democracy
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The UK and US’ Turbulent Times: A Race to the Bottom
Former British diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall, who now lives in the US, explores which country has been on the bigger self-destruct mission
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‘Who or What to Blame? Education, Education, Education’
Too many voters are insufficiently informed and reflective to vote other than tribally or self-interestedly in exploitable ways due to failings in how we conceive of ‘education’, writes AC Grayling
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‘We Must Defend Our Democratic Space Before It’s Too Late’
Caroline Slocock – director of think tank Civil Exchange – explores how politicians’ respect for our democratic institutions has shifted since she was the first female private secretary at No. 10 under Margaret Thatcher
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As a Diminished Wagner Regroups, the Greater Threat to the West from Prigozhin’s Troll Farms Remains Unscathed
Putin is quite likely to silence Prigozhin, but he’s equally likely to let him retain control of the notorious St Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency which specialises in influencing foreign elections, writes Brian Latham
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Ministers Block Calls for Overhaul of Lobbying Rules Despite Slew of Sleaze Scandals
Westminster’s top ethics watchdog will remain under the Prime Minister’s thumb, raising questions about impartiality.
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Three Sensible, Non-Radical Things Labour Could Do to Reform our News Media
Nothing drastic is required if a new government is to tackle the obvious crisis in the way we get our news, while the benefits of change could be enormous
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Stiff Upper Lip: Who is Behind the Satirical “News” Website Being Promoted By Conservative Peer on GB News?
Byline Times digs into a new hard-right outfit boosted by Lord Bailey of Partygate
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Johnson’s Mystery Peers: The Questions Charlotte Owen and Ross Kempsell Should Answer Over their New Peerages
What do you do to get a seat in the Lords?
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The Conservatives Skirted Close to the Limits of Electoral Law to Keep Uxbridge and South Ruislip Tory
Why was the governing party so shy in Uxbridge?
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One Million Teenagers Fail to Claim Child Trust Fund Money – After HMRC Steps Away from Notifying them of the Cash
A report by the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee says more should be done to help young adults trace their funds
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More Donations to Politicians to Go Hidden from Public Eye as Michael Gove Quietly Changes the Rules Ahead of Election
Elections watchdog raises concerns as party spending limits could rise by 52% – while ministers keep donations to under £11,000 anonymous.
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Farage and Coutts: It’s Not McCarthyism – It’s Customer Due Diligence
But was the bank’s research into Farage diligent enough? asks Tom Scott.
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The Tory donor, Soviet-born Billionaire and Fossil Fuel Interests Bankrolling British Politics
Policy Exchange, Institute for Economic Affairs, Global Warming Policy Foundation and co refuse to name their donors. But Peter Geoghegan has found recently published US tax documents that reveal important new details about who funds these secretive think tanks
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Fake News: Conservatives Slammed for Party By-Election Leaflets Pretending to Be Local Newspapers
Tories are using “fake” local newspapers in all three by-elections
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The Covid Inquiry Has Still Not Been Given All of Boris Johnson’s WhatsApps
A spokesperson for the Covid Inquiry told Byline Times they still did not know when they would be given access to the messages on the former Prime Minister’s phone
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Ukrainian Refugees Exploited: ‘In Britain, We Have No Rights – We Are Nothing At All’
Byline Times speaks to Ukrainian women taken advantage of in the UK’s cleaning and hospitality sectors
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Government Criticised for ‘Panic Buying’ PPE and Setting Up ‘VIP Lane’ for Contracts with Conflict of Interest Risk ‘High by Design’
A new report by the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee found that the Government was driven by ‘an overriding impetus to buy’ PPE during the pandemic – with ‘limited’ safeguards in place
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The Failing ‘Forty New Hospitals’ Programme is a Perfect Illustration of Our Broken Politics
An official report reveals why the Conservative Party is unfit to be in charge of the NHS
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With their Bosses Earning Twice that of Other Charities, Have Housing Associations ‘Lost their Social Purpose?’
The UK’s 13 biggest housing associations paid their executives over £22m with bosses earning almost double the average for the UK’s biggest charities
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Westminster’s Winner-Takes-All Voting System Skewed Britain Towards a Hard Brexit, Report Suggests
The Democratic Unionist Party had an outsized voice in Westminster during Britain’s Brexit negotiations.
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Can we Trust Angela Rayner’s Promise to Clean ‘Bad Chaps’ Out of Government?
Labour’s Deputy Leader made a welcome pledge to end the ‘good chaps’ approach to Government, which allowed sleaze and corruption to persist under the Conservatives.
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‘While “the Government” is a Thing Political Parties Fight to Own and Control, Real Government Will Remain a Dream’
Governments are run by political parties and for political interests – but they shouldn’t be, argues philosopher AC Grayling
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‘A Deeply Concerning Precedent in a Democratic Society’: Council of Europe Shares Criticism Over Charging Journalists to Cover Party Conference
The move from the governing party has sparked concerns over press freedom
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Voters Believe Rishi Sunak is Secretly Planning to Privatise the NHS
Six-in-ten voters don’t trust the Government’s promise to keep the National Health Service in public hands
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Blatant Lies and Subtle Untruths about Russia’s War in Ukraine
What are tankies, vatniks, and ‘useful idiots’, and why do they deride traumatised Ukrainians as warmongers and Nazis?
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An Empire of Lies: Prigozhin’s Absence Won’t End Russian Meddling in Western Politics
Tyrannies have to act, constantly. Thinking comes later. So Russian disinformation will not end with the demise of one oligarch
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Privacy Battle Rages Over Government Plans which ‘Could End’ Encrypted Messaging Apps like WhatsApp and Telegram
A global coalition is urging ministers and lords to protect end-to-end encryption in the Online Safety Bill
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Labour and ‘The Purge’: Leadership’s Direction Sparks Revolt Among MPs and Activists
Concerns are increasing that Labour Leader Keir Starmer risks creating a stifling monoculture in the party
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Hypocrisy and Tribalism: The Dangers of Our ‘So What?’ Political Culture
Renowned weapons expert Dan Kaszeta, who was blacklisted by the Government over his tweets, explores how ‘amoral familism’ has come to penetrate our public life
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Fears of Discrimination as Scale of Voters Denied a Vote by Lack of Photo ID in By-Elections to Remain ‘Unknown’
The Electoral Commission has highlighted a black-hole in its research on the impact of voter ID ahead of the next General Election
