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SubscriptionsSection: Argument
Honestly held opinions and provocative argument based on current events or our recent reports.
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‘Keir Starmer’s Condemnation of “Terror” in Gaza is a Step Forward — But Just the Beginning’
Starmers speech at a recent Iftar in London is a seismic shift in the Labour Party’s approach to both the Middle East conflict and anti-Muslim prejudice in the UK
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Rishi Sunak’s Head Boy Energy
Becoming Prime Minister wasn’t the first significant position Sunak was handed – Winchester College taught him a thing or two about prestige without power, writes Richard Beard
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Outsourcing and Our Hollowed-Out State: A Story of Dependency Without Delivery
Scratch the surface of just about any public service failure of recent years and outsourcing features as a key cause, writes Chris Grey
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‘The Royal Family’s Sustainability In Its Current Form Can No Longer Be Guaranteed’
The social media frenzy around the Princess of Wales’ absence from public life reveals the most fundamental tension in our modern monarchy: the codependence of the Royal Family and the press, writes Jonathan Lis
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‘Mental Health is the Elephant in the Room When It Comes to Prioritising Economic Growth’
Charities have accused the Government of making ‘unsafe and frankly irresponsible’ decisions concerning mental health
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‘Why We Will Apply to Take Ofcom to Court Unless It Explains Its Approach to GB News’
Julian Petley and the Good Law Project argue that the channel is being held to different standards on impartiality from those governing public service broadcasters
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‘Starmer Cosied Up to the Murdoch Press in the Same Week It Faced New Allegations of Criminality – Why?’
The latest legal claims allege that law-breaking at the Murdoch tabloids has been even more widespread and systematic than previously acknowledged
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‘The Joe Biden Impeachment Hearing Says Everything About Republicans and Nothing About the President’
Lev Parnas’ bombshell testimony shows the Republicans’ have ‘absolutely no evidence’ against President Joe Biden
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What Leo Varadkar’s Resignation Means for Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, and the Future Of Ireland
Current Education Minister Simon Harris will be elevated to Taoiseach for the remaining term of this government
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‘The Country has Noticed the Conservatives’ Lack of Levelling Up’
Since Boris Johnson’s 2019 pledge, the public has received more of the same – austerity and higher taxes from the Government and, in many cases, cash-strapped local councils
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Is Stealth NHS Privatisation Happening in Plain Sight?
NHS doctor David Oliver examines the evidence of ever-increasing use of provision from private healthcare companies that bring a profit motive to the service
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‘Adopting Canada’s Progressive Conservative Strategy Won’t Save Rishi Sunak’s Party’
As the UK Tory Party haemorrhages support among young voters, Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Canadian Conservative Party, is moving the dial in the opposite direction
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Michael Gove: The Extremist
Whether laughing at racism, or associating with the promoters of eugenics and anti-Muslim think tanks, the Communities Secretary is indicted by his own definition
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Politicising Dissent: Michael Gove’s New Extremist Definition is ‘an Attack on Civil Liberties’
The head of community engagement at MEND responds to the Government classifying the organisation as ‘extremist’
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Chancellor Scholz Must Change Course and Support Ukraine to Win
An Open Letter to Germany’s Leaders from International and German Experts
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Does American Reluctance to Aid Ukraine Foreshadow a New Isolationism?
If recent polls show Americans are increasingly reluctant to provide military aid to Ukraine, how willing would it be to defend NATO allies from a Russian attack?
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The Hallmark of Russian Occupation – Torture
Paul Niland argues that those calling for a negotiated peace in Ukraine fundamentally misunderstand how Russian torture, rape, and other war crimes make such a peace impossible
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‘The Extremist Islamists are Coming! Sunak Cries Wolf to Criminalise Dissent’
The CEO of one of the organisations likely to be targeted by the Government’s forthcoming ‘extremism’ definition speaks out against its chilling effects
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What Do the 2024 ‘Super Tuesday’ Exit Polls Tell Us About Trump’s Chances in November?
Nikki Haley may be off the stage but what will her voters do next? Martin Burns analyses the answers US voters gave to CNN’s exit polls in three states
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Jeremy Hunt’s Tax Cuts are Paid for by Slashing Public Services – So Why is Labour So Silent About It?
The Government’s ‘slash and crash’ Budget was left largely unscathed by Keir Starmer’s party. Why?
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From The Cradle to The Grave: The Abandonment of Our Social Contract
Children are dying younger and growing up shorter, while the elderly’s last years are more painful and desperate than they once were. We have normalised the life of our society falling apart, writes Danny Dorling
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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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‘Who Are the Extremists Who Would Tear Us Apart?’
Mustafa Al-Dabbagh argues that it is the Government, not those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which is using extremist and divisive rhetoric
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‘The Northern Ireland Troubles Legacy Act is the Most Callous Form of Politicking by the UK Government’
The Government has looked for political gain at the expense of victims and survivors of Northern Ireland’s 30-year conflict who have spent decades in pursuit of truth and justice, argues Emma DeSouza
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‘The Opposite of War’: Calls for a Palestinian Visa Initiative in the UK
British-Palestinian families are appealing to the Home Office to institute visa programs for relatives stranded in war torn Gaza
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‘Rishi Sunak is “Living Proof” a Prime Minister of Colour is No Evidence of a Britain Beyond Racism’
By refusing to condemn Lee Anderson’s comments about Sadiq Khan as Islamophobic, the Prime Minister exposed the cynical fallacy at the heart of ‘the most diverse Cabinet in history’
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‘Nothing Will Change for Muslims Unless there is a Reckoning with Britain’s Normalised Islamophobia’
As Rishi Sunak talks of ‘mob rule’, political and media discussion of the violence in Gaza appears to be triggering an increase in hostilities towards Muslims here in the UK
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Debunking the Debanking Scandal: Is Farage Being Helped by Figures Inside the Conservative Party?
Chris Blackhurst unpacks the NatWest scandal that toppled the first woman to head a High Street bank.
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‘People in Ashfield are Sick of Hearing Our Community Mentioned Every Time Lee Anderson Makes a Prejudiced Comment’
Arran Rangi, who lives in Lee Anderson’s Ashfield constituency, explores his MP’s effect on his home town – and the racism he thought was in the past
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The Heavenly Hundred: How EU Membership is at the Heart of Ukraine’s Struggle
Ten years on from the Euromaidan uprising, Ukrainians are still fighting for freedom and to be part of the European Union
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‘The “Dangerous Muslim” Trope is Being Weaponised to Avoid Scrutiny’
Faisal Hanif argues that increasingly desperate politicians are stoking Islamophobia for their own ends
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‘A Nationalist Uprising’: Islamophobia and the Bannonisation of British Politics
As Liz Truss joins Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson as the latest recruit to Steve Bannon’s dangerous and undemocratic internationalist ‘anti-globalism’ – more online information warfare and hate will be the result, writes Peter Jukes
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‘The Normalisation of Politically Expedient Racism: Rishi Sunak Cannot Call Out Something He Has Been Complicit In’
Lee Anderson’s claims that the Muslim Mayor of London has handed the city to Islamists is another unsurprising example of the political culture the Conservative Party has normalised, writes Hardeep Matharu
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‘A Voluntary Tech Agreement Will Do Little to Defend Electoral Integrity Against the Worst Uses of AI’
The Tech Accord to Combat Deceptive Use of AI in 2024 Elections is well-meaning but lacks detail and urgency, argues Emma DeSouza
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Brutality and Hope: Two Years of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine
On the eve of the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Paul Niland argues that, despite exhaustion, Ukraine has learned to fight smarter – and that is reason for hope
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‘Please Close My Hospital’
Current talk of reform – on all sides of the political spectrum – only protects the status quo, argues Greg Parston
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‘Fighting the Enlightenment?’: What Do Danny Kruger’s New Conservatives Really Want?
Among all the new forms of Conservatism springing up in the run up to the next election, Kruger’s New Conservatives appear to be the most religious in their “holy war against the Left”
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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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‘The National Crime Agency’s Investigations Boss Was Sacked Over Leaks – Casting Doubt on Hundreds of Convictions’
The dismissal of one of Britain’s former top crime fighters could bring the safety of convictions relating to police-infiltrated encrypted phone network Encrochat into question, argues Dr Rebecca Tidy
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‘There is Something Deeply Soviet About Withholding Alexey Navalny’s Body’
The suspicious death of the Russian opposition activist and behaviour over his remains shows little has changed in the Kremlin
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Rishi Sunak’s ‘Austerity Bombshell’ That Westminster Won’t Talk About
As Britain goes into recession, the Government is planning to double down on the same slash and burn agenda that first helped get us into this economic slump
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‘It Is No Coincidence Israel Chose US Super Bowl to Launch Latest Bombing Spree On Palestinians’
The western powers have expressed increasing concern over the conduct of Israel’s campaign in Gaza but applied no consequences in practice, writes former diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
