About to fly to an airport built to honour an appearance by the Virgin Mary (Knock) then home to Longford for a few days Here’s how the inimitable Peter Lennon described Longford I’ll be seeing ‘the distrustful barmen with pulpy voices’ later 😬

Remember Starmer's "urgent" review into foreign interference after Nathan Gill? Well, there's already two ex-UK ambassadors working in Westminster on behalf of a pro-Russian foreign government whose de facto leader is under UK sanctions... New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/ex-uk-amba...

Merry Christmas!🤶 (a beautiful morning on Wanstead Flats)

Troubling new reporting on the effort of the Kremlin-backed Bosnian Serb secessionist regime in Banja Luka to secure the lifting of UK sanctions, after the US already lifted its own measures following a multimillion dollar lobbying campaign by Dodik’s proxies in Washington.

Remember Starmer's "urgent" review into foreign interference after Nathan Gill? Well, there's already two ex-UK ambassadors working in Westminster on behalf of a pro-Russian foreign government whose de facto leader is under UK sanctions... New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/ex-uk-amba...

My big Christmas discovery of recent years has been: A) Going splits on a baby Stilton with neighbour B) eating Stilton with mince pies Gout, it’s so good

The Trump Vibe Shift Is Dead www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/o...

Well this feels pretty damning ‘it was a glorified stag do. Some members of the team followed two days of drinking in Brisbane with four more in Noosa – six in total, as many days as there had been of Test cricket at this point in the tour.’ www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...

Have a soft spot for the England cricket team but they’ve deserved this Ashes annihilation from the off British press was full of preening ‘this is our year’ nonsense before a ball had even been bowled Bazball is pure ‘Global Britain’ Brexit BS. Full of exceptionalism and hot air

Leyton Orient 2 Bradford 1.

One thing that absolutely definitely happens for real in the academic job market is that when you do not get a job, the Dean calls you and explains why you didn't get it. This is extra-super true when the explanation is something legally actionable on its face.

There is much to applaud in Labour's new inquiry into foreign interference in British politics But it needs to go much further if it's to tackle how foreign influence really works - and properly protect British democracy New by me on Democracy for Sale democracyforsale.substack.com/p/labours-fo...

Apropos of nothing: can’t stop rubber necking at Celtic. Will consume any number of podcasts on the subject (probably in an avoidance strategy about the rest of the world)

Matthew Goodwin objects to prosecuting this: ‘I think it’s time for the British to gang together, hit the streets and start the slaughter. Violence and murder is the only way now. Start off burning every migrant hotel then head off to MPs’ houses and Parliament, we need to take over by FORCE.’

Have had some pretty crazy responses to this piece. One reader asking why we're not investigating "Harold Wilson and Keir Starmer going to communist camps." Another seems to think the Fabians rule the world...

There is much to applaud in Labour's new inquiry into foreign interference in British politics But it needs to go much further if it's to tackle how foreign influence really works - and properly protect British democracy New by me on Democracy for Sale democracyforsale.substack.com/p/labours-fo...

Great to talk foreign interference and the woeful laws that are supposed to protect our democracy with @mrjamesob.bsky.social this morning www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUGf...

Turn on Radio 4 and it’s what sounds like Matthew Goodwin explaining in folksy terms why Christian Nationalism is great, and very reasonable It’s wild how quickly the Overton window in British politics has catapulted rightwards

‘The end of mystery’

About to go live on @mrjamesob.bsky.social to discuss the UK's inquiry into foreign interference

Really feels like UK is about to find out why first past the post really is a terrible system

We also found that 12 Labour ministers attended events involving ex-Tory MP Howlett and his consultancy that were never declared in transparency records

Really exited to see this. Amazing Hujar exhibition in London earlier this year www.theguardian.com/film/2025/de...

Massively overdue. Very glad to see this happening Comes a week after a Labour MP in Commons cited Democracy for Sale’s cash for access investigation as evidence of how weak Britain’s are

Maybe the bigger question is how someone I've not heard anyone say anything positive about in 15 years has become so well connected.

🚨 SCOOP: “I’m a Labour donor” Ben Howlett is an ex-Tory MP, owner of influential PoliticsUK account, and the fixer we exposed selling access to Westminster Turns out he's also involved in Labour fundraising, and discussing donations with Labour MPs democracyforsale.substack.com/p/im-a-labou...

Trump suing the BBC is part of his much wider strategy to prevent journalism he doesn’t like and to erode democratic norms. NYT’s David Enrich v good on this on Democracy for Sale earlier this year This is context of the Trump-BBC story democracyforsale.substack.com/p/murdering-...

OMG it’s the 8.10 story on Today on Radio4!! WTAF!!!!

Trump sues the BBC is the stupidest story ever Of course, cover it but please, please point out - early - how stupid it is. And don’t put it at the top of the news. Because it’s really, really stupid.

Something something Hillary something something emails something something laptop

Oh yes. Stuart Maconie’s freakzone on 6Music is two hours of alternative cover versions of Christmas songs. Already had Low, Can and Jethro Tull Would pay the BBC license fee for Freakzone alone

The credulity that some MPs - and some journalists - display in engaging on X is most worrying Most think they’re ‘not vacating the public square’ In reality their brains are being fired and their idea of what ‘the public thinks’ completely manipulated - which has massive potential consequences

The free tours at the National Portrait Gallery are *so* good Went today on tour of women in the gallery, including this stunning portrait of Ada Lovelace (Charles Babbage on the right)

OMG we only went and bloody won!! 🎉🎉 In barely two years Democracy for Sale has gone from nothing to winning a British journalism award Am absolutely blown away!! Thanks to everyone who reads D4S and supports us. Couldn’t do it without you all 😊

Great to see Democracy for Sale and Led By Donkeys cash for access investigation in Westminster in Private Eye. I reckon most hacks following PoliticsUK don’t realise it’s run by an ex Tory MP turned lobbyist and a Conservative staffer! Our story here: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/breaking-o...

‘I’m not scared of the press’ culture sec Lisa Nandy doesn’t even sound like she believes that sentence as she utters it on Today on R4.

Absolutely bonkers

Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...

Now 20k views on our video and counting

WOW c 10k people have now watched Democracy for Sale's video about our new undercover investigation, with Led By Donkeys. An ex-Tory MP introduced our fake Chinese AI investor into MPs and ministers - and all for just £5k! 😱 Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKof...

No idea what is and isn’t beyond the pale any longer

At the launch of U.K. anti corruption strategy 2025 (launched, eh, a couple of weeks before end of 2025). David Lammy giving keynote address Am here representing Democracy for Sale - probably highest concentration of D4S readers anywhere seems to be in this room!

WOW c 10k people have now watched Democracy for Sale's video about our new undercover investigation, with Led By Donkeys. An ex-Tory MP introduced our fake Chinese AI investor into MPs and ministers - and all for just £5k! 😱 Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKof...

Never thought I’d say this but as a Hibs fan (albeit far flung these days) am glad to see Hearts winning at Celtic today. Scottish football badly needs the completion

PolitlcsUK Twitter account has c 400k followers. Labour ministers often give exclusive interviews But it's part-owned by an ex-Tory MP turned lobbyist - who bought it for £100 Ben Howlett:'I'm like that Nigerian guy on the internet, always working out who the stupid person is, except for politics'

Evergreen tweet (at least for the next month)

The tech oligarchs are the most organised, determined anti democratic force we’ve seen this side of World War II For way too long this has been ignored, elided and under estimated What someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time

1. Some good news at last. This week’s column is about the amazing thing a couple of us stumbled into three years ago, which we’ve now developed into a global research programme. It doesn’t change everything, of course, but it could help change quite a lot. + 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

PolitlcsUK Twitter account has c 400k followers. Labour ministers often give exclusive interviews But it's part-owned by an ex-Tory MP turned lobbyist - who bought it for £100 Ben Howlett:'I'm like that Nigerian guy on the internet, always working out who the stupid person is, except for politics'

As someone posted in reply to this, there is something very Brexity about Bazball - including the complete, repeated, denial of reality