SubscriptionsSection: Argument
Honestly held opinions and provocative argument based on current events or our recent 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 Toxin of Televisuality
As the democratic dangers posed by social media are exposed, the degradation of our politics by the small screen should not be forgotten, writes AC Grayling
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‘A World Cup Like No Other’
The whiff that lingered at the announcement that Qatar would host the 2022 tournament has never faded, writes Gary Gowers
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‘Where’s the World Cup Fever?’
As the famous tournament kicks off this weekend in Qatar, Adrian Goldberg explores why this year’s event is attracting a more muted excitement
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Is Russia Losing Both the Kinetic and Information War?
With the liberation of Kherson and no ‘red wave’ in the US Congress, Mark Temnycky considers how Russia faces defeats on the ground and a loss of influence
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‘“Some Sort of Reparations” Cannot Be Out of the Question’
COP27 has exposed the hypocrisy of world leaders who refuse to acknowledge it is incumbent on wealthier nations to invest in worldwide climate adaptation, writes Thomas Perrett
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‘Whose Opera is it Anyway?’
Composer Howard Goodall unpicks Art Council England’s announcement that it will be redistributing £50 million of funding for the English National Opera outside of London and the south-east
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‘Lady Chatterley’s Brexit’
Not accepting or being able to discuss the damage caused by Britain’s exit from the EU leaves the country in a unsustainable position, writes Chris Grey
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Putin’s Toxic Masculinity and Satanic Conspiracies
Sian Norris considers the Russian President’s use of aggressive and violent masculinity to justify his invasion of Ukraine, and how it links to his Satanic conspiracy theories
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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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‘Climate Change is Not Gender Neutral’
Energy action goes hand in hand with gender equality – which is why female climate change representatives as speakers, panellists and thought leaders at COP27 is imperative, writes Rabina Khan
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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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‘Musk’s Twitter Buy Makes No Sense – Unless It’s Part of Something Bigger’
Brexit and Trump were initially seen as jokes, but the new owner of the social media giant could pose a serious threat to democracy – and a boon for Vladimir Putin, writes David Troy
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Financialisation: The Growth of British Economic Inequality
Thatcher’s ‘Big Bang’ fundamentally restructured the UK economy – bidding up asset prices and pushing down wages and living standards, writes Thomas Perrett
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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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Can Brazil’s new President Save the Amazon from Total Destruction?
Jon Lubbock explains the challenges awaiting President Lula, and how the rest of the world is also implicated in deforestation
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‘Misogyny in the Police is Why I Did Not Report’
Another day, another damning report has been released about misogyny and men’s violence in policing – is it any wonder women like me don’t report, asks Sian Norris
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What Rishi Sunak Got Wrong in the Pandemic
Much has been made of Rishi Sunak’s record as Chancellor during the global healthcare emergency but, as Sian Norris reports, he didn’t get all the big calls right
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Corporate Lobbying Threatens to Undermine Biodiversity
A new report shows the extent to which powerful corporations and fossil fuel interests exert their influence to delay or roll back legislation to protect the environment
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‘The Suella Braverman Scandal Shows Rishi Sunak has Quickly Traded “Integrity” for Power’
The new Prime Minister’s deal with the disgraced Home Secretary gives the lie to claims he is making a clean break from the Truss and Johnson eras, writes Adam Bienkov
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The Myth of the Blocked Ambulance
Jet McDonald explores how a belief that environmental protesters are blocking ambulances is used to justify anti-protest legislation and divert us from the climate emergency
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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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‘The Tufton Street Mindset Will Endure Under Rishi Sunak’
Sam Bright warns that, despite crashing the economy, dark money libertarian groups will retain influence on the new Prime Minister
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Rishi Sunak is a Prime Minister Who is Scared of His Own Citizens
The UK’s new Prime Minister leads a Government which is terrified of consulting the very people he was appointed to lead, writes Adam Bienkov
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Make or Break: Will Rishi Sunak be Able to Tackle the Conservatives’ Many Political Divides?
Brexit, immigration, ‘Global Britain’, energy and austerity – former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall sets out the challenges ahead for Britain’s latest Prime Minister
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Chris Mason’s Johnson Gaffe Risks Trashing the BBC’s Reputation
Patrick Howse reveals how a false BBC News alert that 100 Conservative MPs were backing Boris Johnson’s new leadership bid spread quickly around the world
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Austerity Fuelled a National Health Crisis – Can We Afford Round Two?
With the Government getting ready for austerity 2.0, Sian Norris reflects on the impact previous cuts to local government had on public health
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The Causes and Consequences of Political Chaos: MPs Versus Party Members
The genesis of the current chaos lies in the main political parties deciding to allow their members to choose their leaders, writes David Keys
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‘Bringing Back Johnson would be a Betrayal of Sexual Harassment Survivors’
The former Prime Minister’s downfall followed his claims he did not know about sexual assault allegations against an ally – that alone means he should not be returned to high office, argues Sian Norris
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‘The “Second Coming” of Boris Johnson Shows the Conservatives are a Party Woefully Out of Ideas’
That the scandal-prone former Prime Minister is even being discussed as a replacement for Liz Truss proves how out-of-touch with reality the governing party now is, writes George Llewelyn
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The Lady is For U-Turning
Max Colbert reflects on the political chaos and the string of U-turns during the Truss campaign and premiership
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Britain’s Stark Choice Ahead: Transformation or Collapse
The country is following a familiar pattern of environmental, energy and economic-driven state failure – and if the next government refuses to break with neoliberal orthodoxy, it will only accelerate this downwards trajectory, writes Nafeez Ahmed
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How to Deal with Russia’s Nuclear Threat over Ukraine
Putin’s nuclear posturing is largely empty, says Paul Niland, but that doesn’t mean the risks are non-existent
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‘Keir Starmer’s Squeeze of the Left is a Worrying Sign of Things to Come’
The Labour Leader is seeking to rebuild the party as an increasingly narrow church, argues his former advisor Simon Fletcher
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‘The Conservative Party Must Take the Blame for the Truss Catastrophe’
Liz Truss is a merely a creature of a party and its press supporters who are now desperately distancing themselves from her, writes Adam Bienkov
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Britain and the World is Falling Behind on Climate Change, as COP27 Approaches
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has shaken an already precarious consensus on climate action, says Thomas Perrett
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‘Britain is Sleepwalking into Societal Collapse’
The sacking of the Chancellor is a symptom of the escalating incoherence of Liz Truss’ Government – not a sign that it is changing course to become more coherent, writes Nafeez Ahmed
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Reform or Ruin: Could Labour Win the Next Election but Lose the Future?
AV Deggar considers the structural changes needed from Labour, if it knocks the Conservatives out of power at the next election
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Britain on the Brink: ‘It’s Not Just Liz Truss: it’s Brexit’
In his editorial from the October 2022 print edition of Byline Times, Peter Jukes argues that Liz Truss is ushering in the final phase of the Brexit project It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. When David Cameron took over as leader of the Conservatives in 2005, he wanted to transform its electoral reputation as the…
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Casino Politics: Westminster’s Gambling Addiction
With a number of MPs accepting salaries and gifts from the gambling industry, Rachel Morris explores how those in power have an uncomfortably close relationship with betting
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The Government is Prolonging the Cost of Living Crisis and the Climate Emergency
The Conservative Party’s decision to ‘cut the green crap’ has had far-reaching consequences, writes Thomas Perrett
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Liz Truss’ Economic ‘Shock Doctrine’ is Pushing the UK to the Brink
As the Bank of England takes alarming steps to stabilise the economy, the Prime Minister is preparing for a devastating new era of austerity, reports Adam Bienkov
