Alex Beatty
@alexbeatty.bsky.social
Communications Advisor at Spotlight on Corruption: @spotlightcorruption.org
Other interests: #History #Communications #Speechwriting #Strategy. Views own.
Other interests: #History #Communications #Speechwriting #Strategy. Views own.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
It represents a spectacular failure of the UK’s vetting process that Peter Mandelson managed to be appointed as US ambassador.
This also might have been career-ending for the PM if Mandelson was still in office now. He is very lucky his chief of staff didn’t get his way when he fought to keep him.
This also might have been career-ending for the PM if Mandelson was still in office now. He is very lucky his chief of staff didn’t get his way when he fought to keep him.
I'm not prone to exaggeration but this is probably the biggest scoop I've ever been involved in
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
more to follow
www.ft.com/content/c950...
Jeffrey Epstein sent £10,000 to Mandelson’s husband, emails show
Epstein sent Reinaldo Avila da Silva payment in 2009
www.ft.com
January 30, 2026 at 7:21 PM
It represents a spectacular failure of the UK’s vetting process that Peter Mandelson managed to be appointed as US ambassador.
This also might have been career-ending for the PM if Mandelson was still in office now. He is very lucky his chief of staff didn’t get his way when he fought to keep him.
This also might have been career-ending for the PM if Mandelson was still in office now. He is very lucky his chief of staff didn’t get his way when he fought to keep him.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
🧑⚖️ The trial of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Nigerian minister for petroleum resources, kicked off in London today. She stands accused of awarding government contracts worth millions to high-profile businessmen in return for bribes whilst she sat at the helm of Nigeria’s booming oil industry.
January 27, 2026 at 2:44 PM
🧑⚖️ The trial of Diezani Alison-Madueke, former Nigerian minister for petroleum resources, kicked off in London today. She stands accused of awarding government contracts worth millions to high-profile businessmen in return for bribes whilst she sat at the helm of Nigeria’s booming oil industry.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Liz Truss waiting patiently by her phone for Reform to ring, not realising it's actually a penguin biscuit
January 26, 2026 at 12:34 PM
Liz Truss waiting patiently by her phone for Reform to ring, not realising it's actually a penguin biscuit
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Billionaire tech moguls who love to tell Forbes profilers and audiences Techcrunch what committed liberatarians they are collectively decided masked federal government kill teams enjoying absolute legal immunity are a price worth paying for a regulatory environment more enabling of crypto.
January 24, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Billionaire tech moguls who love to tell Forbes profilers and audiences Techcrunch what committed liberatarians they are collectively decided masked federal government kill teams enjoying absolute legal immunity are a price worth paying for a regulatory environment more enabling of crypto.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
This is your society if the state is so weak it can't step in and your policymaking community are so pathetically craven they can't or won't enforce the law. Will get far worse unless the UK and EU finally put their foot down. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Women filmed in secret for social media content - then harassed online
So-called manfluencers wearing smart glasses approach women and then post videos to TikTok.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 24, 2026 at 2:01 PM
This is your society if the state is so weak it can't step in and your policymaking community are so pathetically craven they can't or won't enforce the law. Will get far worse unless the UK and EU finally put their foot down. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Alex Beatty
"in most cases, these videos appear to have been filmed secretly - using Meta smart glasses."
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Women filmed in secret for TikTok content - then harassed online
Women filmed in secret for TikTok content - then harassed online
So-called manfluencers wearing smart glasses approach women and then post videos to TikTok.
www.bbc.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:02 AM
"in most cases, these videos appear to have been filmed secretly - using Meta smart glasses."
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Argh for the love of god BAN. THE. PERVERT GLASSES.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.
Trump on NATO: "I've always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? That's really the ultimate test. I'm not sure of that. We've never needed them. They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan and this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, off the front lines."
January 22, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
There is such huge opportunity cost to each Trump tantrum. So many people with critical jobs have lost another week when they could have been doing something useful.
January 21, 2026 at 9:25 PM
There is such huge opportunity cost to each Trump tantrum. So many people with critical jobs have lost another week when they could have been doing something useful.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Main impression after 2 days in London: any politician, official or commentator who now prioritizes party politics, petty scores or their personal career advancement over dealing with this crisis should find a new job.
Time to be serious.
As a lot of serious people have said for a very long time.
Time to be serious.
As a lot of serious people have said for a very long time.
January 20, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Main impression after 2 days in London: any politician, official or commentator who now prioritizes party politics, petty scores or their personal career advancement over dealing with this crisis should find a new job.
Time to be serious.
As a lot of serious people have said for a very long time.
Time to be serious.
As a lot of serious people have said for a very long time.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
My basic take is: there are three viable routes for the UK to take: MAGA outpost, this Cold War’s Vienna, back within the EU in some way. And they all hurt, and they all involve making an argument to the public, and we won’t know where the public will land when the argument is made. But TINA.
January 19, 2026 at 5:35 PM
My basic take is: there are three viable routes for the UK to take: MAGA outpost, this Cold War’s Vienna, back within the EU in some way. And they all hurt, and they all involve making an argument to the public, and we won’t know where the public will land when the argument is made. But TINA.
👇 Come and do my job at Spotlight! It's a fantastic opportunity to work with brilliant people tackling an important issue that affects us all. #anticorruption @charitycomms.bsky.social
💥 Are you an experienced comms pro with a track record of crafting & delivering messages to achieve real change?
✊ Keen to join the fight against #corruption?
🫵 You might be the person we need! We’re looking for a comms adviser to join the friendly Spotlight team.
Apply below 👇. Deadline: 14 Feb.
✊ Keen to join the fight against #corruption?
🫵 You might be the person we need! We’re looking for a comms adviser to join the friendly Spotlight team.
Apply below 👇. Deadline: 14 Feb.
Spotlight is recruiting! We are looking for a Senior Communications Adviser - Spotlight on Corruption
We are looking for a highly motivated and gifted communicator to craft Spotlight’s messages and help us achieve real change.
www.spotlightcorruption.org
January 19, 2026 at 1:00 PM
👇 Come and do my job at Spotlight! It's a fantastic opportunity to work with brilliant people tackling an important issue that affects us all. #anticorruption @charitycomms.bsky.social
Reposted by Alex Beatty
I'm perfectly aware this is by far not the worst thing he's done, but Trump's constant presence - day after day after day - in the lives and headspaces of hundreds of millions of people (billions?), in the US and outside, is so taxing. Every morning, we wake up and have to think about this asshole.
January 19, 2026 at 8:10 AM
I'm perfectly aware this is by far not the worst thing he's done, but Trump's constant presence - day after day after day - in the lives and headspaces of hundreds of millions of people (billions?), in the US and outside, is so taxing. Every morning, we wake up and have to think about this asshole.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
The weakest, most inept administration in history, unable to work out how best to deal with a dementia ridden President, and deciding to just let him destroy everything and hope he just dies of old age soon.
January 19, 2026 at 7:43 AM
The weakest, most inept administration in history, unable to work out how best to deal with a dementia ridden President, and deciding to just let him destroy everything and hope he just dies of old age soon.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Maybe we can, oh I dunno, start to have a conversation with voters about this? The problem is not going to go away.
The way politics is being conducted by both the tories and Labour seems surreal to me. We have a lunatic in the WH who simply cannot be relied on to be an ally, indeed the opposite, we need to spend a ton of cash on defence and no-one seems to think voters might need to be, er, readied for all this
January 18, 2026 at 1:37 PM
Maybe we can, oh I dunno, start to have a conversation with voters about this? The problem is not going to go away.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Every single thing the Brexity Right said has been proven 100% wrong, indeed much of it a pack of lies. Everything those of us who warned about the populist Right said has been proved 100% correct. Choose your side.
January 18, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Every single thing the Brexity Right said has been proven 100% wrong, indeed much of it a pack of lies. Everything those of us who warned about the populist Right said has been proved 100% correct. Choose your side.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Just how unhinged does Trump have to become before Congress or his Cabinet intervene to stop him? If he wants to impose more taxes on US consumers by raising tariffs, Europe (incl the UK) can't stop him, but it definitely can't compromise on principles of territorial integrity & self determination.
Trump says he'll impose a 10% tariff (rising to 25% in June) on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland, because they've sent people to Greenland, until the US can buy Greenland.
January 17, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Just how unhinged does Trump have to become before Congress or his Cabinet intervene to stop him? If he wants to impose more taxes on US consumers by raising tariffs, Europe (incl the UK) can't stop him, but it definitely can't compromise on principles of territorial integrity & self determination.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Good policy will almost always get you good comms, as long as you don't eff the latter up. Good comms will never get you good policy. Governments are re-elected on the basis of success and failure in policy. So focus on policy and get good people to communicate it.
One of the most astounding things about this government is their failure to grasp the primary lesson from the last one was so obviously "Don't mess about with Comms all the time, just do stuff that will probably work".
This is why there's a whole chapter in my book about the damage the grid has done to policy making.
January 17, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Good policy will almost always get you good comms, as long as you don't eff the latter up. Good comms will never get you good policy. Governments are re-elected on the basis of success and failure in policy. So focus on policy and get good people to communicate it.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
One of the most astounding things about this government is their failure to grasp the primary lesson from the last one was so obviously "Don't mess about with Comms all the time, just do stuff that will probably work".
This is why there's a whole chapter in my book about the damage the grid has done to policy making.
January 17, 2026 at 8:16 AM
One of the most astounding things about this government is their failure to grasp the primary lesson from the last one was so obviously "Don't mess about with Comms all the time, just do stuff that will probably work".
Reposted by Alex Beatty
💥 Are you an experienced comms pro with a track record of crafting & delivering messages to achieve real change?
✊ Keen to join the fight against #corruption?
🫵 You might be the person we need! We’re looking for a comms adviser to join the friendly Spotlight team.
Apply below 👇. Deadline: 14 Feb.
✊ Keen to join the fight against #corruption?
🫵 You might be the person we need! We’re looking for a comms adviser to join the friendly Spotlight team.
Apply below 👇. Deadline: 14 Feb.
Spotlight is recruiting! We are looking for a Senior Communications Adviser - Spotlight on Corruption
We are looking for a highly motivated and gifted communicator to craft Spotlight’s messages and help us achieve real change.
www.spotlightcorruption.org
January 15, 2026 at 12:05 PM
💥 Are you an experienced comms pro with a track record of crafting & delivering messages to achieve real change?
✊ Keen to join the fight against #corruption?
🫵 You might be the person we need! We’re looking for a comms adviser to join the friendly Spotlight team.
Apply below 👇. Deadline: 14 Feb.
✊ Keen to join the fight against #corruption?
🫵 You might be the person we need! We’re looking for a comms adviser to join the friendly Spotlight team.
Apply below 👇. Deadline: 14 Feb.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
We have an ageing population, struggling public services, and climate change. People might want low taxes, no migrants and cheaper energy, but they also don't want to lie in a hospital corridor for hours or have their house flooded. You can win elections with magic thinking but can't govern with it.
January 16, 2026 at 8:06 AM
We have an ageing population, struggling public services, and climate change. People might want low taxes, no migrants and cheaper energy, but they also don't want to lie in a hospital corridor for hours or have their house flooded. You can win elections with magic thinking but can't govern with it.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Jenrick saying he's "put aside personal ambition" too join Reform is the single most shameless statement I've ever heard.
If he "put aside personal ambition" he'd disappear. That's all there is.
If he "put aside personal ambition" he'd disappear. That's all there is.
January 15, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Jenrick saying he's "put aside personal ambition" too join Reform is the single most shameless statement I've ever heard.
If he "put aside personal ambition" he'd disappear. That's all there is.
If he "put aside personal ambition" he'd disappear. That's all there is.
Chilly but beautiful day for a morning walk with the 🐶
January 14, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Chilly but beautiful day for a morning walk with the 🐶
Reposted by Alex Beatty
👇 Good coverage here of the growing calls for a ban on donations to political parties in cryptocurrencies. “Crypto donations present real risks to our democracy,” says our Executive Director @suehawley.bsky.social.
Senior Labour MPs urge government to ban cryptocurrency political donations
Campaign groups argue online transactions ‘present real risks to our democracy’ as it is hard to trace their true source
www.theguardian.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:30 PM
👇 Good coverage here of the growing calls for a ban on donations to political parties in cryptocurrencies. “Crypto donations present real risks to our democracy,” says our Executive Director @suehawley.bsky.social.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
🔥 As Starter Packs are doing the rounds again, here is a hastily updated #anticorruption pack with (mostly) a UK focus. 🙏 As always, any additions, deletions or edits much appreciated.
January 12, 2026 at 11:54 AM
🔥 As Starter Packs are doing the rounds again, here is a hastily updated #anticorruption pack with (mostly) a UK focus. 🙏 As always, any additions, deletions or edits much appreciated.
Reposted by Alex Beatty
Zahawi can lead Reform's crackdown on tax avoidance. Plenty of experience.
January 12, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Zahawi can lead Reform's crackdown on tax avoidance. Plenty of experience.