Adam Bienkov

Political Editor at Byline Times, based in the House of Commons Press Gallery. Please subscribe to my newsletter: http://adambienkov.substack.com. Send tips and stories to adam@bylinetimes.com

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Last Notes

2024-07-02 14:55:30

As Labour heads into Government large parts of the British press are suddenly starting to notice things they have spent the past 14 years carefully ignoring
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/07/02/keir-starmer-friday-night-dinners-family-hypocrisy-conservative-press/

2024-05-18 09:37:48

The Conservative party became so addicted to driving a wedge between their opponents, that they failed to notice the only wedge they were driving was between voters and themselves.
How the Crosby approach to politics has wedged the Tories into a corner
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/wedged-how-the-wizard-of-oz-helped

2024-05-15 16:28:53

Rishi Sunak is accusing his opponents of 'emboldening' Vladimir Putin.
Since entering Government Sunak's party has
- Taken millions from Russia-linked donors
- Ennobled the son of a former KGB agent
- Covered up details of Russian interference in Britain
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/05/15/rishi-sunak-conservative-party-russia-vladimir-putin/

2024-05-08 15:39:11

Labour MPs are furious with Keir Starmer over his decision to welcome hard-right Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke into the party.
One Labour MP describes it as a "disgrace" that will "come back to bite us"
MPs from all wings of the party angry about the move
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/05/08/natalie-elphicke-defection-labour-mps-furious-keir-starmer-labour-conservative-party/

2024-05-07 09:27:34

The Conservative party's latest big idea to avoid losing elections? Stop people voting
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/05/07/postal-voting-ban-conservative-mp-brendan-clarke-smith-local-election-defeats/

2024-05-05 07:28:28

Unlike the Labour leader, who has repeatedly folded under pressure from the Conservative party and the press, Sadiq Khan has stuck to his guns and won a historic third term
Here's the lessons a Keir Starmer Government should learn from the London mayor
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-lessons-keir-starmer-should-learn

2024-04-26 11:37:37

Ofcom claims there is "no consensus" among the public to ban Nigel Farage and other politicians from presenting on GB News
However, new @wethinkpolling finds
- 63% want all politician presenters banned
- Majority of supporters of all parties agree
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/04/26/fire-farage-public-wants-ofcom-to-ban-gb-news-politician-presenters/

2024-04-24 13:36:43

Rishi Sunak gathered hugely favourable front page headlines today for his pledge to increase defence spending by £75 billion while paying for it by sacking civil servants.
The only problem is the numbers don't actually add up
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/04/24/rishi-sunak-defence-spending-gdp-nato-cooked-the-books/

2024-04-23 09:02:06

Sunak has allocated 2200 detention spaces, 200 caseworkers, 25 courtrooms, 150 judges and 5000 sitting days for Rwanda
At a time when rape victims have to wait almost two years for a trial, the PM has suddenly found the cash and capacity to get what he wants
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/04/23/rishi-sunak-rwanda-nightmare-is-pushing-his-government-beyond-reason/

2024-02-18 13:01:04

The ugly truth of British politics is that Islamophobia is not just tolerated, but actively exploited by a British political and media system that treats Muslims as second class citizens
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/do-muslims-count

2023-12-31 12:57:41

🔴My Five Political Predictions for 2024
How British politics is set to hit a series of new lows over the coming 12 months
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/my-five-political-predictions-for-fba

2023-12-15 11:59:28

Rishi Sunak says schools and hospitals have improved under the Conservatives.
New @WeThink poll finds
- Just 7% say hospitals have improved
- Only 9% say schools are better
- Even Tory voters don't think public services are in any better state than 2010
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/fewer-than-one-in-ten-think-public

2023-11-09 08:46:55

🔴Suella Braverman's Long Hate March to Unfreedom
The truth is that the Home Secretary and Prime Minister are united in their belief that our democratic rights are luxuries they should be free to withdraw at whim
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/suella-bravermans-long-hate-march

2023-11-04 08:15:42

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak insist they got the "big calls right" on Covid.
New poll finds:
- 60% say they handled the pandemic badly
- 61% say they locked down too late
- 56% say Eat Out to Help Out was 'irresponsible'
- 56% say they were “negligent”
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/boris-johnson-and-rishi-sunak-got

2023-11-02 09:04:25

The very people who helped create the disaster of Johnson's premiership are now seeking to pretend it never even happened
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-silence-of-boris-johnsons-enablers

2023-10-20 09:34:03

🔴‘There’s No Votes Left’: The Conservatives Are Stuck in Denial After Huge By-Election Defeats
If defeats on this historic scale don't convince the Conservative party that they need to change course then nothing ever will
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/10/20/theres-no-votes-left-the-conservatives-are-stuck-in-denial-after-huge-by-election-defeats/

2023-10-20 06:04:39

🔴The Conservatives' Huge Defeats in Tamworth and Mid Beds Shows Sunak's 'Culture War' Strategy Has Run into the Mud
Rishi Sunak's focus on a series of fringe issues that only concern a minority of very online Conservative activists is doomed to failure
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/tamworth-mid-beds-bylection-defeats-culture-war

2023-10-06 12:04:49

🔴One in Five Voters Say Conservatives are Now a ‘Far Right’ Party
Exclusive new polling finds many voters now see Rishi Sunak as a weak politician leading an increasingly extreme party
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/one-in-five-voters-say-conservatives

2023-10-04 07:55:51

🔴The Conservative Party Conference Embraces Trumpism Without Trump
Rishi Sunak’s reckless attempts to mimic the political tactics of the radical Republican right led to some truly ugly scenes at his party’s conference in Manchester
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/10/04/the-conservative-party-conference-embraces-trumpism-without-trump/

2023-09-30 16:36:01

🔴The Myth of the War on the Motorist
British politics has long prioritised the needs of drivers over everyone else at a massive cost to us all
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-myth-of-the-war-on-the-motorist

2023-09-22 11:34:05

🔴Forget Murdoch: Most Under 40s Now Get their News from Social Media Instead
As Rupert Murdoch stands down, new polling shows that the vast majority of young people now get their news from TikTok and other social media platforms
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/forget-murdoch-most-under-40s-now

2023-09-15 09:17:12

Rishi Sunak, who promised a Government of “integrity, professionalism and accountability” is now trying to cling to his job by pushing outright lies.
His totally false claim that Labour has "pledged" to accept 100,000 migrants a year is just the beginning
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/09/15/rishi-sunak-100000-migrants-proof-of-weakness/

2023-09-13 08:21:03

🔴Voter ID is Working for the Conservative Party
A new report by the Electoral Commission confirms what critics suggested all along. This is voter suppression
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/voter-id-is-working-for-the-conservative

2023-08-31 08:41:53

Grant Shapps, who used a fake name in order to pose as a "millionaire web marketer" running a get-rich-quick scheme, and then lied about it for three years, is now in charge of the UK's global security and defence policy.

2023-08-19 11:22:41

🔴What is Keir Starmer Afraid Of?
As the Labour leader heads towards Downing Street, the previously ruthless politician is becoming increasingly captured by his own timidity
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/what-is-keir-starmer-afraid-of

2023-07-20 12:29:49

Boris Johnson has still not given his WhatsApps to the Covid Inquiry, ten days after the High Court deadline passed.
A government source tells me officials have still not accessed the messages.
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/07/20/boris-johnson-has-still-not-given-his-whatsapps-to-the-covid-inquiry/

2023-07-16 08:41:27

🔴The False Hope vs No Hope Election
After 13 years of despair, the public is crying out for some actual hope from the opposition
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-false-hope-vs-no-hope-election

2023-07-08 07:14:19

How 'Macavity' Sunak has developed an uncanny habit of fleeing the scene whenever trouble hits
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/macavity-sunak

2023-07-07 07:13:47

New YouGov poll gives Labour a *25 point* lead
CON: 22 (-2)
LAB: 47 (+1)
LD: 9 (-1)
REF: 9 (+1)
GRN: 7 (=)
If repeated at a general election 317 Conservative MPs would lose their seats, including Rishi Sunak, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Grant Shapps, Michael Fabricant and Andrea Jenkyns

2023-07-05 07:32:49

A reminder that Rishi Sunak spent his entire leadership campaign talking about how “committed” he was to tackling climate change in order to leave a better world behind him for his daughters.
https://files.mastodon.green/media_attachments/files/110/660/312/443/399/835/original/55dc69b0770c7958.png

2023-07-04 13:01:56

The truth is Nigel Farage's now debunked claims to have been persecuted by a politically correct banking establishment trying to force him out of the country were taken at face value by newspapers and politicians because they were simply too good to check
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/07/04/nigel-farage-bank-account-coutts-a-story-too-good-to-check/

2023-07-04 10:30:21

So after days and days of coverage including multiple newspaper front pages, BBC now reports that Nigel Farage
1. Didn't lose his Coutts banks account because of his views, but because his balance was too low.
2. Admits being offered alternative account with Natwest, but hasn't taken it up

2023-07-03 15:42:07

So this 'New Conservatives' group getting so much coverage today is made up of:
1) An MP who encourages people to eat cold beans and cat food on GB News
2) An MP who said having a female Doctor Who was pushing young men into crime
3) Jonathan Gullis
https://files.mastodon.green/media_attachments/files/110/650/911/820/482/639/original/065c7c36252581cd.png

2023-07-02 08:25:22

So after giving $3 million to his wife's already wealthy US College, in order to buy them a state-of-the-art computing lab named after him, Rishi Sunak gives a £10 raffle prize to his local state primary still struggling to replace 15-year-old computers https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-gives-10-wine-30367843

2023-07-01 20:40:33

Rishi Sunak justifies cutting university funding because they're "full of people who don’t vote for us anyway." https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/rishi-sunak-told-meeting-hed-30370275

2023-07-01 07:26:02

Damning new @Omnisis polling for @BylineTimes finds:
- 57% say Conservatives have made them poorer. Only 22% disagree
- Even Tory voters don't feel better off
- Majority blame Government for mortgage rises
- 71% say ministers have 'betrayed' NHS workers
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/this-poll-shows-why-the-conservative

2023-06-24 09:14:00

🔴 Decline of the Rishbot
Why the Prime Minister's deeply robotic and impersonal approach to politics is leaving voters increasingly cold
https://www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/decline-of-the-rishbot

2023-06-21 18:40:35

The Conservative Party was widely condemned for its decision to charge journalists to access its conference.
However I understand that while publications like
@BylineTimes
have to pay, other outlets have been given a "waiver code" removing the charge
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/06/21/conservative-party-exempts-selected-media-outlets-from-paying-to-cover-its-conference/

2023-06-20 09:04:18

Rishi Sunak's cowardice on last night's vote is a mark of the politician he really is.
For all his claims of commitment to "integrity, professionalism and accountability", the Prime Minister has always stood up for his own interests first.
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/06/20/rishi-sunak-cowardice-over-boris-johnson-lies-is-a-mark-of-shame-on-his-government/

2023-06-08 11:43:10

Since leaving Downing St Boris Johnson has:
- Taken £4.2 million in speaking fees
- Claimed £245,000 in taxpayer-funded legal costs
- Turned up to just 3 votes in Parliament
Now his opponents are preparing to oust Uxbridge's 'absentee' MP from office.
https://bylinetimes.com/2023/06/08/boris-johnsons-career-as-uxbridges-absentee-mp-could-soon-be-over/

2023-06-04 07:24:26

Rishi Sunak gave $3 million to his wife's elite US College, in order to buy them a state-of-the-art computing lab, named after him.
Meanwhile, his local state primary is having to shake buckets in order to buy a handful of computers https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/out-touch-rishi-sunak-gives-30148374
https://files.mastodon.green/media_attachments/files/110/484/747/120/350/867/original/6588b2bad83b57f8.png

2023-06-03 09:25:40

Keir Starmer says arguments about rejoining the EU are "in the past where they belong".
However new @omnisis polling finds that:
- Voters think Brexit has failed and want to rejoin EU
- Even Leave voters more likely to say Brexit is a failure
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/brexit-has-failed-so-take-us-back

2023-05-30 10:07:27

So after saying Boris Johnson's WhatsApps and diaries are "unambiguously irrelevant" to the Covid inquiry and so can't be released, while threatening to go to court in order to avoid releasing them, the Cabinet Office now says they don't even have them.

2023-05-27 07:03:39

🔴 The Conservatives Have Made Our Lives Worse, Say Voters
New @Omnisis poll finds:
- 55% say Conservatives have made their lives worse since 2010
- Just 14% say they have made their lives better
- All demographics say life made worse by the Government
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/p/the-conservatives-have-made-our-lives

2023-05-15 11:22:55

Finally they admit it https://bylinetimes.com/2023/05/15/jacob-rees-mogg-says-voter-id-was-attempt-to-gerrymander-elections-for-the-conservatives/