Government secrecy
Getting us off to a chilling start is A Nightmare on Downing Street. Did you know the UK government is waging a secret war against transparency? openDemocracy’s report ‘Access Denied’ recently exposed the depth of the government’s attack on the Freedom of Information Act. The report shows that 2020 was the worst year on record for government transparency. Only 41% of requests to the government were granted in full last year – the lowest proportion since records began in 2005. This follows a major investigation by openDemocracy last year, which revealed how a secretive Cabinet Office unit called the ‘Clearing House’ vetted sensitive requests for information.
During a parliamentary inquiry, openDemocracy reporter Jenna Corderoy told MPs that the Cabinet Office is “utterly failing on Freedom of Information”. To put it another way, it isn’t just lurking in the shadows, it’s actively casting them. If the state of secrecy and lack of transparency in British government isn’t enough to haunt you, keep reading.
Climate hypocrisy
Double, double, oil and trouble. Almost one in ten Conservative peers has financial interests in oil and gas. In the run-up to COP26, hosted by the UK, it has been reported that 43 members of the House of Lords have a financial stake in the oil and gas industry, prompting accusations of “unethical” conflicts of interest. Greenpeace has accused politicians of being “worryingly cosy” with the fossil fuel industry. A spokesperson said: “How can these powerful people be trusted to seize the opportunities of the green industries of the future, when they directly benefit from propping up business as usual?”
