Steven Downes

father, husband, journalist and author. RTS award-winner. Former Editor @AthleticsWeekly. Secretary of @SportSJA for 12 years. Founder @insidecroydon

[L'Équipe @lequipe]

La une du journal L'Equipe du mercredi 10 juin

[Miguel Delaney @MiguelDelaney]

Gianni Infantino hadn't held a proper press conference in three years

He still hasn't

This was a Trumpian ramble where he tried to reframe reality and avoid difficult truths

https://t.co/Z8cocmYVSv

[The Fraud @StarmertheFraud]

CALL FOR EVIDENCE: THE LABOUR TOGETHER PARLIAMENT

Please share widely and help us expose the hyper-factional remaking of the Parliamentary Labour Party by the Labour Together/Morgan McSweeney project.

Submissions to be made to [email protected]

Shadow World Investigations (SWI) and Paul Holden - author of The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney and the Crisis of British Democracy – are today announcing a new investigative project about the transformation of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) under the Labour Together Project.

This long-germinating project is soliciting evidence about how Labour Party processes were used (and abused) to manipulate the selection of Labour MP candidates who now make up the majority of the PLP.

Sir Keir Starmer was the frontman for a scandalous political project that spent the best part of a decade remaking the Labour Party along rigidly factional and exclusionary lines.

The most consequential transformation was of the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Two thirds of the Labour MPs currently sitting in the House of Commons were selected through a process tightly controlled by Morgan McSweeney and his allies, allegedly with direct (albeit informal) input from Peter Mandelson. Labour Together, and its key donors, then spent over £2 million on getting this intake of MPs elected.

The selection process that McSweeney oversaw was beset by allegations of misconduct and irregularities so widespread that veteran journalist Michael Crick warned of potential ‘corruption’. One MP selection has resulted in criminal charges being filed against Labour officials.

These are the MPs that not just determine the future of the country but will play a key role in either making or breaking the political fortunes of whoever next succeeds Starmer.

In a follow up to The Fraud, SWI, Paul Holden and Jessica Murray will be embarking upon ‘The Labour Together Parliament’ project to examine the legitimacy of the process that resulted in the current Parliament, upon which any Labour government will rest.

What we need as a first step is information.

We would like evidence of any wrongdoing or stitch-ups during the selection process. We would like to build a collection of evidence about the ways in which bureaucrats forced through or manipulated the selection process, including in the finalisation of longlists and shortlists, and, where it happened, the decision being removed from local democratic decision making altogether.

We are particularly interested in the vote tallies from every Labour candidate selection between 2022 and 2024. These have not been routinely published.

We are particularly interested in tallies that distinguish between postal/online/and in-person votes. These different vote tallies would have been provided to losing candidates. Sometimes they were only read out in selection meetings. We are not only looking for results that seem ‘dodgy’ – but all vote tallies, including those that are not in the least suspicious. This will allow us to build a holistic database and rigorously test different hypotheses.

We would also like tallies from candidate selections in seats that weren’t Labour targets and didn’t result in any MP. Ideally, it would be great if we could be provided with contemporaneous evidence of these vote tallies – such as a screenshot of a message or email relaying the result.

We would also be interested in narrowing down which CLPs used Anonyvoter for MP selection, even if the vote tallies are not available.

Please send any information you think is relevant to the selection of the current PLP [email protected].

And please share this call for evidence widely!

[Inside Croydon @InsideCroydon]

https://t.co/F4i9SH2Sx7

[Inside Croydon @InsideCroydon]

Inside Croydon’s exclusive coverage of the news that matters can now be found on Bluesky. Don’t give a XXXX for Musk! #Croydon
https://t.co/LEn2zl8mQY… #Croydon #journalism

[Andrew Feinstein @andrewfeinstein]

Justice Jeremy Johnson will go down in history alongside Percy Yutar who sent Mandela & his comrades to jail for life, alongside all the apartheid South African judges who shamefully jailed activists for opposing the system. Despicable & indefensible

[Steven Downes @sdownes]

@Channel4News @jonsnowC4 For just a few sparing moments, I had the privilege of working @Channel4News, where @jonsnowC4 was kind, interested and hugely encouraging. A real inspiration. Thank you!

[Nick Harris @sportingintel]

Somali referee Omar Artan being denied entry to the USA for the World Cup. So angry about this I’m only just trying to articulate what I think. It’s a resignation issue for craven @fifamedia president Infantino, who has spent yrs cosying up to war-mongers & human rights abusers

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

What a team!

[We Own It @We_OwnIt]

90% of countries in the world can own their water but not us. People in England want their water back. But the government is protecting private water profiteers.

It’s time to give the public a say. @Feargal_Sharkey wants you stand up and be counted. Sign the petition: https://t.co/NdwoKq7k3o

[Peter Carline @PeterCarline]

... adverts dressed up as hydration breaks.

Who, exactly, is this World Cup for?

https://t.co/eraHKl6c6m

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

When he was sacked, Sir Alf Ramsey was given a pay-off of £8,000 and an annual pension of £1,200. He lived modestly. Football has not always treated its greats properly. Column on then and now. 2/2 #ENG #FIFAWorldCup
https://t.co/CaZhlUTqP5

[Inside Croydon @InsideCroydon]

Now with fully functioning discount code - which can be used on all Anspach and Hobday products: https://t.co/eQoUEOYIzw #Croydon #Beer @CAMRA_London @AnspachHobday

[Inside Croydon @InsideCroydon]

https://t.co/NBKlF2NboT #Croydon #Podcast #Journalism @PrivateEyeNews @PeterKGeoghegan

[Sangita Myska @SangitaMyska]

🚨1. More professional news: I’m thrilled to be joining forces with @mehdirhasan and other colleagues to launch Zeteo UK. It’s a brilliant opportunity, alongside my other work, to help shape the fast growing independent media landscape with fresh perspectives and strong voices - rooted in solid journalism. @zeteo_news

[The Fraud @StarmertheFraud]

Democracy For Sale (👇) with more revelations about the Labour Together/APCO scandal and Josh Simons' role.

Can there be any doubt that Simons' is not fit for public office?

V disturbing that @AndyBurnhamGM and team didn't answer questions about Simons' role in his campaign.

[Inside Croydon @InsideCroydon]

100 free pizzas today at Pizza Hut Norbury and South Croydon #Croydon #FREE #Today https://t.co/2oJknFmX7d

[Inside Croydon @InsideCroydon]

https://t.co/TilT5pOWl4 #Croydon #cpfc #Leipzig

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

“I hoped to win silverware for the club but most of all I wanted to be part of a team fans could be proud of.” And Bobby Tambling did make Chelsea fans proud. His words adorn the Shed Wall. His goals adorn Chelsea's history. The “TAMBLING 202” banner adorns the Shed. #CFC 1/2

[Neil Barnett @NeilSpyBarnett]

Anyone who knew Bobby Tambling loved him. He was captain of @ChelseaFC & scored 4 goals on the night in 1963 the club was promoted back to the top flight after 1 year out. 1st CFC player to score for the club in a competitive Wembley game. Record goalscorer for near 50 years 1/2