Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Playing to lose: who funded Labour’s 2019 election loss?
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Former Labour MP Ian Austin launches Mainstream outside the Labour Party Conference in Brighton last year
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MAINSTREAM, the anti-Corbyn group led by former Labour MPs Ian Austin, Ivan Lewis and Mike Gapes, used Tory-led PR firm Public First to run its 2019 election activities.
Figures from the Electoral Commission on spending in the 2019 election released this month show Austin’s Mainstream spent £134,457 on campaigning and advertising in the election. That’s a lot of money for a “campaign” with no grassroots members.
They got a lot of bang for their buck, as even the most artificial public event with Austin got strong media coverage. Austin was rewarded by Boris Johnson for his turncoat campaigning with a place in the Lords.
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