“The rise of the mob out of the capitalist organisation was observed early, and its growth carefully and anxiously noted by all great historians of the nineteenth century,” wrote Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism, adding: “They also correctly foresaw the possibility of converting democracy into a despotism whose tyrants would rise from the mob and lean on it for support.”
Writing in the aftermath of World War II, Arendt noted that in Britain, “this new alliance between the much-too-rich and the much-too-poor was and remained confined to overseas possessions”.
But as Britain’s possessions have dwindled, the alliance has come home.
And so to our latest edition of The Weekly, in which openDemocracy investigative reporter Ethan Shone lays bare the latest iteration of this alliance. As Ethan reports, the very same Big Business interests that got their claws into Labour before the 2024 election are now turning to Reform as their next political vehicle.
As one lobbyist told Ethan, “The opportunities for business if Reform gets in are a lot greater than we've seen previously…“[Reform is] saying they’re going to have up to 50% of their cabinet [come from industry]. Businesses are thinking at this point, ‘Could I be in their cabinet?”
To demonstrate what these “opportunities” could look like, our second story is a scoop revealing how taxpayers – yup, you and I – paid to send a Ministry of Defence official to elite bank Rothschild & Co to explore the role of private finance in military budgets. This arrangement, by sheer coincidence, ended exactly the day openDemocracy asked the government about it.
Also in this edition, we are bringing you a podcast from last year that takes a closer look at exactly who funds Reform, as well as an archive piece on how Labour was lovebombed by lobbyists ahead of the 2024 election.
It takes time, money and effort for our reporters to dig up stories like these. So if you appreciate this work, please consider making a donation to our newsroom. I know we’re all struggling right now, but even a small sum goes a very long way.
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