“I think there’s something genuinely tragic about the fact that, less than a year into this project, the government is seemingly so devoid of its own ideas that it’s going cap in hand to big business essentially saying, ‘help us figure out what to do policy wise’.”
That’s this week’s People Just Do Something guest, OpenDemocracy investigative reporter Ethan Shone, who also authors the Dark Arts newsletter on dark money’s flow into politics (enough to get Isaac salivating hard not only for its content but for the opportunity to unleash his Potter-themed illustrative talents).
Offensive graphics aside, this is serious stuff – as Ethan points out, we are living in an era where the government appears to have hard wired corporate influence into policymaking.
And it’s not just the current government of course. Aside from the traditional power-holding parties, Reform, currently trouncing Labour in many polls, has taken money from prominent climate-change deniers and, Ethan points out, looks set to benefit from the work of a friendly think-tank in the latter stages of development. Such organisations have long enabled third parties to advance their interests in the corridors of power, beneath a veneer of independent research.
So what does all this secretive influence mean for us citizens? Here in Bristol, how is Isaac’s favourite MP Darren Jones connected to a globally influential organisation that was set up by MI6 operatives – and which no one knows how to pronounce? Who is really pulling the strings, and how has corporate capture become the overarching narrative of our time?
Tune in for a disquieting but fascinating delve into the realm of the Dark Arts…
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