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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‘They Know Who I Am, They Know What I’m Doing’: Arrested Journalists Speak Out over New Policing Act
Josiah Mortimer talks to Tom Bowles and Rich Felgate who were locked up for covering an environmental protest, and reports on more repressive legislation to come.
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The US Midterms and the Lucrative Business of Election Denial
Matt Bernadini inspects the funding sources of those backing Trump’s ‘stolen election’ theory
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‘Amateur Hour in British Politics’
As more and more ministers are handed top jobs for their loyalty rather than their competence, former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall considers what we can do about this democratic deficit
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A Third Security Breach? Williamson’s Leaks Stretch Back to Russian Interference in Brexit
With reports that the former Cabinet minister was implicated in a second security breach in 2019, Peter Jukes and Sam Bright look back to another incident two years earlier
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Cost of Living Crisis Forcing Women to Remain with Abusers
The cost of living crisis is putting women’s and children’s lives at risk, as victims and survivors of domestic abuse are forced to choose between safety and destitution, Sian Norris reports
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Rishi Sunak Appoints Donor as Policy Chief
One of the most senior figures in Downing Street recently gave £20,000 to the new Prime Minister
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‘Musk’s Twitter Buy Makes No Sense – Unless It’s Part of Something Bigger’
Brexit and Trump were initially seen as jokes, but the new owner of the social media giant could pose a serious threat to democracy – and a boon for Vladimir Putin, writes David Troy
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Financialisation: The Growth of British Economic Inequality
Thatcher’s ‘Big Bang’ fundamentally restructured the UK economy – bidding up asset prices and pushing down wages and living standards, writes Thomas Perrett
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The American Midterms: ‘This Might be the Last Election Where Your Vote Matters’
Heidi Siegmund Cuda speaks to academic and author Jason Stanley on how solidarity on the left is America’s last great hope against fascism
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Cabinet Minister Against Islamophobia Definition Addresses ‘Dark Money’ Lobbying Group Tied to Extremist Organisations
As the Government drops its commitment to introduce an official definition of anti-Muslim hate, Nafeez Ahmed reveals the network of influence surrounding two key officials
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‘Difficult Decisions’: The Ultimate Price We Pay for Austerity
With more cuts to public services expected from Rishi Sunak’s Government, Rachel Morris tracks the outcomes of the controversial policy since 2010
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The Truth About Brexit that Westminster is Too Scared to Mention
A surge in support for rejoining the EU means the debate on Brexit is far from over, according to the UK’s most-respected pollster, Adam Bienkov reports
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Are We Paying for the Government’s COVID Waste?
UK healthcare spending has burgeoned by £50 billion since the pandemic, the same figure as the Government’s mysterious fiscal ‘black hole’, reports Sam Bright
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Government Announces £26 Million Funding for Firm Owned by Tory Donor
The owner of the company belongs to a family that has donated millions to the Conservative Party in recent years, reports Sam Bright
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The Scale of Police Violence Against Racial Minorities in Europe
New data shows how police violence is the “norm” against ethnic minorities and foreign nationals in the EU
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‘Donations are Really, Really Down’: Mounting Concerns Over Brexit Compounding Cost of Living Crisis
Organisations are worried that the effort to help those struggling this winter is being hampered by supply chain issues
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‘The Suella Braverman Scandal Shows Rishi Sunak has Quickly Traded “Integrity” for Power’
The new Prime Minister’s deal with the disgraced Home Secretary gives the lie to claims he is making a clean break from the Truss and Johnson eras, writes Adam Bienkov
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REVEALED: The Staggering Rises in Rent Shortfalls Caused by Housing Benefit Cuts
With the cost of living crisis pushing up rents and Local Housing Allowance frozen since 2020, more and more of the poorest private tenants are struggling to make ends meet
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Child Poverty Soared During Austerity Years in New Cabinet’s Constituencies
Past evidence shows the damage that spending cuts can create – even in Conservative strongholds
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All But One of Boris Johnson’s Cabinet Ministers Used Private Email – Why?
Suella Braverman has returned to the Home Office following her resignation last week over her use of private email – but Iain Overton reports how using personal channels is a common occurrence among cabinet ministers
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Government Rushing Ahead with Voter ID Next Year Despite Warning It Poses ‘Significant Risk to Safe Elections’
David Hencke reports on the controversial move to make voters bring photographic ID when they turn up to vote in next year’s May local elections in England
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Cost of Living Crisis Pushing Schools To Brink
Schools are allocating more of their budgets to cover energy costs, with Government support falling short on providing certainty, Sian Norris reports
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‘The Tufton Street Mindset Will Endure Under Rishi Sunak’
Sam Bright warns that, despite crashing the economy, dark money libertarian groups will retain influence on the new Prime Minister
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Rising Wealth of Schools Attended by Royal Family Raises Questions About their Charitable Status
The school attended by William and Kate’s children has increased its asset wealth by more than £7 million, reports Iain Overton
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‘How Will We Know Putin hasn’t Picked the Most Disruptive Candidate?’
Security experts and democracy campaigners raise fears over wild west Conservative leadership election if it goes to members, reports Josiah Mortimer
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Austerity Fuelled a National Health Crisis – Can We Afford Round Two?
With the Government getting ready for austerity 2.0, Sian Norris reflects on the impact previous cuts to local government had on public health
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‘Bringing Back Johnson would be a Betrayal of Sexual Harassment Survivors’
The former Prime Minister’s downfall followed his claims he did not know about sexual assault allegations against an ally – that alone means he should not be returned to high office, argues Sian Norris
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‘The “Second Coming” of Boris Johnson Shows the Conservatives are a Party Woefully Out of Ideas’
That the scandal-prone former Prime Minister is even being discussed as a replacement for Liz Truss proves how out-of-touch with reality the governing party now is, writes George Llewelyn
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Strange Allies: Hungary, Russia and the UK
Szabolcs Panyi looks at the affinities between British Conservatives and Viktor Orbán in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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Was Justice a Victim of the War in Afghanistan?
New data shows how complaints against the UK military in Afghanistan were highly unlikely to be prosecuted, report Iain Overton and Murray Jones
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‘Lack of Evidence’ of Drugs Use in Parliament, Met Concludes
A series of confusing, contradictory statements have been issued about cocaine being found in parliamentary bathrooms
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Reform or Ruin: Could Labour Win the Next Election but Lose the Future?
AV Deggar considers the structural changes needed from Labour, if it knocks the Conservatives out of power at the next election
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Britain on the Brink: ‘It’s Not Just Liz Truss: it’s Brexit’
In his editorial from the October 2022 print edition of Byline Times, Peter Jukes argues that Liz Truss is ushering in the final phase of the Brexit project It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. When David Cameron took over as leader of the Conservatives in 2005, he wanted to transform its electoral reputation as the…
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Casino Politics: Westminster’s Gambling Addiction
With a number of MPs accepting salaries and gifts from the gambling industry, Rachel Morris explores how those in power have an uncomfortably close relationship with betting
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‘You’re Seeing People Who Wouldn’t have been Struggling Before Who Now Need Help’
Sian Norris returns to the town where her family once lived to learn how the cost of living crisis is impacting the lives of ordinary people and their communities in north Wales
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Meloni’s Victory Shows Italian Fascism Never Truly Died
Angelo Boccato speaks to experts about the electoral success of Brothers of Italy
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Who Will Care for the Carers Left Without Government Support?
Politicians should take an approach to health and care that considers the needs of the families of disabled people – but instead seem content to continue the creeping withdrawal of state support from the people who need it most, writes Saba Salman
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Liz Truss’ Economic ‘Shock Doctrine’ is Pushing the UK to the Brink
As the Bank of England takes alarming steps to stabilise the economy, the Prime Minister is preparing for a devastating new era of austerity, reports Adam Bienkov
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Care Workers Face Poverty as Vacancies Reach Record Levels
Vacancies in social care have increased by 55,000 in the past year – while poverty wages push people out of the sector, Sian Norris reports
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‘The Government’s Punishment of the Poor is Only Just Beginning’
Liz Truss’ regime has already picked its losers, says Thomas Perrett
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China: The Dawn of the Authoritarian Century?
Chris Ogden looks at how democracy is retreating in the face of China’s ‘Pax Autocratica’ – capitalism combined with state intervention and one-party rule
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‘The Dark Heart of Trussonomics: The Mainstreaming of Libertarian Theories of Social Darwinism and Apartheid’
The legacy of the Nazi ideology of eugenics – popularised by Charles Murray’s controversial book ‘The Bell Curve’ – goes some way to explaining Trussonomics, writes Nafeez Ahmed
