> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Morgan McSweeny Did Next - URL: https://www.opendemocracy.net/weekly-email-141126/ - Published: 2026-11-14T08:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-14T08:00:01.000Z - Description: openDemocracy Weekly Newsletter 14 November 2026 - Author: openDemocracy - Tags: Newsletter Back in the summer of 2024, when the world was young, Labour was on the cusp of winning the general election, and the Starmer Project was 100% pure potential — Sir Keir and his aides promised to clean up the sleazy world of lobbying. Fast forward to this week, openDemocracy’s Ethan Shone checked in to see how that’s going. His findings are depressing to the point of being almost comical: Many Starmerites, Morgan McSweeny included, have set themselves up in one-person advisory firms that seem almost custom-designed to exploit the gaping loopholes of the Lobbying Act. Or as McSweeny himself told openDemocracy, “I do not provide lobbying services, nor do I intend to.” Duly noted. COP31 is underway in Turkey this week, as politicians and climate campaigners from around the world gather to find ways to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. There has been progress, but simply flatlining emissions won’t save us from the climate crisis, warns openDemocracy contributor Paul Rogers. The next election could come any time, and we are determined to ****expose the flow of dark money in politics** before then. To do so, we need to recruit 500 new monthly donors by the end of 2026\. We're a third of the way there – but still have a long way to go. Will you help us ****fight those funding the politics of hate,** with a ****monthly donation today?** [Become a regular supporter ](#/portal/signup) Also this month, Britain is rumoured to be joining the US, Russia, and Israel to lobby against a last-ditch attempt to put the brakes on the uncontrolled development of military AI and autonomous weapons at an upcoming UN Conference on Certain Conventional Weapons (that’s the actual name of this conference). But “the military AI buildout is already having catastrophic consequences for livelihoods and habitats in Britain” write Nico Williams and Nathan Akehurst in a perceptive analysis for the newsletter. Finally, take a moment to slow down and read this perceptive piece by William Davies on the cultural panic around what is now being called “the literacy crisis” or the collapse in reading ability across much of the world. We at openDemocracy are so glad that readers, such as yourself, still take pleasure in the written word. If you love reading journalism that exposes wrongdoing and holds the powerful to account, please do consider becoming a regular donor. Have a great weekend **Aman Sethi** Editor in Chief --- [‘Coining it in the City’: What Starmer’s Aides Did NextAfter failing to ‘clean up politics’ as promised, top Starmer advisers have set up advisory firms that experts warn can exploit Lobbying Act loopholes![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-5d9273bd-1b67-4828-aaf2-4bc95e7e909e.png)openDemocracyEthan Shone![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/unnamed-a320d9a4-81c8-447b-a883-ca3600d883e0.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/coining-it-in-the-city-what-starmers-aides-did-next/) [The Right Words in the Right OrderCultural elites and educators of the Global North are now in an advanced state of panic surrounding reading, literacy, and the humanities generally.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-37419830-1a74-41e8-b4f1-1cf8e9042fab.png)openDemocracyWilliam Davies![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/A-Woman-Reading-4adef67f-96ca-4adc-a4b5-602f155b9fdf.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/the-right-words-in-the-right-order/) [Is it time to break up the UK?Being Scottish, or for that matter Welsh, often feels a bit like you're sitting in the passenger seat of a car with a driver who's having a nervous breakdown.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-9c9b7060-1759-48fd-a378-eab860dce44f.png)openDemocracyAman Sethi![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/Westminster-2e83cb06-6671-44b2-9fc5-1eea21aa7190.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/is-it-time-to-break-up-the-uk/) [Flatlining emissions won’t save us from climate crisis – and neither will COP31While recent election wins and COP31 offer some optimism, they mask a bleak reality. What will it take for real change?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-1e0a0c0c-e109-4b46-ae3e-18a2bed82588.png)openDemocracyPaul Rogers![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-2304247443-9fc49699-1246-423a-976f-327e4fcd9f2a.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/cop31-flatlining-emissions-wont-save-us-from-climate-crisis/) [Seeking justice for abuse shouldn’t require braveryPolice promise compassion after Russell Brand’s sentencing, yet the justice system still re-traumatises survivors![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-6911f13f-34bd-4178-903b-061033bcef71.png)openDemocracyHannah Couchman![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-2301261861-a8aa9a35-51db-456f-8889-978c415c509f.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/russell-brand-seeking-justice-for-abuse-shouldnt-require-bravery/) [The UK must back global bans on AI weapons – before it’s too lateNew research shows military AI begins poisoning the planet long before it reaches the battlefield![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-35e3282c-4a90-41ac-8d51-6c7d94c0c610.png)openDemocracyNico Edwards![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/GettyImages-2304251097-22bc9af9-eddf-4b31-b36e-ea229eee0ab1.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/the-uk-must-back-global-bans-on-ai-weapons-before-its-too-late/) ["More like Putin in his soul": Trump, Ukraine's Drone War, and Russia's Sabotage in the UKSian Norris on her fifth reporting trip to the frontlines of Kharkiv and the streets of Kyiv.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-9aa8e719-bf63-44fd-ada6-9793b12ded36.png)openDemocracyJames Battershill![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/Ukraine-In-Solidarity-Thumbnails-919bb412-8fb1-4cab-8ece-368ffa522d7a.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/podcasts/more-like-putin-in-his-soul-trump-ukraines-drone-war-and-russias-sabotage-in-the-uk/) --- ## Weekly Poll How does your opinion compare to the rest of our readership? Take our new look weekly poll and find out. Have thoughts about the topic? [Send us an email](mailto:supporters@opendemocracy.net?subject=Re%3A%20Weekly%20Poll) --- ## Last week's poll results ### **Will the Republican losses in the US House and Senate make the world safer or more dangerous?** ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/2026/11/Poll-Results-09-11-100.jpg) --- ## Reader Comments openDemocracy receives so many carefully considered messages about our work that it seems a shame to keep them to ourselves. These comments are edited for clarity, accuracy and length, and are not a reflection of openDemocracy's editorial position. > Sadley, I agree with Paul pessimistic analysis. The conclusion > is that we have settler colonial system manifested through an apartheid regime. > > The hope is the growing international movement with the Palestinians and turn it into external leverage on Israel to change its oppressive policies. The > internal contradictions and fragmentation in the Israeli society can accelerate the process of change which the anti-war movement in Israel, even if it small, are vital player. > > However, the Palestinians nonviolence resistance to the occupation and determination to stay on their land will continue to inspire the international solidarity movement and refusal to accept the injustice that the Palestinians face. **Marwandarweish |** [**Inside the Israeli military mindset driving endless war**](https://www.opendemocracy.net/israel-election-netanyahu-eisenkot-military-driving-endless-war-gaza-palestine-lebanon/) --- ## What we're reading ### [**Stations, Louise Kennedy**](https://uk.bookshop.org/a/8711/9781526664327?ref=opendemocracy.net) I couldn’t resist telling you about Stations, the new novel by Trespasses author Louise Kennedy. A searing tale about youth, marginalisation and poverty, Stations follows two friends from Ireland to London in the 1980s, tracing their lives right up to the 00s. It’s a novel about friendship and loss, grief, fathers and mothers – and as with Trespasses, it explores what it means to live with the threat of simmering violence. Kennedy’s writing is so vivid, she conjures the grime and grim reality of 1980s London so that you feel you are there. *Sian Norris - Senior Investigative Reporter* --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/2026/11/960px-Berlin_Wall_section_April_2024.jpg) A section of the Berlin Wall near the Topography of Terror | BindiS Wkikicommons ## This week in history **The fall of the Berlin Wall • 9 November 1989** On 9 November 1989, after weeks of mass protest across East Germany, the Berlin Wall fell. Within months, communist governments across Eastern Europe had collapsed. The moment felt briefly like the dawn of a new era. What followed was more complicated: rapid privatisation, the impoverishment of working-class communities, the rise of oligarchs, and eventually the authoritarian backlash visible across the former Eastern Bloc today. This week's archive piece examines how the vacuum left by the fall of the Berlin Wall allowed reactionary neo-Nazi subcultures in the former GDR to mature into modern electoral movements like the AfD. [30 years after the Berlin Wall fell, the far right has come of ageThe Nazis of my generation grew up. They have kids now. But they still carry the hate of their teenage years.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/icon/multi_solo-68451b7a-12d7-4cc3-b365-aff34370085b.png)openDemocracyMaik Fielitz![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/3f/80/3f804bea-4b2d-4ddf-9ff0-6ec7d0afa5fa/content/images/thumbnail/PA-7612522-1776201914178-c69e5ca2-18b4-4a14-b52d-70f5b4d50aba.jpg)](https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/30-years-after-berlin-wall-fell-far-right-has-come-age/) ---