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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Who Watches the Watchdog? The CJR’s Russia Problem
How the investigation into The Nation magazine’s pro-Russia bias was canned by ‘press watchdog’ the Columbia Journalism Review
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‘The Boris Johnson Loan Scandal Shows how Cronyism Corrupts Public Life’
BBC Chairman Richard Sharp’s hidden involvement in arranging a £800,000 loan for the former PM exposes the gilded upper circles of politics and media in the UK, writes Adam Bienkov
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The Weakness of Strongmen: Do We Want Charisma or Competence?
Matthew Gwyther looks at the public’s contradictory ideas of leadership and how women are (on the whole) confounding them
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Russia and the US Press: The Article the CJR Didn’t Publish
Two and a half years ago, the Columbia Journalism Review refused to publish Duncan Campbell’s investigation into The Nation magazine and its apparent support for Vladimir Putin. It is published here in full
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‘A Blank Cheque Placed in the Hands of Ministers’: Lords Slam Government’s Plan to ‘Sunset’ Thousands of EU Laws
One of the central promises of Brexit is being violated by the Government, a new report has suggested
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‘Put a Ring on It and Knock Her Up’: The Proud Boys Credo of Far-Right Misogyny
A script read out at the start of every Proud Boys gathering reveals the paradoxes of being a woman in the far-right, and the misogyny inherent in nationalism. Sian Norris reports
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Brexit Exposes the Government’s Failure to Train Specialist NHS Doctors
Ellie Newis digs into the post-Brexit recruitment and retention crisis in the NHS
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‘Brexit – Three Years On: The Lie So Etched on Britain’s Body Politic’
Jonathan Lis explores whether telling the truth about leaving the EU would take the entire establishment down too
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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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‘Britannia Chained: Brexit has Left the UK in a State of National Decline’
Three years on from Britain’s exit from the EU, the deep impact on our economy and national standing is now undeniable, writes Adam Bienkov
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Brexit – Three Years On: Reconnecting the UK with Europe
In a new report for the Compass think tank, Jon Bloomfield explores how post-Brexit Britain can build a better relationship with the EU
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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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For Thousands of Young Children, Poverty is All they have Known
New data from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveals the extent of poverty in families
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The Steele Dossier, the Indicted FBI Officer and the ‘Most Consequential Investigations in US History’
Christopher Steele is concerned his dossier on Donald Trump’s Russian connections was held up at the FBI Office whose head of Counter Intelligence has been indicted for working with one of Putin’s most powerful oligarchs
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Rishi Sunak’s Government is Sinking Into its Own Swamp
The Prime Minister promised a break from the chaos and corruption of Boris Johnson’s administration. After three months, his MPs fear little has changed
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Minutes of Boris Johnson Meeting with Cambridge Analytica ‘Would Directly Undermine Trust Between the UK and US’
UK-US relations would be harmed by the details of Johnson’s summit with the now-disgraced data firm, an independent regulator has concluded
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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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‘Our Economic Masters Failed on Their Own Terms’: Health of Deprived Areas Stuck in Previous Decades
The NHS is being burdened by the scale of Britain’s health inequalities, reports Sam Bright
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Russian Economic War: How Putin’s Dirty Money Corrupted the West
Pekka Kallioniemi assesses the Kremlin’s effective use of energy and financial dependency as part of its playbook shaping European politics
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Hedge Fund Feudalism: Right to Roam Goes to War
Max Colbert reports from Dartmoor where a Court Ruling has provoked a mass demonstration this weekend over the ancient right to camp in the National Park
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Rees-Mogg’s Bonfire of Environmental Bureaucracy
Campaigners fear that laws put in place to safeguard the environment could be ‘accidently’ lost if the Retained EU Law Bill is implemented
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‘Farcical’: Government Slammed for Pledging Millions in ‘Levelling Up’ Funding to Tackle Dover Brexit Queues
Money promised to deprived areas after Brexit is instead being used to deal with the aftershocks of leaving the EU, reports Sam Bright
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Falling Through the Cracks: Migrant People at Risk of Homelessness
From arriving in the UK with nowhere to turn, to falling through the cracks and sleeping rough, Byline Times looks at the experiences of migrant people who are homeless
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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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Landmark Ruling in Strasbourg as MPs Challenge UK Government over Failure to Investigate Russian Interference in Brexit
‘Nothing less than the future of democracy is at stake’ says Caroline Lucas as a cross-party coalition and The Citizens win an unprecedented hearing over electoral safety and national security
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Scandal of the Moonlighting MPs: Conservatives Take Jobs Worth £700,000 Working for Party Donors
The Labour Party told Byline Times there is ‘no reason why a serving constituency MP needs to make thousands and thousands of pounds as a consultant or by lobbying on behalf of businesses’
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‘The Brexit Lies that Literally Made Us All Poorer’
Iain Overton examines the lack of consequences for the Brexiters that promised us sunny uplands
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Special Investigation: The Vested Private Interests Behind Westminster’s Influential Lobbying Groups
Sam Bright investigates a murky aspect of our political system, where landlords fund private rental research and fossil fuel firms donate to environmental groups
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Shocking Findings by Byline Times Uncover Tip of the Iceberg of Mould Complaints by Council Tenants
An exclusive investigation by Sian Norris reveals the ‘national disgrace’ of council tenants struggling with mould
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‘Beware One-Sided Political Narratives about NHS Reform’
Consultant David Oliver analyses the claims about spending, waste and inefficiency in healthcare and proposes a ten point plan to restore services to their 2010 level
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Millions Could Lose Right to Vote as Vast Majority Still in Dark Over Voter ID Change, New Poll Shows
Up to two million people could be denied a vote unless they apply for ID – with public awareness about the new rules worryingly low, polling for Byline Times has found
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‘The Conservative Party: No Common Good’
The Conservatives have abandoned their post-war commitment to any meaningful social contract, argues Chris Painter, and are reduced to discredited market dogmas and neo-imperial fantasies
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Conservatives Accused of ‘Camouflage’ Campaign Tactics After Imitating Green Party Leaflets
A number of Conservative candidates appear to have suddenly dropped the party’s blue branding, reports Max Colbert
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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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Number of Single Parent Households in Severe Food Insecurity Doubles
New data shows the number of people going without food has increased by 100% since before the pandemic, with health outcomes for the poorest households worsening
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The US Far-Right Cheerleaders of the Attack on Brazil’s Democracy
The links between Brazil’s far-right leaders and the US Stop The Steal activists suggest a globally-connected movement determined to attack democracy, reports Sian Norris
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Clashes over the definite Left
Anthony Barnett explores what he sees as the global emergence of a radical, progressive politics – especially in the United States
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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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‘Labour is Carefully Painting a More Pro-European Picture’
The party’s agenda of closer alignment and the bulldozing of barriers in an increasing range of areas could help Britain escape the Brexit trap, writes Shamik Das
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Mass Misinformation: The Catholic Charity and the Far-Right Activists
An exclusive report in collaboration with the Citizens and funded by the European Fund for Investigative Journalism explores the links between a Catholic Nationalist group and the Italian far-right
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The NHS and Brexit: What We Now Know
Sam Bright examines the contribution of Brexit to our current healthcare crisis
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Income Inequalities in Britain’s Public Service Pay
Now the gap between the lowest and highest paid in the UK is one of the highest in the OECD, Iain Overton looks at the role of public sector pay in widening the disparities
