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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Boris Johnson Refuses to Join Canada in Sanctioning Alexander Lebedev
Alexander Lebedev has been sanctioned by the Canadian government for being one of the “key members of President Putin’s inner circle”, reports Adam Bienkov
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The Great Escape: How a City Exodus is Creating New Housing Crises in Satellite Towns
Sam Bright and Sascha Lavin explore how the ‘Zoomtowns’ phenomenon is putting a burden on local property markets
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‘We Can’t Live Like This’: Universal Credit Falls Short of Cost of Living Price Hikes
Rising energy bills, increased food costs – and yet benefits have not risen with inflation, leaving families struggling to make ends meet, Sian Norris reports
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Thatcherism Revived: Johnson’s ‘Right to Buy’ Plan is a Desperate Political Ploy
Thomas Perrett unpicks why the Conservative Party is considering rebooting the long-discredited housing policy
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Auctioning Off Democracy
The Conservative Party’s cash-for-access culture is one of the neglected scandals of modern British politics, says Iain Overton
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UK Regulators ‘Fumbling in Dark’ After Brexit, Report Finds
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee raises serious concerns around recruitment and information sharing at three of the country’s key watchdogs
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Global Banks Privately Prepare for ‘Dangerous Levels’ of Imminent Civil Unrest in Western Homelands
Nafeez Ahmed reports on contingency planners for financial institutions who believe a combination of energy and food shocks will cause major social disruption
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Boris Johnson’s Real Brexit Betrayal Was to Abandon the Single Market
The Conservatives promised to keep the UK wedded to its biggest international market after Brexit, but have instead left us in ruinous isolation, reports Adam Bienkov
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Conservative and Vote Leave Links to Remote Learning Organisation Set to Become a Government Body
Sascha Lavin investigates the political ties of an online education provider that has won millions in state contracts
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British Politics is Now Awash with Money and Social Media – Do We Care?
Former Labour MP Ian Lucas explores how digital campaigning and Big Tech has driven a coach and horses through the UK’s historically robust electoral rules
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Just Imagine if the EU was Behaving as the UK Is
Chris Grey poses a thought experiment around the Government’s plans to scrap part of the Northern Ireland Protocol
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‘Addicted to Exploiting Migrant Labour’: The Hidden Hostile Environment in the Fishing Industry
Post-Brexit immigration rules are pushing more and more foreign fishermen to the margins of an already exploitative system, reports Frankie Vetch
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Food Bank Britain
Rachel Morris considers the malaise of modern Britain as the Conservatives initiate Austerity 2.0
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What Man Has Made of Man: Confessions of an Optimist
Alexandra Hall Hall considers the mistakes she has made in believing that the arc of history was travelling in a more progressive direction
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‘Levelling-Up’ Is Dying in Johnson’s Desert of Ideas
As the nation nears the three year mark of Johnson’s Government, it’s time to be honest about the collapse of his flagship project, says Sam Bright
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Boris Johnson Blocks Publishing Secret Lebedev Advice Due to ‘National Security’ Concerns
Boris Johnson has failed to release advice he received from UK security services about his friend Evgeny Lebedev, despite MPs voting for its release, reports Adam Bienkov
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‘Bungs’ to Billionaires: Cummings Exposes Johnson’s Cash for Content Scandal
New testimony from the Prime Minister’s former chief aide shows how the free press has been bought by the Government
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‘They’re all the Same’: How Political Cynicism Breeds Extremism
A lack of faith in politics is dangerous for democracy, argues Sian Norris, as it paves the way for ‘strongmen’ to take authoritarian control
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Putin at War: Claiming De-Nazification, Reviving Antisemitism
The Russian President’s Victory Day Speech and his Foreign Minister’s comments suggest of a fully-fledged antisemitic ideology is rearing its head in Russia
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Hancock Meeting with Tech Giants That Won £1.3 Billion in COVID Contracts Declared 21 Months Late
Sascha Lavin reports on a very belated update to the Department of Health and Social Care’s record of meetings held during the pandemic
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‘Brexit Freedoms Bill’ Can’t Reverse What We’ve Already Lost
As the Government proposes new laws to unshackle the UK, Sam Bright reviews the fundamental freedoms that have already been lost due to Brexit
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The Forgotten Russia Report of 2008: How Ukraine is Paying the Price for Our Catastrophic Mistakes
Fourteen years ago, Andrew Levi briefed the Labour Foreign Secretary on the dangers of Putin’s Kremlin. Now the terrifying predictions of that report have been vindicated, it is vital to reckon with our failures
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Werleman’s Worldview: The Groups Promoting Hindutva and Human Slavery in the US
CJ Werleman explores another aspect of the extreme Hindu-nationalist project persecuting religious minorities in India
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African Trade Deal Exposes Brexit Britain’s Myths
Joe Walsh explores how Africa is seeking closer economic integration with its regional neighbours, in contrast to the UK
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Priti Patel and the Government’s Cult of Lawlessness
Rachel Morris reviews the Government’s repeated unlawful behaviour, concentrated in the Home Office
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Boris Johnson has Not Been a ‘Great War Leader’
The claim that the Prime Minister has shown Churchillian solidarity with Ukraine does not stand up to scrutiny, says Sam Bright
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US Justice Department Case Against Paul Manafort Re-Opens Trump Campaign’s Ukraine, Russia and Cambridge Analytica Connections
As the US Justice Department sues pardoned Paul Manafort over undisclosed foreign banks accounts, Zamaan Qureshi follows the financial links with Putin’s oligarch Oleg Deripaska and a Russian intelligence agent
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64 Million US Women and Girls Could Soon Live in American States with No Access to Abortion
Data analysis by Sian Norris and Heidi Siegmund Cuda reveals who will be worst impacted by the Supreme Court’s leaked opinion to overturn Roe versus Wade
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Government Refusing to Release Documents Related to Meeting Between Boris Johnson and Cambridge Analytica
The Foreign Office is withholding information about the Prime Minister’s meeting with the defunct data firm in the wake of Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, Sam Bright reports
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The Conservatives are Fundamentally Rewriting Britain’s Electoral Rules – Why Is this Not Headline News?
Josiah Mortimer reports on how the Elections Law will impact low-income and minority voters, neuter the elections watchdog, and change the voting system for mayoral elections
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Pestminster and the Shaming of Democracy
With reports that 56 MPs are facing allegations of sexual misconduct, Rachel Morris analyses how a Bullingdon Club mentality has seeped into the corridors of power
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Russell Group University Assets Burgeon Under Conservative Rule
As students and lecturers face tougher circumstances, the wealth of their institutions has risen markedly in recent years, reports Sascha Lavin
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People Hosting Ukrainian Refugees Still Subject to Bedroom Tax, Government Confirms
Public housing tenants will still face spare bedroom penalties – even if that bedroom is used to host a Ukrainian refugee, reports Sascha Lavin
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Crime and Coronavirus: PPE Fraud Now Subject of Investigation
The Byline Times team reports on the ever-mounting investigations into the Government’s actions during the pandemic
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Keir Starmer, the Daily Mail and Durham Police: How Boris Johnson Uses the Press to Smear his Political Opponents
Durham Police has confirmed to Byline Times that reports of the force re-examining allegations against the Labour Leader are untrue – so what is the Mail’s real motive?
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The Shocking Divides Between London and the Rest of Britain
Sam Bright details some of the key findings from his new book, on the extreme imbalances between London and other parts of the country
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Renters Hit Hardest by Cost of Living Crisis
Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that renters are more likely to be struggling to make ends meet than those with mortgages
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‘Partygate’ and the Excuse that Doesn’t Excuse a Thing
David Renton explores the concerning and increasing number of laws made by ministers, circumventing the scrutiny of Parliament, during the Coronavirus crisis and Brexit
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Government Stalling on Releasing Boris Johnson WhatsApp Messages
Iain Overton reports on attempts by campaigners to force greater transparency from the Government on the Prime Minister’s use of private messaging apps
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Crime and Punishment: Lived Reality is Now Divorced From Electoral Politics
Sam Bright considers why, after years of stagnating wealth and declining health in Britain, the Conservative Party hasn’t seen its support slump sooner?
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Risking Our Democracy
Former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall argues that the time has come for serious discussions about reforming Britain’s political structures
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Drop in Life Expectancy Due to Poor Pandemic Management ‘Chilling’, Says Sir Michael Marmot
New research shows that England and Wales saw the biggest reduction in life expectancy after the US between 2019-21, while the life expectancy of the poorest continues to drop
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Andy Burnham: We Need a ‘Complete Rewiring’ of Britain’s Political System
The Greater Manchester Mayor comes out in support of proportional representation and House of Lords reform, Sam Bright reports
