Alex Beatty
@alexbeatty.bsky.social
Communications Advisor at Spotlight on Corruption: @spotlightcorruption.org
Other interests: #History #Communications #Speechwriting #Strategy. Views own. Likes are sometimes bookmarks, sometimes not.
Other interests: #History #Communications #Speechwriting #Strategy. Views own. Likes are sometimes bookmarks, sometimes not.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Every case study like this should be balanced by one such as a 15-year-old with suicidal ideation unable to receive any help because CAMHS has been cut to virtual non-existence.
Huge respect to the papers for finding both an 88 year old worried about the tax bill on her 6 bedroom Kensington house and a 20 year old fretting about only being able to save £12k a year tax free.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
Top work all around. These are not easy case studies to find.
November 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Every case study like this should be balanced by one such as a 15-year-old with suicidal ideation unable to receive any help because CAMHS has been cut to virtual non-existence.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
This applies across the spectrum; whether it be in Parliament, media or the public, smart thinking and policy discussion isn't rewarded.
Every incentive is towards simplicity and outrage lines; the exact opposite of smart policy
Every incentive is towards simplicity and outrage lines; the exact opposite of smart policy
November 28, 2025 at 3:08 PM
This applies across the spectrum; whether it be in Parliament, media or the public, smart thinking and policy discussion isn't rewarded.
Every incentive is towards simplicity and outrage lines; the exact opposite of smart policy
Every incentive is towards simplicity and outrage lines; the exact opposite of smart policy
Reposted by Alex Beatty
'Real household disposable income is going to grow about 0.4% annually this parliament. That is the second worst growth in living standards we've had since the late 1970s.'
@ckfarquharson.bsky.social discusses living standards in our #Budget2025 podcast.
🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/aut...
@ckfarquharson.bsky.social discusses living standards in our #Budget2025 podcast.
🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/aut...
November 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
'Real household disposable income is going to grow about 0.4% annually this parliament. That is the second worst growth in living standards we've had since the late 1970s.'
@ckfarquharson.bsky.social discusses living standards in our #Budget2025 podcast.
🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/aut...
@ckfarquharson.bsky.social discusses living standards in our #Budget2025 podcast.
🎧 Listen here: ifs.org.uk/articles/aut...
Reposted by Alex Beatty
🔍 The @ukanticorruptioncoalition.org is looking for an experienced and motivated interim Senior Coalition Manager to lead our group of #anticorruption organisations through a crucial six-month period.
🙋 If that sounds like you, apply at the link below before 7 December.
🙋 If that sounds like you, apply at the link below before 7 December.
Senior Coalition Manager (Interim) - Prospectus Recruitment Agency
Prospectus is excited to be working with the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition to recruit for an Interim Senior Coalition Manager. This is a 6 month contract with opportunities for the role to become perma...
www.prospect-us.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 1:24 PM
🔍 The @ukanticorruptioncoalition.org is looking for an experienced and motivated interim Senior Coalition Manager to lead our group of #anticorruption organisations through a crucial six-month period.
🙋 If that sounds like you, apply at the link below before 7 December.
🙋 If that sounds like you, apply at the link below before 7 December.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
New post out:
"Survival - for now"
The five big risks hidden in the budget. And why the government has missed an opportunity to take control of its own destiny.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...
"Survival - for now"
The five big risks hidden in the budget. And why the government has missed an opportunity to take control of its own destiny.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...
Survival - for now
Five big risks hidden in the budget
open.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:30 AM
New post out:
"Survival - for now"
The five big risks hidden in the budget. And why the government has missed an opportunity to take control of its own destiny.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...
"Survival - for now"
The five big risks hidden in the budget. And why the government has missed an opportunity to take control of its own destiny.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...
Reposted by Alex Beatty
For anyone that would like some evening reading material that isn't related to the Budget, here's my latest blog post for @spotlightcorruption.org on what we can learn from recent political scandals involving crypto in Spain and Czechia ⬇️
www.spotlightcorruption.org/crypto-donat...
www.spotlightcorruption.org/crypto-donat...
Crypto donation lessons from Europe: What recent scandals in Spain and Czechia tell us about the risks of crypto for political finance - Spotlight on Corruption
With the Elections Bill on the horizon, the UK government is in the process of weighing-up whether to bring in strict controls on political donations made in
www.spotlightcorruption.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:43 PM
For anyone that would like some evening reading material that isn't related to the Budget, here's my latest blog post for @spotlightcorruption.org on what we can learn from recent political scandals involving crypto in Spain and Czechia ⬇️
www.spotlightcorruption.org/crypto-donat...
www.spotlightcorruption.org/crypto-donat...
Reposted by Alex Beatty
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Restoring the independence of our elections watchdog is vital to increasing trust in our politics.
Our democracy is beset by increasing misinformation, unprecedented foreign interference & dodgy donations - the time to act is now.
Read my comments in today’s Guardian 👇🏻
Our democracy is beset by increasing misinformation, unprecedented foreign interference & dodgy donations - the time to act is now.
Read my comments in today’s Guardian 👇🏻
Politicians urge Labour to restore Electoral Commission independence
All-party group say move is needed to stop UK lagging behind global standards on election integrity
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Restoring the independence of our elections watchdog is vital to increasing trust in our politics.
Our democracy is beset by increasing misinformation, unprecedented foreign interference & dodgy donations - the time to act is now.
Read my comments in today’s Guardian 👇🏻
Our democracy is beset by increasing misinformation, unprecedented foreign interference & dodgy donations - the time to act is now.
Read my comments in today’s Guardian 👇🏻
Reposted by Alex Beatty
The difficult truth is that there is a clear national security element to social media information flows. It can't all be viewed through the single lens of free speech. Disinformation sabotage is a hostile act intended to destablise our societies. Our societies need appropriate protection.
November 23, 2025 at 7:08 PM
The difficult truth is that there is a clear national security element to social media information flows. It can't all be viewed through the single lens of free speech. Disinformation sabotage is a hostile act intended to destablise our societies. Our societies need appropriate protection.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
The agenda moves quickly, Paul, because you are all on X and allow a foreign owned media organisation with an agenda against this country to set that agenda. That's on you and your bosses.
November 23, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The agenda moves quickly, Paul, because you are all on X and allow a foreign owned media organisation with an agenda against this country to set that agenda. That's on you and your bosses.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
The total lack of seriousness that UK elites show while facing an obvious pre-war/ grey war situation in most policy realms is atrocious. Small boats? Yeah whatever mate.
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The total lack of seriousness that UK elites show while facing an obvious pre-war/ grey war situation in most policy realms is atrocious. Small boats? Yeah whatever mate.
👇 Really interesting thread from @robfordmancs.bsky.social - with a great intro!
Richard Feynman once wrote about "Cargo Cult Science" - "they follow all the apparent precepts and forms, but they're missing something essential, because the planes don't land." I wonder if we currently have a Cargo Cult model of messaging and media management in British politics
November 21, 2025 at 3:06 PM
👇 Really interesting thread from @robfordmancs.bsky.social - with a great intro!
Reposted by Alex Beatty
🚨 BREAKING: Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, gets 10.5 years for Russia-linked #bribery offences.
⚖️ This is the first time a British politician has ever been convicted of bribery.
👉 Follow us for more from the courtroom later today.
⚖️ This is the first time a British politician has ever been convicted of bribery.
👉 Follow us for more from the courtroom later today.
📹 Zainab Saleem, Spotlight's Legal Fellow, will be down at the Old Bailey today for the sentencing of #NathanGill, the former Reform UK leader in Wales who pleaded guilty to 8️⃣ #bribery charges in September. Here Zainab outlines the case and explains why it matters for UK democracy.
November 21, 2025 at 12:53 PM
🚨 BREAKING: Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, gets 10.5 years for Russia-linked #bribery offences.
⚖️ This is the first time a British politician has ever been convicted of bribery.
👉 Follow us for more from the courtroom later today.
⚖️ This is the first time a British politician has ever been convicted of bribery.
👉 Follow us for more from the courtroom later today.
👇 Agree with every word of this brilliant post by Marie - the world seems to get noticeably madder every day and the reaction is just... not there. Why isn't anyone doing anything about it? 😔
this week's newsletter is titled "aren't you tired of feeling insane all the time?" and I think it speaks for itself
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
it is also free to read
youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/arent-you-...
November 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM
👇 Agree with every word of this brilliant post by Marie - the world seems to get noticeably madder every day and the reaction is just... not there. Why isn't anyone doing anything about it? 😔
Reposted by Alex Beatty
When UK political parties regularly accept £ million+ donations, it is striking that even bribes of a few thousand were enough to get a British MEP to deliver Kremlin speaking points in the parliament.
Our friends @spotlightcorruption.org detail the case at the Old Bailey: bsky.app/profile/spot...
Our friends @spotlightcorruption.org detail the case at the Old Bailey: bsky.app/profile/spot...
📹 Zainab Saleem, Spotlight's Legal Fellow, will be down at the Old Bailey today for the sentencing of #NathanGill, the former Reform UK leader in Wales who pleaded guilty to 8️⃣ #bribery charges in September. Here Zainab outlines the case and explains why it matters for UK democracy.
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
When UK political parties regularly accept £ million+ donations, it is striking that even bribes of a few thousand were enough to get a British MEP to deliver Kremlin speaking points in the parliament.
Our friends @spotlightcorruption.org detail the case at the Old Bailey: bsky.app/profile/spot...
Our friends @spotlightcorruption.org detail the case at the Old Bailey: bsky.app/profile/spot...
Reposted by Alex Beatty
📹 Zainab Saleem, Spotlight's Legal Fellow, will be down at the Old Bailey today for the sentencing of #NathanGill, the former Reform UK leader in Wales who pleaded guilty to 8️⃣ #bribery charges in September. Here Zainab outlines the case and explains why it matters for UK democracy.
November 21, 2025 at 8:24 AM
📹 Zainab Saleem, Spotlight's Legal Fellow, will be down at the Old Bailey today for the sentencing of #NathanGill, the former Reform UK leader in Wales who pleaded guilty to 8️⃣ #bribery charges in September. Here Zainab outlines the case and explains why it matters for UK democracy.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
💥 Spotlight's Helen Taylor is quoted in this jaw-dropping expose by @theferret.scot's @jamiermann.bsky.social. She says: “The fact that a Kremlin-decorated oligarch stills holds significant property interests in the UK is a shocking indictment of the many gaps in our defences against dirty money”.
From Moscow to Paisley: How a blacklisted Russian oligarch secretly invested in Scottish car parks
A Russian oligarch praised by Vladimir Putin has amassed a UK property portfolio under the veil of secretive offshore trusts, The Ferret can reveal. Anti-corruption campaigners say our investigation i...
www.theferret.scot
November 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
💥 Spotlight's Helen Taylor is quoted in this jaw-dropping expose by @theferret.scot's @jamiermann.bsky.social. She says: “The fact that a Kremlin-decorated oligarch stills holds significant property interests in the UK is a shocking indictment of the many gaps in our defences against dirty money”.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
🗞️ Our executive director @suehawley.bsky.social calls for serious consideration of a ban on ex-MPs holding Parliamentary passes, as revealed in this story in @thetimes.com by @georgegreenwood.bsky.social. Sue says: “Ultimately, the risks of abuse are always going to be high and difficult to police.”
Ex-MPs working for lobbyists use privileged access to parliament
A number of former politicians who are now paid to help influence policymakers have visited the parliamentary estate, but deny doing so for lobbying
www.thetimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:02 PM
🗞️ Our executive director @suehawley.bsky.social calls for serious consideration of a ban on ex-MPs holding Parliamentary passes, as revealed in this story in @thetimes.com by @georgegreenwood.bsky.social. Sue says: “Ultimately, the risks of abuse are always going to be high and difficult to police.”
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Former MPs who then go on to work for lobbying firms should be banned from holding a parliamentary pass.
I don't care whether they want a haircut or a "cuppa with old colleagues."
It's not as if I have a pass from any of my old workplaces still.
@spotlightcorruption.org right to call this out.
I don't care whether they want a haircut or a "cuppa with old colleagues."
It's not as if I have a pass from any of my old workplaces still.
@spotlightcorruption.org right to call this out.
Ex-MPs working for lobbyists use privileged access to parliament
A number of former politicians who are now paid to help influence policymakers have visited the parliamentary estate, but deny doing so for lobbying
www.thetimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Former MPs who then go on to work for lobbying firms should be banned from holding a parliamentary pass.
I don't care whether they want a haircut or a "cuppa with old colleagues."
It's not as if I have a pass from any of my old workplaces still.
@spotlightcorruption.org right to call this out.
I don't care whether they want a haircut or a "cuppa with old colleagues."
It's not as if I have a pass from any of my old workplaces still.
@spotlightcorruption.org right to call this out.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Great that personal bribery has become the default way to get deals with the world's richest and most powerful country. Really positive development.
“Apple set the tone” when Tim Cook gave Trump an engraved, glass disc. This week, the Swiss delegation gave him a “special Rolex desktop clock” and a $130,000 gold bar.
“.. It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it," an administration official told @axios.com
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
“.. It was tough to beat Apple, but the Swiss did it," an administration official told @axios.com
www.axios.com/2025/11/14/t...
November 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Great that personal bribery has become the default way to get deals with the world's richest and most powerful country. Really positive development.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
The only way to raise serious revenue is to raise a tax which everybody pays. Raising a tax which someone else pays rarely raises the revenue needed and creates endless pressure from special interest groups. Compare and contrast Mr Osborne's 2 1/2% VAT increase with his pasty tax. #omnishambles
November 14, 2025 at 3:32 PM
The only way to raise serious revenue is to raise a tax which everybody pays. Raising a tax which someone else pays rarely raises the revenue needed and creates endless pressure from special interest groups. Compare and contrast Mr Osborne's 2 1/2% VAT increase with his pasty tax. #omnishambles
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Replies to this are a good case for why the lobby system absolutely doesn’t work in the 21st century.
It is the standard practice of government to brief stories from unnamed sources. *Official briefings* come from unnamed sources. But a sizeable subset of the public thinks unnamed means made up.
It is the standard practice of government to brief stories from unnamed sources. *Official briefings* come from unnamed sources. But a sizeable subset of the public thinks unnamed means made up.
There is a small subset of pro-Starmer ultras on here who either genuinely don’t understand that budget stories *are directly briefed out by the Treasury, with permission* or pretend not to know that. And so they claim the plans never existed, haven’t changed, etc. It is maddening, and dumb as fuck.
November 14, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Replies to this are a good case for why the lobby system absolutely doesn’t work in the 21st century.
It is the standard practice of government to brief stories from unnamed sources. *Official briefings* come from unnamed sources. But a sizeable subset of the public thinks unnamed means made up.
It is the standard practice of government to brief stories from unnamed sources. *Official briefings* come from unnamed sources. But a sizeable subset of the public thinks unnamed means made up.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Reporting on economic crime is, on paper, protected against #SLAPPs. But do the protections work? Dan Neidle is looking to find out. Read more from the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition here: antislapp.uk/2025/11/12/d... @danneidle.bsky.social
The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition stands in solidarity with Dan Neidle as he uses the UK’s only anti-SLAPP protections to challenge a legal action brought against him. - UK Anti-Slapp Coalition
The UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition stands in solidarity with Dan Neidle as he applies to test England and Wales' only anti-SLAPP protections following a legal action brought against him.
antislapp.uk
November 12, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reporting on economic crime is, on paper, protected against #SLAPPs. But do the protections work? Dan Neidle is looking to find out. Read more from the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition here: antislapp.uk/2025/11/12/d... @danneidle.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Roll up! Excited to be hosting a new kleptoscope at London's Frontline Club, with Sue Hawley, of @spotlightcorruption.org, Jess Garland of @electoralreform.bsky.social and @liambyrnemp.bsky.social. We'll be talking about how to save democracy from big money.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kleptoscop...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kleptoscop...
Kleptoscope: Big Money in Little Britain
How to protect our democracy?
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Roll up! Excited to be hosting a new kleptoscope at London's Frontline Club, with Sue Hawley, of @spotlightcorruption.org, Jess Garland of @electoralreform.bsky.social and @liambyrnemp.bsky.social. We'll be talking about how to save democracy from big money.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kleptoscop...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/kleptoscop...
Reposted by Alex Beatty
🚨 A significant milestone in the Serious Fraud Office’s prosecution of former Glencore employees today as four individuals pleaded not guilty to #corruption charges relating to the UK mining giant’s operations in Africa. 🌍
November 10, 2025 at 1:11 PM
🚨 A significant milestone in the Serious Fraud Office’s prosecution of former Glencore employees today as four individuals pleaded not guilty to #corruption charges relating to the UK mining giant’s operations in Africa. 🌍