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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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It’s Never Just About Cake and Parties – It’s a Playbook For Apathy
As ‘partygate’ rolls on, AV Deggar explores how the scandal has been framed to exhaust the electorate
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Why We Should be Worried About Boris Johnson’s Civil Service Promotion of Gisela Stuart
Baroness Stuart’s crucial role in EU Referendum controversies should rule her out of a top position demanding impartiality and integrity, says former Labour MP Ian Lucas
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Rump Trumpocracy? The Conservative Party at the Heritage Foundation
Oliver Dowden is the latest Conservative MP to address the Heritage Foundation – an organisation accused of tampering with democracy and undermining women’s rights
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Boris Johnson’s Partygate Defence Is Reaching the ‘Kicking a Cat’ Stage
The Prime Minister’s allies are making increasingly ridiculous attempts to save his career, reports Adam Bienkov
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Boris Johnson’s Savile Lies and the Conservative Smear Machine
The Prime Minister’s smears against Keir Starmer are part of an increasingly dangerous approach to politics which draws inspiration from the US, reports Adam Bienkov
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Johnson and Co’s Lies and Slurs Corrupt All of Society
The impact of misleading and inflammatory statements made in the House of Commons does not remain confined to Westminster, says Edward Hardy
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Disinfo Lab: An Online Hindu Nationalist Disinformation Campaign
CJ Werleman looks at evidence of a co-ordinated and sophisticated effort to smear critics of the right wing Indian Prime Minister
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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
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A New Year of Repression in Hong Kong
Stuart Heaver reports on the arrests of Hong Kong journalists, academics, lawyers and opposition politicians under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law
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Tipping the Scales of Freedom: 2021 – The Year of Living Dangerously
Richard Haviland documents the multiple and manifest threats to rights of citizenship, free assembly and democratic accountability from a Government reliant on propaganda and disinformation
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From Conrad’s Kurtz to Enoch Powell: Conservatism Takes a Dark Turn to the Past
Under Boris Johnson’s leadership, the Conservative Party has reversed half a century of attempts at post-imperial reform and is now embarked on a campaign of ‘othering’ – targeting enemies within and without
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The Populist Alliance: How Vote Leave Came to Rule British Politics
Even despite the resignation of Lord David Frost, the hard Brexit project has been enshrined into Britain’s political institutions with far-reaching consequences, says former Labour MP Ian Lucas
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Jobbik: What Does it Take to Deradicalise a Far-Right Party?
Jobbik was once considered to be the greatest threat to Hungarian democracy – now it is part of an alliance trying to save it
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How The Great Replacement Went Mainstream
The far-right conspiracy theory has jumped off the dark web message boards and into political parties around Europe
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MPs Raise the Alarm Over Johnson’s Draconian Elections Bill
A parliamentary committee has found that the Government’s proposals lack transparency and consultation, and fail to provide evidence as to why the changes are “necessary and proportionate”
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Turkish Military Targeted by Sinister Algorithm Following 2016 Coup
A complex algorithm is being used to determine whether military personnel were involved in trying to overthrow the Turkish Government – with devastating consequences, reports Stephen Delahunty
