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Don't Pay Took Down Kwasi Kwarteng Keir Milburn: Last Friday prime minister Liz Truss called chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng back from an IMF meeting in New York and sacked him. In the aftermath most commentators attributed his fall to the "bond markets", treating them like a natural phenomenon which buffeted the chancellor back to "reality" the way turbulence might have buffeted his plane on the way back to Heathrow. But while "the markets" were the medium through which the political crisis unfolded, few have recognised the key role played by campaigners in the government's downfall. Don't Pay UK, a campaign group which aims to spark the mass non-payment of energy bills, was started by three friends over a pint in a London pub just five months ago. From such humble beginnings, it grew at a spectacular rate and reached far beyond the usual circles of the organised left. By 11 August over 100,000 had pledged non-payment and more than 31,000 had signed up to be organisers. Recently uncovered documents have revealed that the threat the campaign presented was pivotal in forcing the Truss government into an energy price guarantee costing £150 billion over the next two years. That commitment was so big it made the rest of the government's programme impossible to deliver under current fiscal conditions. Kwarteng's decision to nonetheless push ahead led to his fall. The prime minister is soon likely to follow, and the Conservative party has itself been thrust into an existential crisis. The long and the short of it is this: Without the Don't Pay campaign Kwarteng would still be chancellor and the Tories would not be trailing by 30 points in opinion polls. So, how did this startling but obscured victory come about? CONTINUE READING ➡︎ Picks of the week... ANALYSIS No, the West Didn't Halt Ukraine's Peace Talks With Russia by Volodymyr Artiukh & Taras Fedirko In a recent article for Novara Media, Oliver Eagleton argued that the UK halted early peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. Volodymyr Artiukh and Taras Fedirko say he's mistaken – and that diplomacy alone couldn't have stopped the war anyway. Read more... REPORT Inside the Fight for the UK's First Formal Amazon Warehouse Strike by Polly Smythe Workers in Coventry are voting over formal strike action at an Amazon warehouse for the first time, but the retailing giant has been accused of trying to undermine union activity. Polly Smythe reports. Read more... READ MORE ON NOVARAMEDIA.COM ➡︎ Defy billionaire-backed media.  The mainstream media only operate in the interests of the super-rich. Billionaire funders and multi-million pound advertising partnerships define what they do - and don't - cover. But Novara Media is funded entirely by you.  We've got big plans for our written journalism, aiming to bring you even more analysis, opinion and reporting than we've been able to before. Setting up a regular monthly donation is the best way to help us sustain our work, grow our output, and expand our reach. Support us with a monthly donation from just £1 per month to help us to plan our future, and be more resilient in the media space.  Alternatively, you can support us with a one-off donation. We know times are really tough, so any support you give does not go unnoticed. Thanks so much – we couldn't do this without you. Copyright © 2022 Thousand Hands Ltd. All rights reserved. Thousand Hands Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales #11245029. Its registered address is 10 Bridge Street, Christchurch, BH23 1EF. Novara Media is a trading name of Thousand Hands Ltd and, as such, the individual shall have no personal liability arising out of such communication, and liability or obligation rests solely with Novara Media. Opinions or advice contained in this email are subject to the terms and conditions set out in the relevant terms of business and are not necessarily agreed or authorised by Thousand Hands Ltd. We have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure that no viruses are transmitted from Novara Media to any third party. Novara Media accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from the use of this email or the contents. Novara Media is regulated by IMPRESS, the independent press regulator.

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