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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The Far-Right Attack on Education From Poland to the UK and US
The superintendent of Poland’s Małopolska province is seeking to ban anti-racist, pro-human rights groups from working with students – but the attack on progressive education goes beyond Polish borders
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Governments and Media Spiralling Down in ‘A Cycle of Distrust’
An international report reveals increasing distrust in the state as divisive and incompetent and the media as rife with disinformation, and rising confidence in business and supra-national organisations
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Global Britain or Lonely Britain?
Despite its claims of exceptionalism and freedom for success outside the EU, the reality is the UK is no longer in the room where it happens, says former British diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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Fact-Checking the Government’s ‘Benefits of Brexit’ Report
Sam Bright unravels nine key claims made in the 100-page paper
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Boris Johnson’s Tenure is Disastrous Enough: Spare Us the Pretence that it Surprises You
Musa Okwonga lays the blame for the Prime Minister’s lawless rule squarely on the shoulders of the Conservative politicians and pundits who promoted him
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Boris Johnson’s Party Lies are Turning the UK into a Global Embarrassment
Boris Johnson’s dishonesty and two-faced approach to Russia is destroying the UK’s credibility on the world stage, writes Adam Bienkov
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‘Fundamentally Meaningless’ – The Government’s Brexit Benefits Paper
Chris Grey looks at the untruths, half truths and vague aspirations of the 102 page report on the benefits of leaving the EU, and discovers a ministerial power grab and a glaring failure to account for any of the costs
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The Outrageous Attempt to Keep Johnson in Power is Britain’s Insurrection
Those still supporting the Prime Minister are engaging in a flagrant attack on British democracy and its constitution, says Brian Cathcart
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Sue Gray’s Full Report May Never be Published, Says Downing Street
Boris Johnson’s spokesman refuses to confirm that redacted details will ever be published, reports Adam Bienkov
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How Brexit is Levelling Down Luxury Brands
Britain’s economic and cultural prowess is suffering due to post-Brexit tax changes, reports Sascha Lavin
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Police’s Privileged Treatment of Government Confirms It’s One Rule for Them, Another for the Rest of Us
David Hencke, who sat on the Gosport War Memorial Hospital inquiry, explores why Dame Cressida Dick’s decision to redact large parts of the Sue Gray report is such a departure from the norm
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Dover Insider: ‘95% of Problems Caused by Brexit’
A customs officer explains why lorries are piling up around the port, and the mood among those working on the front line
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The Metropolitan Police Comes to Boris Johnson’s Rescue in Downing Street ‘Stitch-Up’
Scotland Yard is accused of an The Met is accused of an ‘establishment stitch-up’ after asking Sue Gray to censor references to illegal Downing Street parties in her report on illegal Downing Street parties
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Why is Vladimir Putin Existentially Threatened by Ukraine?
As the drumbeats of war grow louder, Paul Niland explains that while Ukraine provides no military threat, its growing democratic and anti-corruption culture terrifies the Kremlin
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Firms Employing MPs Won £1.1 Billion in Contracts During Pandemic
Andrew Kersley tracks the public sector deals awarded to companies that have MPs on their payroll
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Boris Johnson is Using Police Investigation into Downing Street Parties to Block Sue Gray’s Report
The Prime Minister is now in the desperate position of hiding behind a police investigation into himself, reports Adam Bienkov
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Enabling Acts: Citizenship of Quarter of Britons at Risk as Conservatives Construct an Authoritarian Legal Infrastructure
Nafeez Ahmed analyses eight bills which, taken as a whole, reveal an unprecedented and undemocratic ethno-nationalist power grab
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Sue Gray’s Inquiry: The Great Charade Exposing Our Failing Democracy
The notion that a civil servant working within the structure she is tasked with scrutinising can get to the truth of the Downing Street parties is an affront to Britain’s political system, says Brian Cathcart
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Trust in Government Worryingly Low as Lords Vote for ‘Assault on Democracy’ Elections Bill
New polling shows that English voters lack faith in our democracy – with mistrust of democratic systems a key driver for far-right support
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King of Chaos Boris Johnson Has Delivered for Hedge Fund Donors
As the media rightly focus on the PM’s alleged COVID rule-breaking, financial institutions quietly report pandemic profits, reports Tim Coles
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The Jackpot: How London Became a Concierge for Kleptocrats
Novelist Cory Doctorow tracks Britain’s domestic scandals back to the capital’s reliance on laundered money from overseas, and the feasting of so many professions on the proceeds
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Liz Truss: The Tufton Street Candidate
Sam Bright unravels the ties between Conservative leadership hopeful Liz Truss and Westminster’s network of opaque libertarian think tanks
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Arron Banks versus Carole Cadwalladr: the First Two Days
John Sweeney gives his first impressions of the landmark libel case taking place in Court 13 of the Royal Courts of Justice
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The Media-Political Complex Consumes Another Prime Minister
The incestuous relationship between politicians and the press now frames the very nature of British democracy, says Mic Wright
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The Online Arms Race Benefits the Conservatives at the Expense of Democracy
Former Labour MP Ian Lucas explores how politics is being warped by online surveillance, data harvesting and ruthless social media campaigning – and why opposition parties need to take action to tackle this
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Sajid Javid Signs Off £1 Billion Private Health Windfall as MPs Sound Alarm
The Health and Social Care Secretary has agreed an ‘insurance policy’ with private providers, in breach of Treasury spending guidelines, reports David Hencke
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The Metropolitan Police is Complicit in Downing Street Law-Breaking
The Met has outsourced the decision on whether to investigate a crime into the hands of the institution accused of committing it, says Adam Bienkov
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Law Firm Raises Concerns Over Head of Downing Street Parties Inquiry
Questions are being raised about the past record of Sue Gray, reports Sam Bright
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Insurrection at the Capitol – One Year On: The Race War
Sian Norris and Heidi Siegmund Cuda delve into what happened on 6 January 2021 at the US Capitol and investigate how the white supremacist aims of the insurrectionists have led to a far-right capture of education policy
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BBC Airtime Must Not be Squandered on Liars and Cranks
Former BBC reporter Patrick Howse explains why comments this week by the corporation’s head of editorial policy to a House of Lords committee are so concerning when it comes to the BBC’s mission to ‘inform, educate and entertain’
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The Programme Remains the Same: Beware the Post-Johnson Conservative ‘Reboot’
It’s not who leads the Conservative Party that we should worry about – it’s the Conservative Party itself, says Brian Cathcart
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Boris Johnson was Created by the Media Now Destroying Him
Prime Minister was swept into power, with little consideration for his suitability for the job, by the same forces now deserting him, reports Adam Bienkov
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Millions of Pro-Trump Americans Support Political Violence – But Not Who You Might Think
CJ Werleman unpicks the insights from a new report into who took part in the attempted insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 and what this tells us about the growing pro-Trump far-right movement in America
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Oil, Gas and War: Putin’s Choices in Kazakhstan and Ukraine
Nikola Mikovic looks at the Kremlin’s response to two crises on the borders of Russia, and sees strategic energy reserves as a key factor in its decision making
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Covering Their Tracks: The Flaws in the Downing Street Parties Inquiry
Sam Bright considers the potential conclusions of Sue Gray’s investigation into the Number 10 lockdown breaches
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‘Another Country – Not the One I Represented as a Diplomat for 30 Years’
Alexandra Hall Hall, who resigned from the Foreign Office over Brexit lies, now thinks the British malaise is much deeper than that or Boris Johnson
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All the Lies Boris Johnson Told About the Downing Street Parties
The Prime Minister and his spokespeople told lie after lie about the gatherings held inside Downing Street during Coronavirus lockdowns, reports Adam Bienkov
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Insurrection at the Capitol – One Year On: How QAnon Went Mainstream
Sian Norris and Heidi Siegmund Cuda report on how the extremist QAnon conspiracy theory has captured the Republican Party and had devastating human consequences
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Insurrection at the Capitol – One Year On: How the Far-Right Won on Abortion
Sian Norris and Heidi Siegmund Cuda examine how far-right aims on abortion expressed by the ‘mob’ at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 have become the policy of the Republican elite
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A Portrait of Broken Britain
Sam Bright explores the social, political and economic crises that have been stoked by successive Conservative administrations
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Insurrection at the Capitol – One Year On: The Militarisation of Far-Right Resistance
Sian Norris and Heidi Siegmund Cuda delve into what happened on 6 January 2021, exposing both the militarisation of the insurrectionists and the failures of the security forces to respond to a war-like threat
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Insurrection at the Capitol – One Year On: The Dark Money Funding Trump’s Coup
On 6 January 2021, far-right groups and Donald Trump supporters invaded the US Capitol in an attempted insurrection. One year on, Sian Norris and Heidi Siegmund Cuda delve into what happened that day and expose how far-right aims expressed by the ‘mob’ have become the policy of the Republican elite
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Boris Johnson’s Four False Claims at Prime Minister’s Questions
The Prime Minister was back to his old tricks behind the House of Commons despatch box for the first time in 2022, reports Adam Bienkov
