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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‘A Shocking Disregard for Human Life’: The UK Contributes to the Polish-Belarus Crisis
As British troops fly out to aid their Polish allies, the thousands of hungry, cold and frightened people amassed on the Polish-Belarusian border are increasingly pawns in a populist political game
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Could the Migrant Crisis on the Belarusian-Polish Border Lead to a Major War in Europe?
Nikola Mikovic explains how the weaponisation of refugees by the Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko is a serious new escalation in the conflicts between the EU and Russia over recognition, energy supplies and the frozen war in Ukraine
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VIP Lane: Michael Gove Referred Firm Owned by Donor and Close Political Ally
The Cabinet minister’s office played a role in the expedited deals awarded to a financial supporter of Gove and the Conservative Party
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Did Private Hospital Beds Contracts Deliver During the Pandemic?
A report shows that despite paying £1.69 billion for private hospital bed capacity during the pandemic, the 187 private hospitals involved accounted less than 1% of COVID-19 bed occupancy
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The Radical Right Interests Behind the School Boards Race Row
A series of seemingly grassroots, parents group turned the USA’s school boards election into a vicious row over race – but who are the radical right interests behind the ‘concerned moms’?
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The Conservative Party’s Private Healthcare Patrons
Sam Bright and Sian Norris explore the financial ties between Conservative MPs and private health companies
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Modi Criminalises Coverage of his Party’s Rising Communal Violence
CJ Werleman responds to the criminal charges against him and other journalists under India’s draconian British colonial-era laws
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Only Nine Applications for UK Fuel Tanker HGV Scheme
A flagship Government scheme to deal with fuel shortages received only a handful of applications, Sam Bright reveals
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‘Not Remotely a Corrupt Country’: 11 Shocking Sleaze Statistics That Prove Boris Johnson Wrong
Sascha Lavin catalogues the corruption stories that have plagued the Government since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister
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The Vote Leave Regime Knows Our Election System Can Be Corrupted – So Won’t Do Anything to Change It
Former Labour MP Ian Lucas – author of the forthcoming book Digital Gangsters – says Downing Street knows that British politics is broken but has a stake in preserving this
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The Fantasy of War: The Far Right and the Military
An undercover investigation by Byline Times reveals military personnel and veterans on far-right Telegram channels, and how the far-right in the Us and UK use military tropes to recruit and spread their message
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Where is the Government’s Anti-Corruption ‘Champion’?
Sam Bright explores the role of John Penrose MP, and his unwillingness to call out systemic corruption in the UK
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‘Distorted and Wrong’: Senior Cabal of Conservatives with Johnson’s Ear Put Red Wallers at Risk Over Corruption Scandal, Says MP
Conservative MPs say the Prime Minister’s disastrous attempt to save Owen Paterson from corruption allegations has badly backfired, reports Adam Bienkov
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The Johnson Scandal is Far Sleazier than ‘Cash for Questions’
David Hencke, who broke the story of MPs tabling parliamentary questions on behalf of private interests in 1994, reflects on why Boris Johnson’s actions are a threat of a different kind to Britain’s political system
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Conservative Sleaze Allegations are Finally Starting to Stick to Boris Johnson
The Prime Minister is right at the centre of the Owen Paterson scandal which appears to be turning the tide like other misdemeanours have not, reports Adam Bienkov
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How Political Corruption Works in the UK
Sam Bright explores the ways in which party donors and corporate interests are warping British democracy
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Western Powers Are Empowering Hindu Nationalist Threats to Democracy
A lack of understanding of the Hindutva movement in the West is empowering the persecution of Muslim and Sikh minorities in India and South Asia
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Majority of Voters Think Johnson’s Government is Corrupt, Poll Finds
Exclusive polling for Byline Times suggests that people are concerned about the corruption of politics by private-sector interests
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Fake News: Greece’s Proposed Law Threatens Press Freedom
Increasingly, right-wing and authoritarian governments are taking action to stop the spread of disinformation – while using fake news themselves to sow distrust and entrench power
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Delegitimise and Overturn: The Paterson Affair is the Latest in a Worrying Pattern of Johnson’s Contempt for Democratic Accountability
The Government’s U-turn is reassuring but should be viewed within the wider context of consistent attempts to dodge scrutiny by Boris Johnson’s administration, says Adam Bienkov
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One-Fifth of Elite Conservative Donors Run Firms Penalised for Corporate Infringements
38 top donors to the governing party have held directorships in companies cumulatively fined nearly half a billion pounds since 2010, the Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens reveal
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Natural Injustice: The Collapse in Parliamentary Standards
Former House of Commons clerk Eliot Wilson looks at what the Owen Paterson affair means for probity in public life
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Meta Access: The Media and Mr Zuckerberg
With his probing eye for conflicts of interest in the British press, Mic Wright turns his scrutiny to tech journalists and their coverage of Facebook
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£515 Million-a-Week Hit in UK Exports to Top European Partners
New Government data shows rapidly falling trade with countries on the continent, reveals Sam Bright
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The Death of a Polish Woman Demonstrates the Dangers of Abortion Bans
The death of a 30-year-old woman through septic shock after being refused an abortion highlights the medical dangers of abortion bans
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Boris Johnson and Poland’s Prime Minister Find ‘Common Cause’ in European Justice Row
The call between Johnson and Prime Minister Mateus Morawiecki noted shared troubles with the European Court of Justice, prompting worries about threats to judicial independence in both nations
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At the Crossroads of Freedom
Sian Norris speaks to Professor Lea Ypi and reflects on the threats to freedom and democracy hanging over Europe – and their historical roots
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The Meta Narrative: How Zuckerberg Just Won’t Listen
The Facebook boss’ response to damning revelations about the social media platform has been to go full Orwellian, says Kyle Taylor
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Big COVID Management Consultancy Winners Fined £101 Million Since 2010
Firms that have won large Coronavirus contracts have paid millions of pounds in fines from Government regulatory bodies in the past decade
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Empty Shelves and Driver Shortages are Important – But So are the Disabled People Left Without Carers
The effect on the lives of disabled people of care workers reluctant to come from abroad, and a shortfall of those joining the profession in the UK, is being unsurprisingly ignored, says Penny Pepper
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Lord Bethell’s Summit with Private Health Interests Over NHS Reforms
The Government has revealed the record of a private meeting between a health minister and various corporate entities, though the details are disputed
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Unreal People in a Hyperreal World: The Empty Rich of Succession
Mic Wright unpicks the attraction by repulsion of the hit HBO/Sky Atlantic drama, partly inspired by the Murdochs, but wonders whether it gives solace to the super-rich
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A Winter of Discontent? Maybe. A Frozen Government for Sure
Peter Jukes looks at the differences between the crises of the 1970s and the current state of Brexit Britain – and finds some surprising but chilling echoes
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Vets Receive the Brexit Treatment
Stephen Delahunty explores how Britain’s departure from the EU is increasing the demand for vets, while their numbers fall
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Embezzlement Allegations Cast Shadow Over Aquind Energy Project
As Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is due to make his decision on the controversial subsea power interconnector, Patrick Elliot looks at the possible roads ahead
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Boris Johnson and the Lebedevs: A Funny Peculiar Friendship
John Sweeney assesses the relationship between the British Prime Minister and the newspaper baron Lord Lebedev, in the light of an Italian intelligence report about his father
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A Pig’s Ear? Brexit Christmas Chaos and a Confused Immigration Policy
Pork butchers were already welcome to the UK on the Government’s new Skilled Workers Route, as it launches a short-term scheme for butchers on seasonal workers visas
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Government Awards £12.4 Million Funding to Firm Owned by Tory Donor to Develop Flying Taxis
Significant amounts of public money have been invested in the company, yet the Government hasn’t declared any conflicts of interest, reveals Sam Bright
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Trojan Horse Legislation: Turning the NHS into a $28bn Profit Opportunity
The 99% Organisation reveals how ministers could use the Health & Care Bill to transform the NHS into something like the US healthcare system
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Taking Jobs or Creating Jobs? The Impact of Brexit on Wages
Jonathan Portes analyses Boris Johnson’s claim that curbing immigration should lead to a “high productivity, high wage” economy
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‘Us and Them’ Politics Puts Us All in Danger
The more we are wound up through a divisive politics of polarisation, the less safe we all ultimately are, says Hardeep Matharu
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Brexit Forever: The Northern Ireland Protocol and the Government’s Brexit Addiction
David Frost’s speech on the Northern Ireland Protocol, and Dominic Cummings’ shocking revelations on Twitter, showed that the UK is playing the same old games over Brexit, says Mike Buckley
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How Vulnerable Children Become an Investment Opportunity
The growth of private sector involvement in the children’s social care sector has led to big profits for investors, while a crisis of poverty and inequality brings more vulnerable children into the ‘market’
