“No polity – and no economic policy – can permanently survive denial of reality,” observes Chris Grey in Byline Times this week. And yet this was exactly the case in Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn budget – which made no mention of the economic damage caused by Britain’s hard Brexit and, instead, piled ‘Austerity 2.0’ on the public during a cost of living crisis.

For Adam Bienkov, Hunt’s budget will go down as one of the most dishonest political statements in living memory – because it carried “dishonesty about the pain that is coming, dishonesty about where that pain will be felt, and dishonesty about who has caused it”.

As the Government refuses to grapple with the realities of Brexit, experts are saying that the warning signs are clear. Even the established media is now whispering about the project’s dire consequences. One of these has been the free trade agreements that were promised – one of which even the former Environment Minister has admitted is “not actually very good”. Ellie Newis reports on the deals with Japan and Australia, which were supposed to reignite the UK economy but won’t.

As the country faces yet another period of squeezed living standards, Sam Bright considers how the masters of high finance have been welcomed into the heart of power – and how Hunt’s statement was merely the latest expression of this political subservience to them.

I return to a theme I’ve explored before this week, digging further into whether Rishi Sunak’s rise is a win for representation and diversity in the UK, or whether it masks some uncomfortable truths about how race works in Britain today? A range of expert ethnic minority voices I spoke to all have a different take – showing how no one narrative can encompass the different dimensions of diversity.

Composer Howard Goodall returns to Byline Times’ pages this week, arguing that Art Council England’s recent decision to redistribute £50 million of funding for the English National Operate outside of London and south-east, in an effort to ‘level-up’, is a short-sighted one.

Rishi Sunak’s U-turn on attending COP27 may have been driven by Boris Johnson’s appearance at the summit, but his former PR aide doesn’t seem to share his climate concerns. Sascha Lavin reveals how a Westminster insider who played a key role in Johnson’s leadership campaign is now advising the only company to frack for shale gas in Britain.

Meanwhile, Nafeez Ahmed reports on documents that show Microsoft is working with the Egyptian Government to use COP27 to maximise fossil fuel exploitation; and Duncan Campbell speaks to a British pensioner on death row in an Egyptian prison.

As Russia’s war in Ukraine continues, despite significant wins by Zelensky’s army, Sian Norris explores how Vladimir Putin uses aggressive and violent masculinity to justify the invasion and how this links to his Satanic conspiracy theories. And Chris York reports from Ukraine, where he speaks to the residents of the newly-liberated Kherson, who celebrate and mourn as the world waits for the evidence of the full horrors of Russia’s actions in the region to emerge.

Peter Jukes and I will dissecting this week’s developments at 7pm on Friday Night With Byline Times, when we’ll be joined by Peter Tatchell, Afua Hagan, Sonia Adesara, Emma Gardiner and James Dyke. Grab a drink and join us!

The November print edition of Byline Times has now gone to press, packed with exclusive content that you won’t find online from writers including Peter Oborne, Alexandra Hall Hall, Otto English, John Mitchinson, Rebecca Reid, Kamin Mohammadi and Dr Meenal Viz. 

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In these turbulent times, thanks – as ever –for your continued support. 

Have a great weekend,

Hardeep

Hardeep Matharu is the Editor of Byline Times