Italy the first former winners to miss three World Cups in a row.

Seeing Czech Republic go through to the World Cup tonight is almost worse than losing to them last week A really, really bad team. If they could beat Denmark, we could have too Ireland could be going to the World Cup.... 😱 (Instead 🫢)

Very interesting thread in response to my questions about North Sea oil and gas

Am not an energy analyst but why does seem every interview with a U.K. minister this week included a pointed question about why not drilling more in North Sea and almost none about renewables/net zero as an energy security imperative? It’s bizarre, frankly

“A broadcaster has become the media arm of a political party, and nobody is doing anything about it.” Really good to speak to @arusbridger.bsky.social about GB News, Reform and regulatory failure on Democracy for Sale today democracyforsale.substack.com/p/gb-news-is...

Am on BBC Radio 5 Live shortly talking about political donations and foreign interference in British politics. Wrote about some of this in light of Rycroft Review this week: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/has-labour...

Matt Goodwin seems to have gone on GB News expecting to be soft soaped That they actually held him to account was both hilarious and suggests that the party he stood for election for last month has very possibly had its full of him…

“A broadcaster has become the media arm of a political party, and nobody is doing anything about it.” Really good to speak to @arusbridger.bsky.social about GB News, Reform and regulatory failure on Democracy for Sale today democracyforsale.substack.com/p/gb-news-is...

Greater Manchester Police has found "no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting" in the Gorton and Denton by-election, after Reform made a complaint over alleged "family voting" The investigation looked at potential offences under the Representation of the People Act

My latest article for Political Insight is out - considering Ukraine after four years of full scale war. Thanks to @petergeoghegan.bsky.social for inviting me to write it! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

This is an awful story with huge public interest But why is it the main story on BBC 6 music news? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I feel like every Irish fan should also support Hibs so they too can know how endlessly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory feels 😬

It really is the hope that kills you. 😬

As I sit on train to Holloway Road to meet two irish mates, hoping against hope that we can do it, I *really* feel seen COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN!!!

🔴 Labour has announced a moratorium on political donations in cryptocurrency and a cap on donations from Britons living abroad. But if we don't think foreign oligarchs should buy our politics, shouldn't stop the domestic super rich too? New by me: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/has-labour...

This is great news: an immediate ban on political donations in cryptocurrency & a £100k cap on donations from UK citizens abroad. Yes, there's more that needs doing, & the door is left open to crypto in future. But we should celebrate (& applaud) the wins when they come. www.gov.uk/government/n...

A major victory for @petergeoghegan.bsky.social and Democracy for Sale open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

🔴 Labour has announced a moratorium on political donations in cryptocurrency and a cap on donations from Britons living abroad. But if we don't think foreign oligarchs should buy our politics, shouldn't stop the domestic super rich too? New by me: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/has-labour...

🔴 Reform donors cashing in on Iran war Analysis by Democracy for Sale shows that major Reform donors are benefitting from the so-called “war premium” driving up energy prices. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/farages-fo...

🔴 Hedge fund manager Jeremy Hosking has given Reform £1.7m+ Since Iran war, Hosking's fund's energy and fossil fuel investments have risen by more than $25 million Other Reform donors set to profit from the 'war premium' Exclusive by me on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/farages-fo...

Barely 2 per cent of Britons belong to a political party. Yet this tiny, unrepresentative minority helps decide who gets selected to stand for Parliament, who gets to lead our parties and, ultimately, who gets to govern the country. So who are they? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Could be AI, could just be Matt being Matt.

Seems a real missed opportunity for the Greens not to have used Iran to reframe the energy transition as a national security and cost of living issue, instead of just an 'environmental' one. Big chance to put that front and centre.

Some good news 🎉 Democracy for Sale now passed 50,000 subscribers To celebrate we’ve launched a fundraising drive Can you help us do even more hard hitting independent investigative journalism? 😊 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/weve-reach...

This is exactly why so many transparency campaigners are calling for crypto donations to be banned

Also the idea that this man will allow free and fair elections seems for the birds

It’s all 5D chess

Huge apologies!!

This has hopefully worked out for @petergeoghegan.bsky.social because my sheer irritation at the message he's quoted has prompted me to finally pull my finger out and buy an annual subscription to support his team's excellent work. I do encourage a few of you to do the same.

Democracy for Sale is an award winning newsletter that is free to read because we want our stories to read far and wide We’ve broken massive investigations and made a real difference Once in a while I ask people who can to pay support us. And someone sends this in response. Sigh

Thanks for much to @robdysonpr.uk and the other 1650 supporters that make Democracy for Sale possible! Without them the Labour Together investigating journalists story, and so many others would remain untold If you haven’t already, so do support Democracy for Sale 😊

Some good news 🎉 Democracy for Sale now passed 50,000 subscribers To celebrate we’ve launched a fundraising drive Can you help us do even more hard hitting independent investigative journalism? 😊 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/weve-reach...

The world might be on fire but at least this surely is the end of those tortured ‘Trump is planting 5D chess’ pieces (Front page of the spectator week after Iran war started a classic of this genre….)

Again I don't understand why the second sentence of pieces like this doesn't read "So, please, for the love of God, never read anything I write again. ENDS"

‘In 2022, I published an essay endorsing Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination.’ These people really are a joke

I’m personally told young irish people in a London pub to shut up when they’ve sung this But criminalising it is very, very silly

As Tim Turner, a former member of the ICO's staff, and now Data Protection trainer, said:

Maybe the British government could simply be less afraid of transparency (impossible)

1. Britain has very much *NOT* always tolerated minority faiths. Just ask Jews and Catholics. 2. The idea that religious expression should be "in conformity with our values, our norms, our beliefs" should worry every faith group, starting with Christians.

Weakening Freedom of Information is an attack on all our civil liberties, and a clear case of democratic backsliding This needs to be fought, hard - which is exactly what Democracy for Sale will do For shame on Labour giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Am *super* exited to be talking dark money with @novaramedia.com tonight (THURS 19th) at EarTH in Hackney Amazing line up featuring Kojo Karam, Fazia Shaheen.... and newly elected Green MP Hannah Spencer! Tickets still available here: dice.fm/event/oevl5r...

In yesterday's FT anonymous government officials talked of need to 'tighten' to FOI to stop China (!?!) The real story, though, is how much govt spending on legal fees to fight FOI requesters in court Campaigners, citizens, journalists all paying price democracyforsale.substack.com/p/government...

As a gauge of where the world is at, funding yourself explaining who Caligula was to a child over breakfast feels like a pretty bad one 😬

Yeah, but what about her emails? www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Britain is sliding into a really, really dark place We seem to look at the US with a ‘could never happen here’ attitude, meantime long accepted tenets of life in a liberal democracy are thrown out in real time Needs concerted pushback now

This is brilliant news if - as I hope - it actually happens. It's unjust that researchers, academics, reporters, activists and everyone has to pay through the nose to find out who owns England, esp. as a) the Land Registry recently hiked their fees b) Companies House ownership data is free.

Dark money isn’t just a party political problem Main voice in this is ‘a forum for concerned members’ - actually Restore Trust is a Tufton street operation that refuses to declare its funders Incredible how much of our politics has been warped like this www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

Oh wow our campaign to Take Big Money Out of British Politics with @38degrees.bsky.social now has more than 100,000 signatures! Can we make it even more to show government this needs to happen? Do sign and share the petition if you haven't already! thanks 😊 you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/ta...

Didn’t Debbonaire lost her seat to the Greens? (And Goodwin of course got shellacked by them) But why let facts get in the way of ‘the narrative’….

The ‘we need to rethink our approach to the North Sea’ is dumbest conversation in UK politics Expensive to extract- much of it now owned by small producers - that goes into global market Good to jobs in Aberdeen, not much else *mad* we’re not talking about energy security + renewables every day