Peter Bedford is a qualified Chartered Account, having spent 17 years in industry, prior to his election as the Conservative MP for Mid Leicestershire at the 2024 General Election.

Peter Bedford spoke to the 2026 Freedom Festival, hosted by the Margaret Thatcher Centre, at the University of Buckingham.

I was born and raised, with my two younger brothers, by my single mother.

Conservatism, Thatcherism, let alone engagement with the political process was not something we as a family engaged with. But it was certainly the Thatcherite instincts of Aspiration, Opportunity, and Hard-work that has allowed me to ‘get on’ – despite my humble and challenging upbringing.

Sadly, those on the political left, who subscribe to identity politics, may look at me, a mixed-race, working-class lad from a single parent family and wonder why I am a Conservative.

Mrs Thatcher just got it didn’t she?

She changed the Conservative Party from acceptance of ‘managed decline’ to a party of optimism and aspiration. She understood that it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from; it’s what you do with your life that matters. I was certainly not walking the streets of Eton or Harrow in my youth.

She challenged the typically Conservative assumption of hierarchy and opened up the party to people like me.

She believed in aspiration; something that should sit at the very heart of every Conservative MPs philosophy.

I believe in people from all backgrounds: Earning a few bob, through hard work. Going out and spending it and being proud that they are able to do so. And why shouldn’t people be proud of economic success, particularly when they’ve come from modest beginnings?

There should be no boundaries, be it class, creed, colour; everyone should be able to climb the ladder as high as their talents will take them.

Her steadfast belief in freedom is something I hold at the very core of my own Conservatism. That is why I was proud to vote against what I saw as a draconian and misguided smoking ban. We all know smoking is harmful. But Government should trust adults to make decisions for themselves.

As a new MP I have been amazed by the sheer scale of waste I see, day in, day out in Westminster and Whitehall. From the sprawl of arm’s length-bodies to the vast expansion of the public sector – The British state needs a reset.

When Mrs Thatcher came to office: Britain was in decline. Un-democratic Trade Unions dominating industry, inflation out of control, strike after strike, and a dangerous dependency on the state. We had become a country forced to go cap in hand to the IMF. And as we all know:

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

That is why the Thatcher revolution was needed and is needed again, now more than ever.

Thatcherism sparked two great transformations. First a boom in social mobility. Rooted in freedom it gave people, especially those from modest backgrounds, the chance to shape their own future. Through Enterprise Schemes, through lower taxes, through the Right to Buy millions moved from dependency to ownership, gaining not just property, but also, a pride and a stake in society.

And second a renewed sense of national pride. Mrs Thatcher ensured that Britain was no longer the “sick man of Europe.” The Falklands showed we would stand up for our values.  And from my own visit there last year, her legacy still resonates, and she alongside other Western Allies, such as President Reagan, Britain helped bring the Cold War to a close. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to the opening of the first McDonalds in Moscow, these were not just symbolic moments, but victories for freedom over tyranny.

So, even in today’s bleak times: why can’t we reignite that spirit?

Even Tony Blair recognised the success of Thatcherism. By reforming Clause IV and actually, embracing enterprise: New Labour accepted that they could not take Britain back to the 1970s. Within the Conservative Party there are also encouraging signs.

The 2024 intake is rediscovering a more Thatcherite voice: championing a free, entrepreneurial and property-owning democracy.

But we are only mere foot soldiers. I am glad that Kemi is keeping right on – refusing to drift back towards the bland malaise of centrist fence-sitting. Because as we all know that standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.

But what is clear, is that for Britain to rediscover its sense of purpose we do need leadership like Thatcher brought. We need a leader that believes in conviction politics and is not to be pulled from pillar to post by Civil Servants. We need a leader that will be thoughtful in how they carry out their policies. We need a leader that is not a technocrat and is not afraid to make the bold decisions that they believe are right for the country.

We need to restore these values to be at the heart of British politics.

Because Britain today needs a State that is: Better, not Bigger. A state that is smarter in how it acts, and more restrained in what it does.One that supports those in genuine need but never creates dependency.

One that serves the public, not one that is driven by bureaucracy, the Civil Service or unelected bodies that stand in the way of growth. We must end the culture of waste and inefficiency, where taxpayers’ money is too often funnelled into Quangos whose sole purpose is seemingly to deliver little and block much.

And alongside that we must lift the burden on working people. Not by imposing stealth taxes or freezes to personal tax thresholds, but by simply allowing people to keep more of what they earn. And by rewarding responsibility, encouraging saving, and trusting individuals to make decisions about their own futures.

A strong nation and economy can never, ever, be built on dependency. We must stand firm behind businesses from family farms to high-growth start-up. From local enterprises to global investors Britain should and could be the best place in the world to start, grow and succeed in business. This means we will back our farmers and other family businesses, ease the pressure on employers, and create a tax system that rewards investment not punishes it.

Because when business succeeds Britain succeeds.

We must have the courage to cut back unnecessary regulation. We did not take back control from the European Union only to reimpose barriers to growth at home.

So, as a country the choice before us is clear:

We can continue the path of higher taxes, greater state control and declining ambition.

Or we can choose a different path. One of pride in our nation, aspiration, personal responsibility, enterprise, and of course freedom.

Let us get out there and tell others that Britain must be more dynamic, more self-sufficient and more confident.

And perhaps then we will look back at the 2030s as a political revolution with roots in the one Mrs Thatcher oversaw in the 1980s.

The Pentagon is forcing private spy satellite firms to hide the true extent of damage caused in the US-Israeli attack on Iran. The US is ensuring compliance by threatening to cut the funds these firms rely on, leaving the US and global public in the dark.

US reporter Ken Klippenstein said military sources told him:

that the level of secrecy surrounding the specifics of the Iran war is unprecedented, with barely any data being released about the level of bombing, the targets being attacked, or the assessed effects.

Adding:

Now the Trump administration is trying to further control what private companies say in a behind-the-scenes effort [that has] not been previously reported.

The US-Israel attacked Iran first on 28 February without provocation. At the time, Iran was offering unprecedented concessions in negotiations at the time. The Pentagon has since stated there was no imminent threat from Iran. The UN’s atomic watchdog, the IAEA, has also said there is no evidence Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.

Pentagon arm-twisting

Klippenstein wrote that as soon as the war was underway on 28 March:

the military promptly issued guidance to satellite operators of what “language and terms to avoid” when describing damage caused by Iran to American bases in the Middle East, according to a copy of the guidance leaked to me.

🚨 US military document leaked to me shows how the Pentagon is working with private companies to manipulate the information you see about the Iran warhttps://t.co/w9G5bz8QZy

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) March 24, 2026

For example, the guidance insists firms:

“Avoid language that implies battle damage assessment (BDA) or operational conclusions,” one slide produced by U.S. Space Force says. It goes on to warn against using phrases like “Target destroyed,” “Target eliminated,” and “Structure rendered inoperable.”

And the Pentagon is using its role as a big money contract provider to ensure silence:

While the Pentagon “guidance” to the commercial companies is framed as an advisory, the companies comply because their contracting relationships with the government make them afraid to bite the hand that feeds them.

According to Klippenstein over 100 spy satellite firms rely on military contracts. The industry is worth between $6bn and $77bn a year. And it is not just firms who do classified work who are affected:

even those that work on the collection and dissemination of public or “open source” materials that inform the news media, academia, think tanks, and other groups.

A source told Klippenstein:

While there’s a case to be made that they [the companies] should fight it, almost everyone makes the vast majority of their revenue from government contracts in this industry and after Anthropic, nobody is interested in putting up a fight.

Adding:

I think it’s also another layer of trying to make things [about the war] seem less bad than they are.

The reference to Anthropic relates to an ongoing row between the US military and the tech firm Anthropic:

Anthropic has refused to allow its AI model, Claude, to be used for certain missions involving mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. The Pentagon in response has threatened to invoke the Defense Production Act to force the company’s cooperation.

As the Canary has reported Claude was used in the 3 January US attack on Venezuela.

Trump’s war on the truth

The US has fought to limit public knowledge about the war since it began bombing Iran. And it has reacted belligerently to factual reportage. For example, the White House launched into a bizarre public rant about Drop Site News on 18 March after the outlet reported on US attempts to restart negotiations with Iran.

A spokesperson said:

The radical, left-wing Drop Site News is clearly carrying water for the Iranian terrorist regime – and reports like these based on pure fiction and citing unnamed anonymous sources should be discarded immediately.

Adding:

Iran feeds this fake news media outlet propaganda and they publish it as fact, which is abhorrent, America Last behavior. Operation Epic Fury will continue unabated until President Trump, as Commander-in-Chief, determines that the goals of Operation Epic Fury, including for Iran to no longer pose a military threat, have been fully realized.

Trump’s war against press freedom and open public information rears its head again. As the US war on Iran stalls and Iran itself continues to resist a return to peace talks, we can expect to see more and more efforts to limit access to facts, stymy reporting and cajole the press, public, and private and public institutions into cooperation.

Featured image via the Canary

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is re-organising its shipments to the Sudanese Rapid Support Force (RSF) militia. RSF has been waging a genocidal civil war in Sudan since 2023 with the UAE as its main military backer. The Canary reported on 12 March how the Iranian response to the US-Israeli attack had forced UAE to reorganise how it supplied its proxies in Sudan.

Le Monde reported on 23 March that the UAE is using new covert routes to get weapons into the east African state. The French outlet identified:

a network of cargo flights departing the UAE for East and Central Africa, including Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, believed to be part of an arms supply chain to the RSF.

Le Monde reported that two cargo planes linked to the UAE royal family—including an aircraft now owned by a UAE citizen in Africa—has made a series of flights from the Gulf petrostate to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is believed to be home to an RSF supply base.

The paper said one aircraft had been:

previously owned by Gewan Airways, a company linked to a conglomerate controlled by the brother of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, and has previously been flagged for its role in supplying the RSF.

The other cargo plane:

is now operated by Invicta Air Cargo, a company established in 2025 in the Central African Republic by a UAE national. Despite attempts to obscure links, the company’s website reportedly connects back to Gewan Airways.

New Arab explained:

The flights suggest the UAE is expanding logistical routes through neighbouring countries, including Ethiopia, where it is reported to have established a training camp for RSF fighters in 2025.

Colonial shadow war

UAE has been a major backer of RSF in its war with the Sudanese government. Turkey, Egypt, Israel and many more countries are pursuing their own interests in Sudan too. British military components has also shown up on the battlefield in RSF hands. The UK is a major arms supplier to UAE.

As the Canary has said in our previous coverage of this poorly-understood genocidal war:

The war in Sudan is theoretically between the Arab supremacist RSF and the Sudanese government. But foreign states pursuing their own interests are backing the combatants. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), for example, backs the RSF with arms and equipment. Egypt backs the government, alongside Russia, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Israel has backed both sides at different times.

The mounting death toll is similarly mindboggling:

RSF has killed Sudanese civilians in vast numbers. And some estimates say 150,000 people have died and over 10mn have been displaced by fighting.

UAE appears determined to keep arming its proxy force in Sudan despite the impacts of Iran’s strikes on Gulf states which harbour American infrastructure. Meanwhile, the people of Sudan find themselves living—and dying—at a nexus of competing local and colonial interests.

Featured image via the Canary

Local elections are coming in fast, with just over six weeks until over 4,850 councillors will be up for election. Labour is justifiably fearing how they will fare as their lurch to the right has disgusted and alienated more left-wing voters. Meanwhile, Your Party still appears to be dithering.

The West is witnessing the rise of the far-right. Billionaires are eagerly funnelling funds into hateful parties like Reform, Advance, and Restore in the UK—all cut from the same cloth as the Canary has long been reporting. As a result, it is more critical than ever that communities have a socialist candidate to cut through the noise of the racist misinformation spread by right-wing politicians.

Despite announcing its formation nearly a year ago, Your Party is dragging its feet, risking leaving communities without a candidate to support. With far-right parties rising rapidly, fielding candidates is clearly achievable in this time frame—but the new party continues to dither.

This begs the question: is this really the best Corbyn and his team can do?

A likely sign of impending disappointment for its members, is Your Party’s failure to back Scottish candidates in the Holyrood elections:

This is so outrageous. I dont even know what to say. Its almost like YP wants to destroy the party. Solidarity @NiallChristie1 this cannot be the way YP is run @jeremycorbyn https://t.co/zdsEWYNqyE

— Anwarul Khan (@TPleicester) March 23, 2026

Missed opportunity

The Canary has contacted Your Party and Central Executive Committee (CEC) member Louise Regan to ask whether the party will field official YP candidates in the upcoming local elections. On May 7, there will be 4,850 councillor seats up for election, set against the backdrop of an increasingly divisive political atmosphere.

Far-right parties like Reform and Restore UK have been hard at work inflaming divisions in our communities, actively targeting minoritised communities. Socialist groups across the country stand ready to challenge the far-right on the doorsteps. However with a seemingly silent and inactive YP they are left isolated as independent candidates with no party machine behind them.

Despite numerous groups and candidates appealing to YP for endorsement, they have received no response.

Mike Forster of PACE in Huddersfield believed he had Jeremy Corbyn’s support as a candidate. However, after requesting an endorsement over a week ago, he has received no response from YP. Nevertheless, they have registered with the Electoral Commission at their own expense, and will be able to stand candidates under the banner of PACE.

This failure on behalf of the CEC and the leadership of YP has had a devastating impact on morale among members.

We wrote yesterday about the formation of socialist pressure groups in response to this silence:

Despite the desperate need for unity, solidarity and compassion in British society, the reported behaviour of the CEC has been to silence or intimidate socialist voices into compliance.

Members are feeling increasingly concerned that Your Party will not work to empower them or listen to their communities. Instead, branches are left ignored without access to resources or guidance which has seen local members abandon the party all together in disappointment.

Change of tack from Your Party following uproar

Your Party faces harsh criticism from members, who are pressuring the executive committee to stay true to being an inclusive, socialist party@MaddisonW92 https://t.co/2ZRkeOkA5g

— Canary (@TheCanaryUK) March 23, 2026

The Canary has now seen an email issued to Your Party members in Scotland. This email follows the widespread anger after Niall Christie’s recent post confirming Scotland would not see candidates in the Holyrood elections. Christie blamed ‘inaction and decisions taken at a UK level’ for this abandonment of Scottish members.

NEW: Your Party will not be standing candidates in the upcoming Holyrood elections, the party’s leading Scottish representative has said ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/RYuyYk2Zv0

— The National (@ScotNational) March 23, 2026

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Signalling a potential change of tack, YP are now offering members a choice in the matter:

A ‘Jeremy Corbyn fan club’

Nonetheless, time is flying, and if YP keeps dragging its feet, candidates will have even less time to campaign.

After all, wasn’t this meant to be an active, participatory democracy party?

So far, all the real action is happening at the grassroots, where socialist groups are organising themselves in the absence of Your Party. The executive, meanwhile, seem either unwilling or unmotivated to step up.

Your Party is literally just the Jeremy Corbyn fan club. It’s clear that he’s just not a very competent leader, whether or not you think he was treated fairly by the British media during his term as Labour leader https://t.co/EPBRYGjMkF

— Mac 🌹🔰 (@GeorgismFan) March 23, 2026

Toxic from day one

Your Party has been toxic from the very start—that’s undeniable. Yet the leadership blame whistleblowers and critics for these divisions, revealing the same predictable lack of humility and accountability.

Widespread reports show that Karie Murphy, Corbyn, and his allies strongly opposed Zarah Sultana’s involvement and the idea of co-leadership. As often happens when certain individuals dominate or bully, new groups formed, aligning more with shared principles and values than with the original central leadership.

Nonetheless, YP has seriously undermined how the experience of people across the country who have long been shut down or shut out. This no longer diminishes us into silence but fuels our drive to move forward.

Grassroots groups across the country are bursting with energy, collaboration, and solidarity—it’s truly inspiring. The collective efforts show us that socialism isn’t just an idea—it’s a much needed path towards national healing.

Featured image via the Canary

Sellafield Ltd, through its SiX (social impact, multiplied) programme, has announced a major investment in LEVELS, a ground-breaking £4.6 million redevelopment of the former Whittles department store in Whitehaven, West Cumbria into a state-of-the-art immersive entertainment and education centre.

Delivered and developed by social impact property developers BEC, LEVELS has transformed a Grade II-listed building into a cutting-edge hub for digital creativity, learning, and interactive experiences.

Across 4 floors, the centre features immersive digital and gaming experiences, an esports arena, interactive learning spaces, and a café—creating a vibrant space for education and creativity in the heart of Whitehaven.

By equipping young people with the skills needed for a digital-first future, the project aims to engage young people, their families, and educators, inspiring the next generation to explore careers in digital and creative technology.

Funding for the project includes £3.3 million from Sellafield Ltd through its SiX programme, alongside £800,000 in funding, equipment, and logistical support from BT, Atos, and Openreach—as part of their social impact commitments through Information and Communications Technology contracts with Sellafield Ltd.

BEC has also contributed £500,000, demonstrating the power of partnership to multiply impact.

Tracey West, Sellafield Ltd’s head of social impact, said:

“LEVELS represents exactly what our SiX programme is about—creating lasting social impact by investing in skills, innovation, and opportunity. By collaborating with partners like BEC and our supply chain, we’re helping West Cumbria’s young people prepare for a digital future.

This investment builds on our long-standing commitment to improving education provision in West Cumbria, following projects such as West Lakes Academy, the Whitehaven Campus, the National College for Nuclear, and the Well programme.”

In an incident that has rocked Czech football, police arrested dozens of people in connection with fraud, betting and match-fixing on the morning of 24 March. These raids have been described as one of the biggest security operation targeted sports gambling in the country.

The iSport.cz website was the first to report the news, revealing that both sports players and referees were among those arrested. They also highlighted the involvement of top-division football clubs. This underscores the depth and breadth of corruption in the domestic football industry.

At a press conference held on the same day, Czech Football Association (CFA) President David Tronda delivered the following message:

The integrity of competitions is absolutely essential for us and represents one of the fundamental pillars of professional football. Any behavior that contradicts these principles is completely unacceptable for us. We will do our utmost to ensure that those found guilty are severely and exemplary punished.

Multi-agency cooperation

The latest raid was no spur-of-the-moment effort, but the result of a three-year investigation. It was a collaborative initiative involving international agencies, Europol, Interpol, and local authorities with experience in tackling organised criminal networks.

Trondo conceded in an internal memo that the raid may be the largest in the history of Czech football. He also confirmed the key role the Czech Football Association (CFA) played in the investigation, revealing that they had been working in close coordination with the police to expose years of corrupt betting and match-fixing practices.

According to the Czech News Agency (CTK), the National Center for Combating Organised Crime is overseeing criminal proceedings in the case. This is happening amidst a media blackout. Furthermore, spokesperson Jaroslav Ibehič clarified that the release of information is being handled exclusively by the Olomouc Prosecutor’s Office.

The rot runs deeper than suspected

There are 47 people now facing disciplinary investigation so far, Trunda said, on suspicion of betting fraud and match rigging.

This shows just how deep the corruption runs in a case that not only implicates first-division teams but also youth clubs—covering the full gamut.

Despite the seriousness of these developments, the federation emphasised that none of its officials have been found to be involved. They also confirmed that UEFA has been kept informed of the case’s progress.

Reputational blowback

The case, which is still unfolding, represents a significant blow to the reputation of Czech football. It marks the beginning of a critical and more difficult phase of rooting out the betting mafia. However, the lost trust in the sport could take years to rebuild.

As the investigation continues, questions loom over the scale of the network involved and the full extent of the sporting figures tied to it. With uncertainty surrounding the names that may be implicated.

This is shaping up to be one of the most explosive match-fixing scandals Europe has seen in recent years.

Featured image via the Canary