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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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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Firm Running Voter ID Contracts Also Won Bids for Dumped Vaccine Passports
The company with millions in contracts for controversial voter ID verification previously worked on scrapped NHS Covid-19 ‘vaccine passport’ scheme, report Max Colbert and Josiah Mortimer
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Protesting for Homeless Help from the Council: The ‘Crisis’ in Local Housing Services
Andrew Kersley speaks to a man awaiting the bailiffs as campaigners warn that cuts to housing services are leaving vulnerable people desperately unsupported
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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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Western Democracies Stay Silent as India Falls Further Into the Abyss
With Congress Party opposition leader Rahul Gandhi facing prison, CJ Werleman explores how the UK is ignoring serious warning signs in the world’s largest democracy
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Wagner in Africa: Russia’s Other Empire in the Making – Bloodier than Ukraine
Brian Latham reports on the intelligence leak that reveals the extent of Putin’s plan to create a ‘confederation’ of friendly states across the Sahel through his proxy Prigozhin
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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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Bannon, Brexit, Johnson and Cambridge Analytica: the Daughter of Time
Peter Jukes reports on more revelations about the transatlantic right-wing network, and why the Government is withholding key information on the former Prime Minister’s role
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Boris Johnson and Donald Trump’s ‘Private’ Talks on Privatising the NHS Reveal Denials were Untrue
The former Prime Minister feared his discussions with the US President about privatising the NHS would cause “mischief” if they became public, according to a new book
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Geopolitical Hypocrisies: TikTok, Insecurity and Sino-US Relations
Chris Ogden shows how the logical extension of banning the Chinese platform for its data collection would be to clamp down on other forms of social media, including Facebook and Google
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Rishi Sunak is Still Trying to Hide His Financial Interests
The Prime Minister’s pledge to bring in a new era of transparency, integrity and accountability now looks irretrievably broken, reports Adam Bienkov
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Democracy in Crisis: What Next? Populism or Woke Capitalism?
With inflation up, growth down, and 80% of Britons unsatisfied with the political system, Matthew Gwyther explores a catastrophic loss of faith in our economic system
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Everything to Declare: The Conflicts of Interest Rishi Sunak Won’t Talk About
Despite promising a new era of ‘accountability’ and integrity, Sunak has failed to fully declare his extensive personal and familial financial interests, reports Adam Bienkov
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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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Kremlin Welcomed Evgeny Lebedev Peerage
Sam Bright reveals how the Russian Ambassador to the UK claimed the owner of the Independent and Evening Standard had “much contributed to strengthening Russian-British relations”
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Junior Doctors Striking Against an NHS ‘On Fire’: ‘Signing Up to a Life of Pain and Misery’
Effie Webb talks to past and prospective junior doctors who describe a crumbling healthcare system and the demise of what was once a prestigious career
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The Lies that Bind: Post-Truth on Trial
Putin, Trump and Johnson all face legal jeopardy. The charges reveal as much about us as them says Simon Speakman Cordall
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Brexit Border Delays Expose the Lie at the Heart of Vote Leave
Boris Johnson’s promise that Brexit would make Britain an “outward-looking” prosperous nation is now exposed as the lie it always was, reports Adam Bienkov
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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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Suella Braverman to Address Radical ‘National Conservatism’ Event With Ties to US Right
The Home Secretary is a keynote speaker at the conference, which has previously hosted Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orban, reports Karam Bales
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‘Palm Oil is Great Product’: The New Post-Brexit Trade Deal Scandal
Rachel Donald looks at how the Trade Minister’s justification for a zero-tariff trade deal with Malaysia only accelerates global deforestation
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UK’s Brexit Trade Deal with Malaysia has Potential to Flood Market with Dirty Palm Oil
In a weakened position due to Brexit, the UK has accepted Malaysia’s demands to reduce import tariffs on palm oil from the current 12% to 0%
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The ‘Good Washing Machine’: Gold, God, Politics and Turning Point UK
Katherine Denkinson delves into some of the bizarre connections between right-wing student politics, anti-Drag Queen protestors and allegations of smuggling
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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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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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Iraq and Brexit: A Common Thread of Hubris
Both events were driven more by ideological conviction – than rational analysis – and against the advice of most experts, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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Boris Johnson Rewrites History at the Privileges Committee
The former Prime Minister’s refusal to accept responsibility for his own actions only adds insult to the injury of all those forced to make huge sacrifices during the pandemic, writes Adam Bienkov
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Trump’s Various Legal Entanglements
Heidi Siegmund Cuda reviews the former US President’s multiple legal cases, separating fact from the unreality he promotes on his propaganda platform Truth Social
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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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Poor Health: Why are the British Dying Earlier than Expected?
The UK has fallen to 29th in the global rankings of life expectancy. Matthew Gwyther looks at the economic and social reasons why the country has become the ‘sick man of Europe’ again
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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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Boris Johnson’s ‘Bombshell’ Dossier Blows Up His Own Partygate Defence
The Former Prime Minister’s evidence to the Privileges Committee only confirms his complicity in events inside Downing Street during lockdown, writes Adam Bienkov
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Did the Cabinet Office Lie?
Despite years of asking for the former special advisor’s WhatsApp messages under Freedom of Information laws, the Cabinet Office may never have asked Dominic Cummings for them. Why? Iain Overton reports
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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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The Second-Jobbing MPs Earning Millions Outside Parliament
A Byline Times investigation reveals 20 MPs working the equivalent of at least one day a week on second jobs
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Georgian Government Drops ‘Foreign Agents’ Bill, but the Fight Against Kremlin Influence Continues
Mark Temnycky looks at the turbulence in Tbilisi, Georgians’ desire to join the EU, and the authoritarian drift of the ruling Dream Party
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All the Bad News Buried in Jeremy Hunt’s Budget
Buried in the Chancellor’s Statement is news the UK will suffer a sustained period of low growth, high taxes and a record-breaking fall in living standards, reports Adam Bienkov
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Why Leaving the ECHR would be Such a Backwards Step for Britain
Barrister Gareth Roberts explains how the European Convention on Human Rights affects the lives of British citizens
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How the EU Broke Up with the City of London – but Not with UK Tax Havens
Six years after the Brexit referendum, the amount of money lodged in British tax havens has reached mind-blowing levels. Florence Autret explains why
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‘The BBC’s Pursuit of Bogus ‘Impartiality’ Finally Crashes and Burns’
After years of appeasing its enemies, former BBC journalist and producer Patrick Howse believes the BBC’s destruction from within has been spectacularly exposed
