‘Labour Together’ — the sabotage outfit that brought down Jeremy Corbyn and conned Labour members into choosing Keir Starmer — paid investigators to spy on, and smear two Times journalists. Unsurprisingly, the pair — Harry Yorke and Gabriel Pogrund — have publicised their experience as unique.

@Gabriel_Pogrund and I were the subject of a disgraceful smear campaign — just for doing our jobs

I’m proud that The Sunday Times is calling it out on the front page tomorrow

Labour activists paid for smear campaign against journalists https://t.co/Uw9UjNJtzm

— Harry Yorke (@HarryYorke1) February 14, 2026

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Labour Together pursues journalists

The Sunday Times, which covered the story, reported that:

The group that helped to get Sir Keir Starmer elected as Labour leader hired lobbyists to investigate the personal, political and religious background of a Sunday Times journalist behind an article about secret donations that funded its work.

Labour Together paid £36,000 to Apco, a US public affairs firm, to examine the “backgrounds and motivations” of reporters behind a story before the general election.

The aim was to discredit The Sunday Times’s reporting by falsely suggesting its journalists might be part of a Russian conspiracy or had relied on emails hacked by the Kremlin.

Apco produced a 58-page report including almost ten pages of deeply personal and false claims about Gabriel Pogrund, the Sunday Times Whitehall editor. He and Harry Yorke, the newspaper’s deputy political editor, were named as “persons of significant interest”.

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Old news

But Pogrund and Yorke only stand out for being the only ‘mainstream’ hacks known to have been targeted by Labour Together. The pressure group was formerly run by disgraced Starmer adviser Morgan McSweeney and other ‘red Tories’ in Starmer’s faction. But these latest revelations and labour Together’S spying activities is not new — not in any real sense. Their not-so-covert operations have been in the public domain for months.

In fact, news of the spying broke on the Canary in September 2025. McSweeney’s outfit set investigators on Paul Holden, the author of The Fraud. This exposes Labour Together’s dark tactics and Starmer’s dishonesty. Furthermore, the book has been serialised by the Canary.

Labour Together did the same to Andrew Feinstein, the author and former Mandela government minister. He stood against Starmer in the 2024 general election and decimated his majority. Moreover, it did the same to journalists John McEvoy, Khadija Sharife and Peter Geoghegan.

Labour Together’s spies targeted Pogrund for being Jewish — ironic given their weaponisation of supposed ‘Labour antisemitism’ against Corbyn and the left. But they did the same to the Jewish Feinstein. They smeared Pogrund and Yorke as being linked to Russia — they’d done the same to Feinstein and Holden.

In fact, not even the ‘news’ about Yorke and Pogrund is new. The Canary reported it last week. No wonder McSweeney and his cadre are scared of the Canary. They have tried and failed to destroy it while Corbyn was still leading Labour.

Featured image via the Canary

How often should you clean your car?

The by-election in Gorton & Denton is looking like a two-way race between the Green Party and Reform UK, but Labour are still fighting to win.

According to a new report in the Telegraph, Labour are throwing the kitchen sink at the race. Or, to be more specific, they’re using the sink — and everything else in the kitchen — to prepare delectably illegal meals for potential voters (allegedly):

Labour referred to police over freebie gala dinner for 600 Gorton & Denton voters – attended by senior Labour figures including deputy leader Lucy Powell
Electoral law bans using food and drink to corruptly influence voters
Paywall-free link in replies👇 https://t.co/8X3kGppkUh

— The Prole Star (@TheProleStar) February 14, 2026

Will anything happen as a result of this?

As we’ll get to, probably not — not if Reform’s own by-election scandal is anything to go by.

Labour hosts “freebie gala dinner”

As reported by the Telegraph, the dinner took place at a South Asian restaurant, and fed 600 people. The venue had posters up showing images of Labour candidate Angeliki Stogia.

Speaking at the dinner, Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell said Gorton & Denton should vote for Stogia or:

we’re going to end up with Reform in Manchester and we’re not having that

Presumably eluding to the multiple paedophile-related scandals engulfing the Starmer government, Powell also said:

We have not got everything right. We have tried our best and we have done some really good things … but I understand we haven’t got everything right.

That’s certainly one way of putting it.

For reference, Labour’s recent paedophile-related scandals include:

So yeah, they haven’t “got everything right”; that’s true.

Will anything come of this?

As the Telegraph also reported, the police investigated Reform UK for a buffet last October, but dropped the investigation. The Telegraph added:

The party had provided a buffet to supporters before a council by-election in Northamptonshire.

According to guidance from the Electoral Commission, the law “does not apply to ordinary hospitality”.

As you can imagine, then, Labour are confident they’ll get off with this. One of their spokespeople said the report is a “desperate, politically motivated move”.

It’s also the case that the police have dropped a case into Reform related to the Gorton & Denton by-election:

For the third time.

But who’s counting, eh?

What’s a little electoral fraud between friends. https://t.co/A5mJqd3Kwp

— Don McGowan (@donmcgowan) February 14, 2026

For more on that story, read:

Featured image via the Canary

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper assures @TrevorPTweets that Labour has strengthened its vetting processes following the scandal surrounding Lord Doyle’s friendship with Sean Morton.

pic.twitter.com/H3satN60tJ

— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 15, 2026

In a message posted to his Truth Social account, president Donald Trump has announced a plan which will surely repress the vote in the Midterm Elections:

“there will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!”

Trump’s authoritarian takeover and interference in the midterm elections under the guise of “election integrity” has begun. pic.twitter.com/FHYYKQ3u3h

— Melanie D’Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) February 13, 2026

Given Trump’s dire polling, however, simply repressing the vote may not be enough.

Trump thanks you for your “attention”

The president’s post reads in full:

The Democrats refuse to vote for Voter I.D., or Citizenship. The reason is very simple — They want to continue to cheat in Elections. This was not what our Founders desired.

I have searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject, and will be presenting an irrefutable one in the very near future. There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not! Also, the People of our Country are insisting on Citizenship, and No Mail-In Ballots, with exceptions for Military, Disability, Illness, or Travel.

Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

He has, in his own words:

searched the depths of Legal Arguments not yet articulated or vetted on this subject.

We’ll be honest…we’re not sure what this means. At the same time, we’re confident he hasn’t done it.

Can you really imagine the tycoon-turned-politician searching the depths of anything? The man has all the depth of a contact lens.

Recently, Trump claimed the US is the only country which allows mail in ballots. This may shock you, but the truth is actually somewhat different to what president Trump suggests:

“We’re the only country with Mail In Ballots”

– Donald Trump

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✅ Fact Check: 70–80 countries worldwide
Roughly one-third of the world’s countries allow some form of postal voting. pic.twitter.com/f69uDu5BlJ

— Bricktop_NAFO (@Bricktop_NAFO) February 13, 2026

He has also threatened to deploy his masked ICE goons to disrupt voting:

There are 39 other countries with mail-in voting.
Trump’s plan is simple. If you block mail-in ballots, all ICE has to do is disrupt, intimidate and assault at polling places in blue areas to insure Trump remains King forever.
➡️ It’s really that simple ⬅️pic.twitter.com/3DdF782K8T

— BigBlueWaveUSA2026® 🇺🇸🌊🇺🇦 (@BigBlueWaveUSA) February 13, 2026

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If we were worried about upcoming elections, we’d probably focus on appearing electable. Trump, meanwhile, is spending all day, every day, ranting about how unfair everything is.

Voters aren’t stupid, though, which is why his polling looks like this (as per the Economist):

Cataclysmic

In addition to the above, we also have Trump’s (potentially criminal) handling of the Epstein Files. All in all, his party could see a real reckoning in the Midterm Elections. In fact, we’ve already seen what that could look like:

Democrats didn’t just see a 30-point shift in Texas and flip a State Senate seat red to blue: they did it while being outspent 20-to-1. This will send shockwaves through the Republican Party. pic.twitter.com/2UQI4v8Bls

— Matt McDermott (@mattmfm) February 1, 2026

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If the Democrats win big in the Midterms, Donald, and his cronies may begin to face accountability. The big question is whether the Democrats have the backbone to investigate Trump’s obvious wrongdoing, or whether they’ll let him wriggle out of it like president Joe Biden did.

Featured image via the Canary

Greg Jackson (Alamy)

7 min read33 min

“A very senior mandarin in the energy space said to me that the traditional model of the energy companies was to keep quiet and hope nobody understood what they were doing, and not to wake the sleeping dog,” Greg Jackson recalls, over a video call in a black hoodie, having just returned to the UK. “And I said, ‘Well, my job is to come in and poke the sleeping dog with a stick relentlessly’.”

Jackson has just returned from China, where he was part of the Prime Minister’s delegation. The Octopus founder is in as boisterous a mood as ever.

“Companies are often extremely entitled, or they behave in an entitled way. I’ve seen energy bosses demanding that the Energy Secretary actually make them more trusted,” a disapproving Jackson reports. “Trust is earned, not bestowed,” he adds.

Despite Jackson’s Octopus being only 10 years old, it has achieved continued astronomic growth after breaking ‘double unicorn’ status in 2022, reaching a valuation of $2bn, and has become one of the most recognisable in the UK, levering its outsider status for success.

In Whitehall, Jackson has seen similar achievements. The founder is a regular at political events, sitting on boards across Westminster while also recently securing a £25m investment from the government in his Octopus Energy spin-off, Kraken. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has described him as a “friend”, and insiders see him as the corporate figure who has the closest ties to the government.

In spite of this, Jackson recoils at the idea of being politically influential.

“I’ve got literally no view of politics,” he says unconvincingly, before launching into a 10-minute explanation of UK-China policy and the benefits of free trade. Jackson’s ideology, if he has one, is neoliberal. He believes in low subsidies, high competition and transparency, making him an odd bedfellow of the Labour Party.

“I don’t believe in party politics, but I do believe in the power of competition and the power of free enterprise.”

A close adviser of a previous Conservative chancellor described Jackson as “very good at identifying power, getting close to it and using those relationships to build credibility. He’s always coming to the government with solutions rather than just problems. A lot of companies can learn from that”.

After the change of government in 2024, Jackson was appointed to the government’s Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, before becoming a Cabinet Office board member in July last year. In January, he was appointed as co-chair of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s attempts to use AI to improve customer service experiences.

He has been vocally supportive of a number of government policies: in the last year alone, he endorsed the Workers’ Rights Bill, supported plans to build a ‘clean-power army’, and co-signed the government’s “international investment summit”.

I’ve seen energy bosses demanding that the Energy Secretary actually make them more trusted

Rumours have swirled that Jackson was on Labour’s longlist for a potential investment minister, before it was offered to his former colleague Benjamin Wegg-Prosser and ultimately Baroness Gustafsson, who accepted (before later resigning). Jackson says he doesn’t know whether he was considered but would not have accepted the job anyway.

He has also faced sustained criticism from some in the labour movement. Energy tycoon and Labour mega donor Dale Vince has engaged in a war of words with Jackson over green energy, both accusing the other of doing climate deniers’ bidding.

Miliband has remained a supportive ally of Jackson, however, launching numerous major policies from his sites, meeting regularly with him in Whitehall and name-checking Octopus’ successes. Their friendship has caused controversy for them both.

In some ways, the two are unlikely allies. Despite his links to the Labour Party, Jackson is not and has never been a party donor, and labels himself a free marketeer. He prompted criticism in 2021 when he admitted that his companies do not have human resources departments.

One of Jackson’s biggest squabbles is with the GMB union, which represents Jackson’s workforce in Octopus.

A GMB spokesperson describes Octopus as having a “frat-boy culture”, describing it as “beyond baffling” that Miliband and other ministers “persist in indulging this divisive figure”.

“GMB members in Octopus are increasingly outraged by the government’s embrace of a man who refuses to recognise unions. Mr Jackson runs his firm in a way more attuned to a frat-boy culture than a professional business environment,” they say.

“Despite not having basics like a HR department and failing to meet the simplest balance sheet requirements designed to protect consumers, he is given key access. This completely undermines Labour’s pro-worker and pro-consumer position.”

Jackson maintains that he is not anti-union – rather, he simply believes they are not needed in Octopus.

In a statement, Jackson also refuted the GMB allegations around the company’s culture. He said:  “Octopus is repeatedly named one of the best places to work in the UK, has a negative gender pay gap (women earn more), and every employee is a shareholder. Hardly a frat-bro culture – rather a model modern employer.”

Despite Jackson’s clear influence on policy and political discourse, he has rarely faced accusations of sleaze, which has dogged Westminster’s lobbyists in recent years. Unlike many other businesses, Jackson is very open about the issues he is pressing on the government privately, whether that be onshore wind, energy pricing models or the futility of some forms of clean energy such as hydrogen.

“I think one reason we have cut-through is, ultimately, I’d rather share with people the uncomfortable secret truths and then discuss it than hide behind closed doors, just making it worse.”

Jackson’s ability partially comes from knowing his sector inside out, and from focusing on changes benefiting the consumer.

“He is left-field. He’s always wearing a fleece and jeans. He’s very down to earth and easy to get on with,” says one observer. “Octopus are doing some quite unusual stuff, and it’s compelling. He can walk into any room in Whitehall and say, ‘If you get rid of X, Y and Z random pieces of regulation, I can do this for consumers.’ It’s very persuasive – and he’s always in the room.”

Yet Jackson has not managed to convince the new government on his most controversial ask: zonal energy pricing. He argues that Octopus would be able to cut energy bills by £100 a year if the switch were made to a system whereby prices varied across regional zones in the country, depending on their supply and demand. The proposal was shot down by other major operators on the grounds that it would create a “postcode lottery” for energy.

Miliband considered the policy before ultimately dropping it over fears it could put off investors. The defeat marked a victory for Centrica, the owner of British Gas and chief rival of Octopus.

With success came critics, who are capitalising on recent problems – including Ofgem’s anonymised rebuke of companies for failing financial resilience targets. Jackson, who admits Octopus was one of the firms that failed the test, argues the requirements are too stringent. Centrica’s CEO Chris O’Shea described it as “criminal” that Ofgem had not punished firms like Octopus further.

Jackson’s portrayal of rival energy companies is compelling – he paints them as a cartel, cautiously protecting margins at the expense of consumers. “One of them texted us to say they had 150 lobbyists up against us,” Jackson says of the zonal pricing spat. “We have two on our side.”

While he only has two lobbyists, Jackson in himself has the executive lobbyists are scared to represent. One tells The House: “You never want to represent someone who knows all the decision-makers better than you.” 

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Laundry day (or days, as the case may be) can be a real pain, especially in the wintertime.

Between the mud from the eternally-soggy weather, and that gross mildew smell, it’s such a faff making sure your clothes are properly clean.

Some will suggest drying your washing outside to help keep things fresh and avoid making any condensation problems in your house worse.

But I, for one, do not trust British winters (or springs, or even most summers) with my washing – the rain is just far too unpredictable.

Yes, you can crack some windows open for a bit (and we do!), but in my experience, that can only do so much.

So, if you want to level up your laundry day, whatever the weather, here are some of the best buys on the internet, according to the customers who’ve fallen in love with them.