Finance
Exclusive: Watchdog probing Starmer aide’s secret lobbying of Tory ministers
openDemocracy findings on Varun Chandra’s activities at Hakluyt prompted official watchdog to launch investigation
The Dark Arts
Rachel Reeves
The City’s big investment in Starmer’s Labour is about to pay dividends
Reeves’ Mansion House speech shows the corporate takeover of Labour is complete
Analysis
Revealed: What goes on in No 10’s mass lobbying calls?
Not much at all, it turns out. But the growing stench of desperation is palpable, even over Microsoft Teams
Finance
Revealed: Banking giant threatened to leave UK over mooted tax increase
JP Morgan Chase wrote to Rachel Reeves to lobby against rumoured banking surcharge rise ahead of autumn budget
Nigel Farage
Aristo-fraudster who raised millions for Farage sets up opaque new company
Secretive new political firm set up by ‘posh’ George Cottrell raises ‘real red flags’, anti-corruption expert warns
Keir Starmer
The veteran Tory and City lobbyist advising Starmer’s business team
Iain Anderson’s newfound love for Labour has raised eyebrows across Westminster and worried some in the party
Westminster
Dark Arts Dispatch: Westminster is a ‘safe space’ for lobbyists
Plus, how Peter Mandelson might find common ground with Trump in rumoured new role as UK ambassador to Washington
Rachel Reeves
The BlackRock letters: inside Labour's 'close partnership'
The business secretary told the head of a major global investment banker that he looked forward to working together to “change the face of our United Kingdom"
Labour
Dark Arts Dispatch: Westminster’s revolving door just keeps spinning
Failed MPs and outgoing spads turn to lobbying, plus the new shadow science minister’s links to arms firms and tech giants
Labour
Dark Arts Dispatch: New lobbyist in town, a wind-powered party and FOI fears
A new lobby shop has close links to Starmer and his top team, while another firm is wooing junior journalists
Greenwashing
Dark Arts Dispatch: Corporate capture, utilisation and storage
Plus, a Labour donor wins big on government contracts, a would-be MP fails upwards and the smoking lobby returns
Media
Dark Arts Dispatch: Rogue investors, lobbyist cricket and visitors at No 10
Firms fined for breaching environmental, labour and consumer protection rules are stars of Labour’s investment summit