We read today about how UK think tanks are being used as a bridge for US donors in providing access to UK government ministers and civil servants; in this case to raise cash for research to support the free-trade deals demanded by hardline Brexiters which translates to throwing our Democracy under a bus to achieve political objectives (“the ends justify the means” you understand). Now I’ve posted plenty about the threat of Lobbyist & Special Interest groups on our Democracy, so will not rehash here. What I would suggest though is that what we’ve discovered here is merely a new method for these power brokers to influence our policy while establishing that there is a new U.S group who are keen to be part of the action; yet another thread to the BREXIT puzzle that links back to the United States. But let me suggest that if BREXIT does actually pass it will be open season for these groups from all over the world and with much higher stakes; so the banner that reflects many of the BREXITEER’s views/aspirations “Make Britain Great Again” will truly have a special feel to it. But irrespective of BREXIT we know for a fact – and you can read previous posts on this site – that we’ve already set the stage internally to allow these national & foreign power brokers to operate freely/legitimately without any level of effective scrutiny. In my view we don’t actually need scrutiny or guidelines for these groups; we simply need to eliminate these rotten structures and associated support system entirely from our political eco system because they represent a real/constant threat to an already diminishing level of Democratic space left in this country.
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Rightwing UK thinktank ‘offered ministerial access’ to potential US donors