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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Government By WhatsApp: Departments’ Secrecy Around Advisors’ Messages Exposes Johnson Administration’s Unaccountable Power
Iain Overton’s investigation into one simple question revealed fundamental truths about where accountability lies in British politics today
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The Batley Battleground: A Microcosm of England’s Fractured Political Climate
The divisive, hostile forces that have plagued politics in recent years are now running wild in the West Yorkshire constituency, says Sam Bright
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Putin’s Hybrid War on Truth in Ukraine is a Threat to Us All
From digital attacks to physical assaults on journalists, Iain Overton’s investigation into the Russian disinformation playbook of chaos in Ukraine is a chilling portent of future wars
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Selective Sleaze: The Crescendo of the Cronyism Crisis
With a tabloid feeding frenzy over a minister’s alleged affair, Sam Bright, Peter Jukes and Hardeep Matharu explore the wider public issues concealed by personal scandal
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‘Public Threat’ Rudy Giuliani’s Law License Suspended
Heidi Siegmund Cuda reports on the unprecedented suspension of Donald Trump’s personal lawyer for misconduct and deception over the 2020 Presidential Elections
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Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Brexit Vote Five Years On
Five years after the EU Referendum, the country is stuck because no one will lead an honest conversation about the future, says Mike Buckley
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How the US Christian Right Lends Support to Europe’s Anti-LGBTIQ Movement
American activist Brian Brown gave a speech about his ‘hope and optimism’ that US conservatives will join him in supporting Levan Vasadze’s anti-rights agenda in Georgia, reports Sian Norris
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The Money Men Behind CitizenGO’s Anti-Rights Agenda
In the second of her series on the anti-abortion, anti-LGBTIQ campaigning platform CitizenGO, Sian Norris examines its funding model and the financial scandal haunting one of its board members
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The Pursuit of Truth – Or Not: Boris Johnson, COVID and the Media
Broadcast journalists’ refusal to call-out the lies of the Prime Minister, his Cabinet members and the Government as a whole during the Coronavirus pandemic reveals the extent of the crisis engulfing the very fabric of truth in our society, observes Dorothy Byrne
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How Much Did We Pay For PPE? Data the Government Doesn’t Want to Reveal
John Lubbock inspects data that has been leaked and accidentally released about the amount the UK actually paid for PPE during the Coronavirus crisis
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The Transparency Gap: Government Publishes £4.2 Billion in PPE Contracts a Year Late
The Prime Minister previously claimed that ‘all the details are on the record’, reports Sam Bright
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Is President Biden Just an Interregnum Before a Bigger Storm?
With the Republican Party now wedded firmly to the ‘Big Lie’ about the last election, CJ Werleman fears the worst is yet to come with a Trump 2.0
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Capitol Indictment Reveals Radical Right Conservative Donors Simultaneously Bankrolling Extremism and Anti-Lockdown Protests
Caroline Orr reports on the evidence linking the Three Percenters militia with right-wing megadonors including the billionaire Mercer family
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Measuring the Cost: Brexit Six Months On
The end of the transition period was merely a staging post within a process that will be long with us, says Chris Grey
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The Christofascism of QAnon
Steven Monacelli, who attended the ‘Qonference’ of the paranoid conspiracy theory in Dallas earlier this month, fears the quasi-religious movement might not die out without a fight
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Fast Food Giants Latest Sector to Report Brexit-related Staffing Concerns
McDonalds joins restaurants, farmers and the meat processing industry with concerns that ‘reduced access to overseas labour would present a challenge to our business,’ reports Sian Norris
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Court Criticises Cabinet Office for ‘Profound Lack of Transparency’ Over ‘Orwellian’ Clearing House Unit
In a case brought against Michael Gove’s department by openDemocracy, a judge has found that it provided misleading information about a unit coordinating Freedom of Information requests
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The Cloak of Respectability and the Face of Extremism: The Campaign to Stop Millions from German Taxpayers Funding the Far-Right
Craig Stennett reports on the campaign by the Anne Frank Centre to prevent massive payouts to the AfD
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£400 Million COVID Contract Winners Go On to Donate £615,000 to Conservatives
The Conservative Party’s coffers have been boosted by some of the individuals and firms that have benefitted from public sector deals during the Coronavirus crisis
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Syria’s Assad Cements Control Amid Continued International Inaction
Jonathan Fenton-Harvey reports on how a sham election with Russian and Iranian support is creating a failed state in Syria
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‘Farms Will Not be Able to Survive This’: Farmers Speak Up About Brexit’s Damaging Impact
As the details of Boris Johnson’s trade deals are unveiled, two farmers spoke to Byline TV about the pessimistic post-Brexit future of their industry
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Revealed: Michael Gove and Priti Patel Linked to Israeli Military Charities and Netanyahu Propaganda Video
Nafeez Ahmed on the lobbying connections of the only two ministers to have met in private with the Israeli Prime Minister
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The Republican Party’s Strings Are Still Being Pulled By Trump
As a commission to investigate the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January is blocked by Republican Senators, CJ Werleman explores the effects of the lasting influence of the controversial former President
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The Anatomy of a PPE Deal Awarded to a Matt Hancock Associate
After Dominic Cummings was pressed on Government procurement, during which the Health and Social Care Secretary attracted scathing criticism, Sam Bright reveals more alleged details about a £14.4 million PPE contract
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Government Faces Both Ways on Conflicts of Interest
New official guidance makes a mockery of the UK’s procurement policies during the Coronavirus pandemic, reports Sam Bright
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Why Johnson’s Meeting with Viktor Orbán Is Provoking Controversy
Hungary’s authoritarian Prime Minister will meet Johnson at Downing Street – but what will the pair find to talk about? Sian Norris sums up the controversies surrounding Viktor Orbán
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A Very British Trump – A Leader Captured by Media
‘Britain Trump’ was how the former US President once described Boris Johnson. Now Dominic Cummings’ testimony has confirmed our worst fears, writes Peter Jukes
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A State No Longer Fit For Purpose
Professor Chris Painter argues that the British state, long creaking, has been put under intolerable pressure by Boris Johnson’s Premiership
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State Kidnapped Belarusian Dissident Roman Protasevich is the Victim of a New Cold War
Nikola Mikovic reports on how the West’s reaction to a new wave of suppression in Belarus could drive it closer to Putin and the Kremlin
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Report into Conservative Party Finds Majority of Complaints Relate to Anti-Muslim Discrimination
The Singh investigation reveals that comments made by the Prime Minister gave an impression of insensitivity towards the Muslim community, Sian Norris reports
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The Problems Plaguing the UK’s Post-Brexit Trade Deals
Sam Bright summarises the key issues with the UK’s attempts to forge new economic alliances after leaving the world’s largest trading bloc
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Every MP Who Cares About Democracy Must Unite to Stop the Government’s Attacks on its Foundations
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock and Kyle Taylor set out the case for cross-party co-operation to protect the electoral integrity of our political system
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Campaigners Concerned ‘Hostile Environment’ Returning to Schools
Schools are requesting proof of pupils’ immigration status, although Government denies return to ‘hostile environment’ policy, reports Stephen Delahunty The Government has denied it is reintroducing a “hostile environment” into schools after reports emerged of parents being asked to produce their children’s passports as proof of their immigration status. The term “hostile environment” describes immigration…
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The UK-Australia Trade Deal: A Tale of Brexit Insanity
Otto English dissects the disadvantages that a free trade agreement between the two countries would bring to the UK
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£7 Billion COVID Bailout for Private Train Firms Includes £70 Million ‘Management Fees’
Private rail operators are still making millions of pounds, despite the difficulties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, reports Sam Bright
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Concerns About Voter Suppression Will be Dismissed as ‘Conspiracy Theories’ – But It Is a Real Threat to Our Democracy
Mike Buckley digs into the motivations behind Boris Johnson’s proposal that a form of ID should be shown by people voting in future elections
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Downing Street Refurbishment Conducted by Firm With Conservative Links
Two Tory peers and a Government ‘advisor’ have close ties a firm tasked with revamping Downing Street, Sam Bright reveals
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Corruption Doesn’t Come With One Clear Smoking Gun – Which Is Why It’s So Hard to Expose
Iain Overton on investigative reporting, systemic nepotism and why the ‘War on Woke’ is a smokescreen
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The Facebook Oversight Board is itself an Information Operation
Caroline Orr shows how the political havoc caused by Mark Zuckerberg – the most powerful non-state actor in the world – is baked into his business model
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Voter Fraud is a Fallacy: These Are the Real Dangers to British Democracy
Sam Bright explains that there are more investigations into the Prime Minister’s conduct than annual voter fraud convictions, and lists the genuine threats to democracy in the UK
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The Charmed Life and Strange, Sad Death of the Quilliam Foundation
Nafeez Ahmed analyses the rise, decline and sudden fall of Maajid Nawaz’s government-backed counter-extremism think tank
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Who is Behind Spain’s Anti-Rights Movement?
In the first of a series, Sian Norris reports on the global network behind Spanish-founded anti-rights platform CitizenGO – friends with the far-right Vox Party
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Windrush Fear Drives Record Number of European Applications for British Citizenship
A lack of trust in the Home Office has caused EU migrants to seek permanent status in the UK, reports Joshua Stein
