Editorials & Investigations
Long-form investigations and editorials from Open Govt, each drawn from the public record.
State of the UK →
Different parties, different slogans, and the same mistakes repeated in a different accent.
Who Profits When Councils Have No Choice →
Seven of the ten biggest children’s care home providers in England are owned by private equity. Some councils pay £63,000 a week for one child. This is not a mistake. It’s a business model.
The Only Bill Reform UK Ever Wrote →
Cryptocurrency did not appear in Reform UK’s 2024 manifesto. Within a year the party had published the only draft bill in its history, and every major provision would benefit the commercial interests of the donor who funds two thirds of it. The bill has since been quietly deleted. Here is the documented record.
Why Nobody Is Talking About the Biggest Donor in British Politics →
One man has given roughly £30 million to British politics, funds two thirds of the party leading the polls, and gave its leader a £5 million gift that stayed undeclared for nearly two years. He is worth £18.2 billion and litigates against journalists. This should be dominating the front pages. It is nowhere near them. Here is why.
Christopher Harborne, Nigel Farage and £30 Million →
The £5 million gift now under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is one transaction in a documented financial relationship worth around £30 million over seven years. One man, funded largely by cryptocurrency wealth, has provided roughly two thirds of Reform UK’s money. Here is what the public record shows.
Hand Over £800 Million Or Lose £60 Billion →
Trump is threatening a 100 percent tariff on every UK good sold to America unless Britain scraps a digital tax worth a fraction of the trade at stake. The tax will go. The real lesson is that a deal with this White House lasts exactly as long as it suits him.
The Ten Highest Council Tax Bills in England →
The ten most expensive councils in England now charge a Band D bill of between £2,517 and £2,755 a year, every one of them well above the England average. Ranked, with an assessment of what residents get for the money.
The Empty Benches: Which MPs Are Not Turning Up To Vote →
The Commons average voting participation this Parliament is just under 70 percent. The MPs below are well under it. Some have reasons. Some do not.
The Grooming Gangs Scandal: When the State Looked the Other Way →
Britain identified the problem again and again, and failed to stop it again and again. The institutions paid to protect children failed. The individuals they tried to silence did not.
The Council Tax Problem →
Council tax has risen every year for over a decade, now £2,392 on average and as much as £2,765 a year. What has the increase actually bought?
Labour's Broken Promise Problem →
Keir Starmer was not elected on ideological excitement. He was elected on trust. Two years on, the promises Labour broke are the ones that mattered most to voters.
Andy Burnham: The Record Behind the Reputation →
Tipped to lead Labour and the only major politician in Britain with positive favourability ratings. But does the record match the reputation?
Britain's Most Disgraced Politicians →
The scandals that destroyed careers, toppled governments and shattered public trust.
When Did Politicians Stop Taking Responsibility? →
Politicians have always made mistakes. What feels different now is that nobody seems responsible when it happens, and once power stops carrying consequences, the public stops respecting power.
The Westminster Revolving Door Never Stops Spinning →
Different parties, different governments, different slogans, and yet the same people keep appearing. The revolving door is rarely about breaking the law. It is about influence becoming a commodity.
Power For Sale? The 20 Politicians Who Cashed In After Leaving Office →
Twenty politicians who turned public office into private income, some after leaving government, some while still serving. A few broke the rules. Many did not. The pattern is the point: a system built to protect the appearance of propriety more than propriety itself, where former power is converted into private leverage and then wrapped in technical compliance. From Cameron's Greensill texts to Hancock's jungle paycheque, the watchdog could bark from the porch while the caravan of private opportunity rolled on.
The ten worst performing councils in England →
Eight English councils have declared themselves effectively bankrupt since 2018. Between them they accumulated more than £5 billion in debt and deficit. One was abolished and replaced with two new authorities. Another went bankrupt three times in three years. A commuter-belt borough council with sixteen million pounds of annual revenue borrowed its way to £1.2 billion of debt, a ratio so extreme that no repayment schedule exists that could realistically clear it. England's second city is still under government commissioners who arrived in October 2023 and show no indication of leaving. And according to the Local Government Association's own survey, one in five council leaders expects to issue a Section 114 notice within two years.
Westminster's Culture of Impropriety: Why Trust Keeps Eroding →
The MPs who broke the rules, the law or the trust of their constituents, and are still in the Commons. Compiled from Standards Committee findings, criminal records, registered interests disputes and published investigations. Each entry independently fact checked.