Labour Conference Was a Lobbyists’ Utopia
Keir Starmer has declared he is leading a ‘government of service’. But the party’s embrace of lobbyists at this year’s conference raises the question: whose interests is it serving?
29 Articles by:
Solomon Hughes
Solomon Hughes has been writing about corporate influence in politics for twenty years, mostly for Private Eye. He also has a weekly column in the Morning Star.
Behind Labour Together
Since running Keir Starmer’s fraudulent leadership campaign, Labour Together has raised staggering sums of money from exploitative businessmen to staff the offices of MPs — shaping party policy in the interests of its mega-rich donors.
Labour for Sale
Keir Starmer says he wants to clean up politics. Instead, he has facilitated a lobbyist takeover of the Labour Party, where predatory gambling firms, big oil and gig economy giants are buying influence at our expense.
Labour Party Conference: A Haven for Lobbyists
As Labour stand on the cusp of power, this year’s annual conference was awash with lobbyists vying to buy influence. They found a party more than willing to accommodate them.
The NHS Swiss Banking Scandal
EXCLUSIVE: Tribune can reveal that the NHS’s Tory-appointed chair Richard Meddings was a key figure in disgraced banking giant Credit Suisse, chairing its risk committee before a series of financial scandals destroyed it last week.
The Dark Heart of Green Toryism
When our ruling class preaches virtue, it usually practices vice. The fascistic, eugenicist roots of the Conservative Party’s leading environmentalists are no exception.
In the Heart of the Tory Identity Crisis
Conservative Conference 2022 has been a heady mix of blue-on-blue attacks, naff merch and sadness. But it’s made one thing clear: when it comes to successfully functioning as the party of the ruling elite, they’re having serious trouble.
The Maggie Complex
Liz Truss aspires to Thatcher’s legacy – but her approach so far has been less brutal ideological crusade and more a nasty game of right-wing lucky dip.
Cashing in on the Housing Crisis
The Help-to-Buy scheme is marketed as an effort to solve the housing crisis, but it’s actually about the Tories helping those who benefit from the crisis get even richer.
The Labour Right’s Bookie Boys
As the gambling industry preys on millions of vulnerable people for profit, it can be comforted in the knowledge that it will always have one friend it can rely on: the Labour right.
Tory Party Conference: A Carnival for Lobbyists
Beyond the platform speeches and right-wing provocations, the real story of Conservative Party conference is the lobbying – with corporations paying for access to the country’s most powerful politicians.
GB News Is the Latest Plaything for Britain’s Right-Wing Millionaires
GB News, which launches next week, portrays itself as an insurgent force in British media – but its funding reveals it to be just another attempt by right-wing millionaires to control public discourse.
Peter Mandelson: Lobbyist for Union-Busters, Big Banks and Oligarchs
Peter Mandelson’s return as an advisor to the Starmer leadership doesn’t just drag the party to the right – it also puts a major corporate lobbyist, who represents union-busting Centrica, at the heart of Labour politics.
The Department for Deloitte
Tory peer James Bethell once helped Deloitte get government contracts as a private lobbyist. Now, as a health minister, he has overseen a test and trace system which employs 1,127 of their consultants.
Failing the Public While Making a Killing
England’s privatised test and trace system is failing by all international standards, but two corporations – Serco and Sitel – stand to make three quarters of a billion anyway. It should be a national scandal.
How Public Funds Are Being Used to Attack Teachers’ Unions
Right-wing lobby group the New Schools Network receives 83% of its funding from the public despite being an ‘independent charity’ – and now it is devoting its resources to attacking teachers’ unions.
Government by Landlord
Boris Johnson’s government is dominated by landlords, many of whom own multiple properties and make a fortune from rent. It isn’t a fluke that they support policies which harm tenants – it’s class politics.
The Lib Dems’ Attack on Workers
During their time in government, Jo Swinson and her Lib Dem colleagues set about pricing thousands of workers who were unfairly sacked out of access to justice.
The Tory Tax Cut Scam
In pledging to freeze corporation tax cuts, Boris Johnson has exposed a decade of Tory arguments that cutting taxes would increase revenue to be little more than a propaganda exercise for the super-rich.
The Tories’ War on the NHS
The Tories have despised the public ethos of the NHS since it was founded. In power, they have privatised its services any chance they could – often making handsome profits in the process.