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SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Democracy in Danger
The newspaper’s extensive reporting and analysis of the various threats to democracy from populism, oligarchy, dark money and online disinformation.
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The Link Between Social Media Algorithms and Online Radicalisation
Social media algorithms show violent content to boys but that’s just the start of the problem according to a leading investigative journalist
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Explained: The Six Triggers that Spark Civil Unrest
These factors do not exist in isolation but interact and act as force multipliers for each other and are ripe to be manipulated through identity politics
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From Russia with Riots: Hostile States ‘Relentlessly’ Seeking to Sow Division, Leading Anti-Corruption Figures Warn
A Government spokesperson told Byline Times tackling foreign interference is an ‘absolute priority’
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MPs to Debate Clampdown on Second Jobs, Amid Demand for Tough Overhaul of Lobbying Gigs and Gifts
The Government is set to address the potential conflicts of interests around moonlighting MPs, with campaigners believing urgent action is required
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‘The Political System Needs Fundamental Reform – From Capping Party Donations to Scrapping Voter ID’
‘It is a scandal that, in so many constituencies, people did not really have a choice of MP – as the real choice lay with a party machine that can foist MPs upon them’
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Keir Starmer Urged to Work With Leaders in Governance and Transparency to ‘Rebuild Public Trust’
A letter, coordinated by the UK Open Government Network, has been sent to the Prime Minister offering him support and requesting a meeting
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‘Wales Could Lead the Way Across the Globe if it Criminalises Political Lying’
A dishonest doctor gets struck off the medical register. The banker who steals from his clients goes to jail. A deceitful military officer gets cashiered. Why should politicians not expect to play by the same rules?
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The Likely Labour MPs Who Lobbied Against Key Party Policies – Amid Concerns of ‘Whole New Raft of Scandals’
Prospective Labour candidates have worked as lobbyists for trade bodies and companies that will have a vested interests in shifting the party’s key election pledges in government
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The 1900 Club and the Conservative Party: An Inside Look at the Secretive ‘Dining Club That Does More Than Dine’
A recently unearthed booklet on The 1900 Club sheds some light on the history of the organisation and its ties to the Conservative Party
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‘Britain’s Long History of Corruption and Cover-Ups and the Dire Consequences for Those the Government Chooses to Ignore’
If a likely new Labour government wants to truly mark a difference from the Conservatives, it needs to fix the systemic failings, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
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Nigel Farage Claims ‘Corruption’ in the UK’s Postal Vote System – and Suggests Trump Lost to Biden due to ‘Ballot Harvesting’
Nigel Farage echoes Trump supporters’ conspiracy theories about electoral fraud in 2020 and makes unevidenced claims of corruption in the UK postal voting system
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‘We Can Stop Lying in Politics – But Will a New Government Pay Attention to the Public’s Demand for Honesty?
At this moment in history, lying can no longer be dismissed as an unpleasant by-product of the political game – and we can do something about it, writes Compassion in Politics’ co-founder
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‘Donald Trump’s Hush Money Verdicts May Not Hurt his Presidential Run But Will Damage America’s Democracy and Image’
The former US President was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels
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‘Only a Bold Vision from Labour Will Restore Any Faith in Our Broken Politics’
Jennifer Nadel, co-founder of Compassion in Politics, argues that Westminster’s dysfunctional system under a potential Labour government could leave the door open to far-right politics in the years ahead
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Modi Likely to Win Third Term in India as Voters Urged to End Reign of ‘Dictator’ Amid Fears Country Will Become ‘Russia-Like Autocracy’
India is about to enter the final phase of its general election, amid cries to ‘save democracy’, with Modi expected to further tighten controls and silence opposition voices if he is re-elected
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Calls for the Crown to Stop Prosecuting Peaceful Climate Protesters as Prisons Clogged and Criminals are ‘Let Off’
The Government is accused of pushing public bodies to go tougher on protesters
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Sunak’s ‘Anti-Extremism’ Adviser Demands Protest Bans to Protect Defence and Energy Firms While Working as Lobbyist for Arms and Fossil Fuel Industry Groups
Lord Walney’s proposals would impose an effective ban on certain protest groups while handing police forces the power to outlaw regular Gaza protests
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‘Huge Victory for Democracy’ as Rishi Sunak’s Protest Crackdown Found Unlawful by High Court
The Home Office unlawfully gave police the powers to intervene against protests where no serious disruption was taking place, the court found
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More Protesters to Face Prison as Government Plans Bans on Face Masks and Flares at Demonstrations
“The Government is determined to shut down the ways in which ordinary people can take to the streets to make their voices heard,” Liberty says
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‘Our Injuries Will Heal, but the Georgian Government’s Reputation Will Not’
Georgia’s accelerating authoritarian slide into Russia’s orbit has now seen its government launch a full-scale Belarusian-style crackdown on opposition voices.
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‘I Had to Argue for My Right to Vote’: Voters Report Being Denied a Say in Local Elections Due to Strict Photo ID Law
Voters say they struggled to prove their identities as polling stations enforced England’s draconian photo ID rules
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The Labour Scandal that’s Arguably Bigger than the Angela Rayner Story
The new Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething and the £200,000 donation that could trigger a leadership crisis
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Retired Social Worker Who Faced Two Years in Prison for Holding Up Sign Outside Climate Trial is Cleared
Campaigners say the judge throwing out Government claims that Trudi Warner was in contempt of court is a victory for free speech
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‘Trump’s Second Presidential Run and the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse Have a Lot In Common’
Baltimore’s Francis Scott Bridge collapsed after one part of the structure was hit by a ship. The disaster is a perfect metaphor for the crisis Europe may face if Trump is re-elected, writes Alexandra Hall
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A ‘Damning Indictment’: Eight Million Voters May Be Disenfranchised in General Election, MPs Find
The UK’s electoral registration arrangements are a ‘threat to the rights of British voters’
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Patriotic Alternative: The Threat from the Far Right
A revitalised Europe wide white supremacist movement is growing in the UK, gaining recruits through social media and online gaming
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‘Fixing Broken Britain Starts with Changing a Broken Light Bulb’
UK democracy needs radical reform – but there is little evidence our leaders are ready to take up the challenge, writes Alun Drake
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Yes, Lord David Cameron Could Come Back as Prime Minister – and he Wouldn’t Need to Run for MP
New analysis sheds light on a constitutional quirk that allows a member of the House of Lords – or someone outside Parliament altogether – to become Prime Minister
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Plans to Bar Politicians from Meeting Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Climate Activists are “Dangerous and Authoritarian” Say MPs
If MPs in other countries were barred from meeting civil society groups, the regimes would be “condemned and investigated” Dawn Butler told Byline Times
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Rishi Sunak Brushes Off Calls to Commit to an ‘Honest’ Election Campaign
The Conservative benches appeared to burst with laughter at the suggestion
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Palestine Protesters Vow to Keep Marching Despite Fresh Clampdown Threats, as Muslim Council Blasts Islamophobic Rhetoric
Palestine protest organisers believe senior Government officials are placing heavy pressure on police to clamp down on their demonstrations
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‘Starmer Should Ignore the Westminster Pearl-Clutching: Why Labour is Right to Look at Citizens’ Assemblies’
It’s time for politicians to show leadership and give away some power, writes Compass’ Frances Foley
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These Elections Will be Fought Dirty and in the Shadows. VoteWatch Will Help Shine a Light
We need your help to follow the money, call out corrupt campaigning, and monitor voter suppression wherever it occurs
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Third Round of Anti-Protest Laws Imposed as Civil Liberties Groups Warn of Creeping Authoritarianism
Just one day after Suella Braverman’s appeal for more stringent protest restrictions, the UK Government has unveiled a new set of anti-protest laws.
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‘It’s Like GB News Regulating Ofcom’: House of Lords Slams New Government-Imposed Strategy for Elections Watchdog
Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove now sets the overarching “strategy and policy” of the previously independent Electoral Commission.
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Ten Million Voters Still Don’t Know They Need Voter ID
Rishi Sunak’s Government has been accused of trying to “gerrymander” the next general election by making it harder for certain groups to vote
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‘Straight Out of the Republican Playbook’: Conservatives Impose New Strategy on Elections Watchdog in Crucial Election Year
The new Government-set priorities for the Electoral Commission make no mention of AI or misinformation – but plenty of mentions of almost non-existent voter fraud
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Why Is Boris Johnson Endorsing a Second Trump Presidency in the Name of Ukraine?
Donald Trump has not stood up to Vladimir Putin and will not stand up to Russian President if he returns to the White House, writes Paul Niland
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Slow Uptake of Brits Abroad Registering to Vote – But Many Say They Will Vote to Kick Out Conservatives
Newly empowered overseas voters tell Byline Times they are ‘sick of racist rhetoric’ and Britain’s Brexit fallout.
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Two Million More Brits Living Abroad Now Eligible to Donate to UK Parties as Ministers Scrap Time Limit
It’s the latest in a series of constitutional changes by ministers – including enforcing photo ID for in-person voters and hiking the spending limits for parties.
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‘Not a Bullet for Ukraine’: The Rise and Fall, and Rise Again, of Slovakia’s Populist Prime Minister
Robert Fico rode to electoral victory for the third time on a wave of strongman populism, media capture and pro-Russia rhetoric. But are the cracks beginning to appear?
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Labour’s Andy Burnham Says Just ‘50 People Run the UK’ as Mayor Hits Out at Westminster and Sunak’s Scrappage of HS2
The Greater Manchester Mayor wants the UK to adopt a new codified constitution, proportional representation and an overhauled House of Lords
