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  "description": "openDemocracy Weekly Newsletter 23 May 2026",
  "path": "/farage-aims-at-abortion-no-records-of-mandelson-lobbying-govt/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-23T08:00:55.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.opendemocracy.net",
  "tags": [
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "## In this week's issue\n\n  * Far-right groups and Reform UK politicians are adopting US-style tactics to turn reproductive rights into a dangerous new culture war\n  * The UK government failed to keep records of multiple meetings between top officials and lobbyists from Peter Mandelson's former firm\n  * Trapped in the Libyan desert by armed militias, hundreds of volunteers in a Gaza-bound aid convoy are rationing water and refusing to abandon their mission\n  * The UK's advertising watchdog has ruled that anti-rape start-up Enough misled the public\n  * How a Kremlin-linked disinformation campaign exposed a dangerous vulnerability in cash-strapped newsrooms willing to publish unverified fake news\n  * Paul Rogers: The foundation of Vladimir Putin's war machine is finally beginning to crack\n  * How the British establishment made Nigel Farage's far-right politics respectable\n  * **Plus: This week in history and what we’re reading**\n\n\n\nI was at the “Unite the Kingdom” rally organised by far-right provocateur Tommy Robinson, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, last Saturday. How was your weekend?\n\nThere were men costumed as the Knights Templar; there was a fleet of the wheelchair-bound elderly. There were young mothers pushing prams, kids whizzing along pavements on pushbikes, dads popping open tupperware boxes and unpacking sandwiches. “It is quite a family atmosphere. Nothing to feel afraid of,” said the woman selling ‘Keir Starmer’s a W⚓’ T-shirts. “T-shirt? It’s only 10 quid.”\n\nThe crowd reminded me of an irate comment from an openDemocracy reader: “What is wrong with you people? At every opportunity you label ordinary people and people who want what is right for this country as far right. I think you need to take a good look at yourselves before you judge the rest of the country.”\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Farage aims at Abortion, “No Records” of Mandelson lobbying Govt",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-23T15:20:54.092Z"
}