They Still Walk Among Us
In recent years, the BBC has been more generous with airtime for far-right figures than their left-wing counterparts. The new Labour government's authoritarian crackdown on dissent and watering down of climate targets have been accompanied by a welcome of far-right groups into administration. At the same time, we've witnessed the erosion of the fourth pillar of democracy – the press – and its failure to hold the government accountable for abandoning campaign promises.
The House of Lords' second chamber remains influenced by right-wing factions that obstruct vital climate action while cozying up to fossil fuel lobbyists. The Press Recognition Panel (PRP), established after the Leveson Inquiry, oversees and approves new press regulatory bodies. Two emerged: Impress and Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso). However, Ipso's board includes representatives of publications under investigation for disinformation, including Chris Evans from the Telegraph, Ted Verity from the Daily Mail, and Gary Jones from the Daily Express.
This is an exclusively right-wing cabal with significant influence over policy. The organisation is chaired by Lord Faulks, a senior advisor to the Policy Exchange think tank, which has received funding from Exxon. Ipso's protocols do not address inaccuracy when presented as fact, and its true purpose is to enable unethical journalistic conduct.
Labour's Ed Miliband spearheaded calls for Leveson Part Two's revival after the Conservative government broke promises due to "fear about the wrath of the press". However, following the election, Labour Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy fudged that Leveson Part Two was not a priority. Nathan Sparkes from Hacked Off expressed frustration over this backtracking, stating it represented a capitulation to press barons and a failure of integrity.
The new Labour government has followed the preordained path of making time-honoured pacts with Fleet Street. Neither Keir Starmer nor any indication of concern for Ofcom's partiality or broadcast regulator Lord Grade's bias towards "woke warrior apparatchiks" have been expressed.
Despite this, there are disturbing measures of influence within the Labour Party. Maurice Glasman, a Labour peer and intellectual guru for the party, sits on the advisory board of The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC), a far-right climate denial consortium launched by Jordan Peterson in 2023. Morgan McSweeney, Starmer's chief of staff, has expressed admiration for Glasman.
The erosion of democracy is at stake as vested interests and a broken regulatory landscape capture the media. Frustration among those committed to honest reporting has reached boiling point in the UK. The Media Revolution, launched in October 2024, aims to challenge this and overcome barriers to telling and hearing objective truth – whether about climate breakdown or culture wars.