SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Strangers & Neighbours
Byline Times analysis of community cohesion and sectarian attempts to break it through the racialisation of poverty, Islamophobia as policy, the asylum system as spectacle, and the culture war waged against plural Britain.
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Brexit’s Global Trade is Fit for Georgian England: Devoid of Ethical Responsibility
Iain Overton reflects on the Government’s policy of Free Trade Deals with countries regardless of their human rights
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Ministers Should Face Legal Sanctions for Breaking Rules, say MPs
David Hencke reports on the Commons Committee which proposes wholesale reform of the ‘toothless’ regulators supposed to safeguard propriety in public office
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Students: The Latest Victims in the Cost of Living Crisis
Sian Norris speaks to two students living in Bristol about the impact of rising costs on their studies and wellbeing
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REVEALED: No Government Help with Rising Energy Bills for Hundreds of Thousands of Immigrants
Households with ‘no recourse to public funds’ due to their immigration status will not be eligible for state help to alleviate rising costs
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Islamophobia Awareness Month: ‘Where There is Hate, Freedom Dies’
With religious hate crimes on the rise, Afzal Khan and Benedict Rogers, a Muslim and a Christian, call on the Conservative Party to protect lives and religious freedom
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What Now for Scottish Independence?
Barrister Gareth Roberts sets out the options available to Nicola Sturgeon following the UK Supreme Court’s decision that she cannot hold a second independence referendum without Westminster’s approval
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Fossil Fuel Giants Set to Avoid More than Half of the Government’s Hiked Windfall Tax
The UK’s rigged energy market will do little to restrain the cost of living crisis or promote renewables, says Thomas Perrett
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The Wheels Coming Off on the Chancellor’s ‘Tough Road Ahead’
Rachel Morris looks at the ideological underpinning and likely real-world effects of Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn statement and sees Britain heading down a road to nowhere
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‘The Supreme Court’s Scottish Referendum Ruling Shows the UK is a Prison of Nations’
The Union is not based on consent – European leaders must now make it clear Scotland will be welcomed as the only country to be taken out of the EU against its will, writes Anthony Barnett
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Homeless Deaths Increase by More Than 50% Since 2013
New Government data shows how deaths of homeless people – including to Coronavirus – continues to rise. Sian Norris reports
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‘Jeremy Hunt’s Energy Price Hike is a Cynical Betrayal of Britain’
Martin Shaw unpicks the motives and the structural economic forces behind the Chancellor’s decision to further inflate household energy costs
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The Identity Trap: No One Narrative Can Encompass the Different Dimensions of Diversity
As Britain welcomes its first Asian Prime Minister, Hardeep Matharu explores how our pluralistic society is reflected in the multiplicity of its migrant experience – as demonstrated by the different reactions to Rishi Sunak’s rise
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All the Bad News Jeremy Hunt Hid In his Autumn Statement
The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement will go down as one of the most dishonest political statements in living memory, writes Adam Bienkov
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More Than A Third Of Food Parcels Given to Children
Ellie Newis and Sian Norris report on the extent and impact of child poverty as Britain continues to grapple with the cost of living crisis
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After an Era of Austerity, What is Left to Cut?
Sian Norris digs into the data on a decade of cuts, assessing its impact on people and public services, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt lines up Austerity 2.0
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Rishi Sunak’s £20 Billion COVID Fraud Black Hole
With the Government facing a massive shortfall in its finances, MPs report on how billions were lost by the Treasury during the time the current Prime Minister was Chancellor
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New Inflation Figures Increase Pressure on Council Budgets
Council tax would need to rise by 20% to save urgently-needed public services, but how will Jeremy Hunt respond in his autumn statement?
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‘There is a Myth of Meritocracy for Ethnic Minorities in the UK’
A new report finds that, while black and ethnic minority children are doing well at school, inequalities persist later in life
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‘It’s the Stupidity, Stupid’: Brexit and Populism
As the London stock market falls behind Paris for the first time, Matthew Gwyther looks at the real inner causes of Britain’s decline
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New Government Report Reveals Critical Gaps in Poverty Data and Questionable Metrics
Tamsin Flower looks into the ‘poverty’ of data on poverty and how thousands of low-income households could be left without the recognition and aid they most need
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‘Amateur Hour in British Politics’
As more and more ministers are handed top jobs for their loyalty rather than their competence, former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall considers what we can do about this democratic deficit
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Being An Employer of Your Own Care
Penny Pepper has spent more than 20 years balancing the books, hiring and firing, and eyeing up spreadsheets – like many disabled people, all in the name of ‘Direct Payment’
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Rishi Sunak’s Party Fears there is Less to Him than Meets the Eye
The Prime Minister’s colleagues are starting to wonder whether Sunak’s Californian corporate sheen conceals an empty vessel, reports Adam Bienkov
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Cost of Living Crisis Forcing Women to Remain with Abusers
The cost of living crisis is putting women’s and children’s lives at risk, as victims and survivors of domestic abuse are forced to choose between safety and destitution, Sian Norris reports
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Sunak Appoints Ex-Big Energy Director as Business and Energy Advisor
Rishi Sunak’s Government is populated by a number of advisors drawn from corporations and Tufton Street ‘think tanks’, reports Sam Bright
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Patients Waiting Too Long to Start Cancer Treatment, Data Suggests
The pressures on the NHS are revealed as Sian Norris and the Byline Intelligence Team analyse the latest data on cancer testing and screening
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The Day Far-Right Hate was Normalised in the House
A debate on asylum accommodation and safeguarding echoed far-right online chat, in a worrying shift of the Conservative Party’s migration rhetoric, Sian Norris reports
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Williamson and Braverman: Revenge for Regicide?
Simon Walters sees a historical pattern as two ministers who defected from Boris Johnson to Rishi Sunak appear to be targeted for their perfidy
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REVEALED: Yarl’s Wood Immigration Detainees Suffered in ‘Unacceptable’ Conditions During Record Heatwave
As the Home Office faces mounting criticism over its treatment of asylum seekers at Manston processing centre, a new investigation by Sascha Lavin for the Byline Intelligence Team paints a troubling picture of conditions at another notorious immigration removal detention centre this July
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‘Heightening Tensions from the Far-Right’: Braverman’s Dangerous Asylum Approach
Campaigners and experts warn that the Home Secretary’s rhetoric serves to undermine the human rights and safety of people in need
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REVEALED: Prisons are Another Public Service Facing Soaring Energy Bills
An investigation by Sian Norris for the Byline Intelligence Team finds prisons are facing rising energy costs, after nine years of austerity have wreaked havoc on the sector
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‘When he Chooses to, Rishi Sunak is Happy to Match Braverman in the Hate Speech Stakes’
Asked about ‘grooming gangs’, he ignored the evidence and slapped the blame on a single ethnic minority – a revealing moment, writes Brian Cathcart
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Cabinet Minister Against Islamophobia Definition Addresses ‘Dark Money’ Lobbying Group Tied to Extremist Organisations
As the Government drops its commitment to introduce an official definition of anti-Muslim hate, Nafeez Ahmed reveals the network of influence surrounding two key officials
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The Truth About Brexit that Westminster is Too Scared to Mention
A surge in support for rejoining the EU means the debate on Brexit is far from over, according to the UK’s most-respected pollster, Adam Bienkov reports
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Are We Paying for the Government’s COVID Waste?
UK healthcare spending has burgeoned by £50 billion since the pandemic, the same figure as the Government’s mysterious fiscal ‘black hole’, reports Sam Bright
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Does Greater South Asian Representation in Government Equate to Improved Equality in Society?
In light of Rishi Sunak’s election as the UK’s first British-Indian Prime Minister, Sian Norris digs into the evidence on outcomes for people from a South Asian background
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‘Donations are Really, Really Down’: Mounting Concerns Over Brexit Compounding Cost of Living Crisis
Organisations are worried that the effort to help those struggling this winter is being hampered by supply chain issues
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REVEALED: Cost of Living Crisis Piles Pressure on Children’s Homes as Gas and Energy Bills Soar
A new investigation by Sian Norris with the Byline Intelligence Team reveals rising costs are putting budgetary pressure on council-run children’s homes already feeling the strain
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The Right-Wing Bid to Capture the National Trust Exposed
With days to go before the National Trust’s members choose its new council, the ‘Restore Trust’ group is campaigning in a manner that scarcely inspires trust. Brian Cathcart reports
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REVEALED: The Staggering Rises in Rent Shortfalls Caused by Housing Benefit Cuts
With the cost of living crisis pushing up rents and Local Housing Allowance frozen since 2020, more and more of the poorest private tenants are struggling to make ends meet
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Child Poverty Soared During Austerity Years in New Cabinet’s Constituencies
Past evidence shows the damage that spending cuts can create – even in Conservative strongholds
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‘This Is Not Britain’s Obama Moment’
Adrian Goldberg speaks to Michael Bankole, who has researched race and representation in politics, about what Rishi Sunak’s rise to power means for ethnic minorities in Britain for the Byline Times Podcast
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Cost of Living Crisis Pushing Schools To Brink
Schools are allocating more of their budgets to cover energy costs, with Government support falling short on providing certainty, Sian Norris reports
