Fascinating and vital points about democracy & media. "It has taken years for me to even roughly understand the labyrinthine public-private web of finances in the Tees Valley"

Jennifer Williams@jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · 5d ago

A bit on something that’s worrying me as.ft.com/r/9fe0cfe2-f...

This bus stop is very recently rebuilt and TfGM seem to have forgot that someone in a wheelchair may want to use it.

Quite a few posters on here are sharing an identical message to this one. I have responded many times, but it is vital we are accurate in our commentary.

How did Palantir become so intergral to the British state? Paid-for political access and threadbare regulations, says @petergeoghegan.bsky.social Great summary of the scandalous operation of lobby power. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I investigated Palantir’s foothold in the British state – and what I found should worry us all | Peter Geoghegan

Paid-for political access and threadbare regulations have helped to embed the US tech firm in the NHS – and beyond. But there is a way to free ourselves, says Peter Geoghegan of Democracy for Sale

theguardian.com

🚫"It's always been a melting pot round here." Kay's grandparents fought off Moseley's fascists in Cable Street 90 years ago. Her message to the far right today? "You didn't win then. And you ain't gonna win now!"

So you end up sleeping rough instead. After all of that, you end up on the streets... Of the 4,978 people sleeping rough on London's streets last year with a known last settled accommodation, the MOST COMMON reason for being homeless was being GRANTED REFUGEE STATUS. 9/

Political commentators don't seem to know what's happening with Farage. Suspect that means there's new developments that he knows of and they don't. Yet. Sounds fun.

Gonna have an anniversary Gonna be a bicentennial Feels like yesterday. Almost.

Not sure I've seen enough praise and admiration for @stephenkb.bsky.social for foreseeing today's change of government to the exact day. Ages ago. Just wish I could afford an FT subscription.

Bath, UK, 1933

In late January 2024 Josh Simons was very pleased with a report he commissioned. "Incredibly useful'. Two years later he switched to being shocked by the report—"deeply distressed and furious". What happened in between? Journalism. By @petergeoghegan.bsky.social and Democracy for Sale. Vital.

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🔴 Josh Simons - who resigned as Makerfield MP to make way for Andy Burnham - received a legal letter from the PR firm he hired, privately accusing him of making "misleading statements" about the Labour Together scandal democracyforsale.substack.com/p/wrong-in-n...

You want to see Norway men’s national football team’s official photo for World Cup 2026 www.nytimes.com/athletic/733...

61% of all political donations in the last quarter came from just 14 people Reform took in £9.3m from a handful of super rich donors British democracy is being bought. We urgently need action to take the money out of our politics

Steve Goodrich@stevejgoodrich.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Some quick thoughts on Q1 2026 donations data from @electoralcommission.org.uk 🧵 HEADLINE STATS Total: £20.7m (excl. public funds) Biggest recipient: Reform £9.3m Biggest donor: Ben Delo £4m to Reform Donors giving £1m+: £9.2m (44%) from 3 donors Donors giving £250k+: £12.7m (61%) from 14 donors

...to fund a lavish lifestyle he craved but could not afford I know it's all part of the fun for police to issue cliched statements. But do journalists need to write them down and put them in headlines? Can't we have some original thoughts & insights? Or even vary the cliches a bit. Please.

What kind of democrats are these people? Very glad Democracy for Sale is following this. Worth supporting.

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🔴 NEW: Morgan McSweeney - Keir Starmer's chief of staff until three months ago, and reportedly back advising him - was briefed on Labour Together's controversial investigation into journalists more than two years ago Scoop on Democracy for Sale: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/breaking-m...

NEW: The judge has weighed in on the $1.7 slush fund. I promised an update when she did. Please share widely.

Since 2010 the number of UK billionaires has doubled. If wealth trickles down, then why aren't we all richer?

I don't begrudge money spent on democracy. But it's irritating that Reform drains scarce resources with waste-of-space candidates who resign once elected. Do they think by-elections grow on trees?

“If Jeffrey Epstein had been English, we may well have never known about his crimes,” says one former newsroom editor. Shocking to see so many people actively lobbying against vital journalistic freedoms and core human rights. And apparently succeeding.

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 3mo ago

🔴 Keir Starmer promised to crackdown on "Slapps" - abusive libel cases to silence journalists and critics Then Labour quietly dropped it We can reveal why: a three-year lobbying blitz by libel lawyers who've acted for Russian oligarchs, Epstein + more democracyforsale.substack.com/p/how-lawyer...

Wonder if McSweeney's gone to no. 10 to help with the shredding.

Monorail vélocipédique ca. mid-1800s

Just reading rules for the Farage investigation. It's explicit that the commissioner cannot investigate -donations to political parties -things purely related to an MP's private and personal life So the Commissioner has already decided the £5m doesn't fall into either category. Interesting.

Excellent to see Democracy for Sale's investigation into Labour Together on this list. Thanks again for great reporting to @petergeoghegan.bsky.social and Khadija Sharife.

Private Eye Magazine@privateeyenews.bsky.social · 3mo ago

From crumbling aerated concrete homes to the truth behind The Salt Path... The shortlist for the 2026 Paul Foot Award for Investigative Journalism has been announced! The winner, who will receive a prize of £8,000, will be announced on June 1. ➡️ Shortlist: private-eye.co.uk/paul-foot-aw...

probably a bit broader than what you're looking for but there's this one: bsky.app/starter-pack...

At lunchtime today the BBC's chief political correspondent wrote "Downing Street will be delighted. There was a threat of a leadership contest and it has gone." Do we just have to get used to this level of insight?

It would be good if people here, and at news organisations, were clear what they're saying when they report a councillor has been suspended. From what by whom?

Daniel Trilling’s new book is well worth a read 👏

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 3mo ago

A Reform government is not inevitable. But more of the same will only make it more likely. Great to speak to the brilliant @trillingual.bsky.social about the rise of the British radical right - and what comes next, for Reform, Farage and all of us democracyforsale.substack.com/p/a-reform-g...

We cannot continue to be the policeman of the world. Instead, we'll be the world's Keystone Cops.

It's great to glimpse behind Prospect's paywall. Thank you. But it does seem to have a proofing problem. And, for me, it really does undermine trust. If you can't get the words right, how can we trust the reporting? This by @tom-clark.bsky.social www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/730...

The public relations firm APCO Worldwide has been reported to the Serious Fraud Office after ordering the destruction of crucial evidence of Labour Together’s smear campaign against senior UK journalists. Story by @petergeoghegan.bsky.social

Labour Together PR firm tried to destroy crucial evidence

Controversial firm reported to Serious Fraud Office after senior executive ordered deletion of evidence of Labour Together’s smear campaign against journalists

democracyforsale.substack.com