As a Front for Corporate Socialism on the Jacob Rees-Mogg Show
Author: Donnachadh McCarthy
One of the things I really appreciate being able to do when invited onto right-wing talk shows is the privilege of being able to expose the dark-money funding behind the shady right-wing billionaire think-tanks.
I was invited onto the Jacob Rees-Mogg Show to discuss a “report” by the dark-money-funded “think tank” The Taxpayers Alliance.
The TPA were attacking the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and Ofgem for the number of staff they have hired to manage the UK’s transition to a clean, green, cheaper energy system.
End Dark Money Think-Tanks
These think-tanks exist to hijack government policy on behalf of their oil billionaire and other corporate and billionaire anonymous donors.
That is why our #MediaSovereigntyAct includes a measure requiring all think tanks to declare their donations in real time if they are to be reported in the media.
It is shocking that the Labour government (and Tory govt previously) refuse point-blank to end this corporate corruption of our democracy.
Positive Opportunity to Advocate for a Clean Green Transition
I also had the positive opportunity to make other points backing the case for cheap green energy and speeding up the ban on fossil fuel burning.
1. The TPA were outraged because the CCC staff had increased from 30 to 57!
I pointed out that this was a tiny number, as they are charged with the strategic planning for the 4 nations in the UK to move to a fossil-free economy.
AND they are charged with identifying the massive investments needed to protect Britain’s infrastructure from soaring temperatures, floods and droughts resulting from climate destruction.
2. I pointed out the fact that businesses and families across Britain were increasingly having to invest in air-conditioning as temperatures increased due to the burning of fossil fuels.
This can double the energy usage of a premises over the year. The costs of installation and operation are borne by consumers and taxpayers, whilst the oil billionaires make all the profits.
3. I thus named the TPA as lobbyists for corporate socialism. Their donors, the oil billionaires, make all the profits; the rest of us pick up the tab for the £trillions in damage costs.
4. UK infrastructure such as railways, electric cabling, farming, coastal roads, water reservoirs, sewage systems were already being broken by climate destruction, costing taxpayers billions.
5. California, the world’s 4th largest economy, now runs on two-thirds green energy.
And amazingly 8% of grid is now powered by batteries storing mid-day solar, as battery prices plunge.
6. UK wholesale electricity prices (which include renewable costs) are already cheaper than 12 other European nations, but families pay the highest bills in Europe due to the £100s of brown levies imposed by the Tories on bills.
These brown levies include a £600 privatisation levy, to pay for the privatised National Grid and energy company profits.
7. The IEA states that Spain, which has ploughed huge investments into renewables, now has the cheapest electricity in Europe.
8. The interview was held on the hottest day in May in recorded British history.
And I stated that there were 1,000s of pensioners suffering in the heat that night without air-conditioning, whilst the oil billionaires swanned around in their air-conditioned palaces.
Ending the Billionaire Media and Think-Tank War on Climate and Democracy
It is time to end these dark-money think tanks and the billionaire media waging 24/7 propaganda war on climate protection.
It is time to take back control.
With your shares, our campaign to end media billionairism has already been seen by over 1.2 MILLION views, leading to over 16,000 signatures for our parliamentary petition calling for the end to media billionairism.
And PLEASE keep sharing these campaign posts, as they enable us to get past the fact that the billionaire media have given our campaign zero coverage so far. (First, they ignore you….)
We can clearly see from our analytics that your shares are directly leading to 1.000s of signatures.
We now need to more than triple our efforts.
We CAN get to the remaining 83,000 of the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger the first debate ever in Parliament on ending the billionaire media destruction of our democracy.
Let’s finally end dark money think-tanks for good.
We know with your help, we can do this.
many thanks
Caspar & Donnachadh x
The Media Sovereignty Act campaign has five measures:
1. Bans foreign media ownership.
Just 3 foreign billionaires own 77% of UK newspapers.
2. Bans the concentration of UK national media ownership by one person or corporation.
Just 7 media billionaires own almost all UK newspapers & social media.
3. Funds independent and local media with a Social Media Levy.
Over two-thirds of all UK media advertising is siphoned off by three huge US tech-billionaire corporations, leading to 1,000s of UK journalists being fired and the decimation of UK national and local news production.
4. Requires national media to be under the remit of the statutory regulator.
The billionaire media refused to join the independent media regulator Impress after the phone-hacking scandals. The billionaire media instead “self-regulate.”
5. Requires “dark-money funded think-tanks” that are covered by the media to declare donations in real time.
Think-tanks are privately funded policy institutions seeking to influence government policy.
Currently, many are corruptly dark-money funded by foreign billionaires, oil corporations and others to run propaganda campaigns to manipulate UK government policy in favour of their billionaire vested interests.