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The Cost of Fragmented Care: Britain’s Broken Health and Social Care System. By Dusty Wentworth

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I am 52 years old. Until I collapsed at home in October 2023, I was a working man — a retired infantry soldier and a bodyguard. Today, I am disabled, reliant on NHS services and adult social care, and desperately fighting to be a meaningful father to my three young children, aged ten, six, and two. My reliance is a burden my wife should not have to carry alone. Yet, I have exhausted every formal avenue available to obtain the structured care I need to participate in family life — not merely to exist alongside it. On 26 September 2025, I met with my local MP’s casework team to set out, in person, a catalogue of systemic failings I have experienced. These failures are not merely inconvenient; they reduce my independence, increase my isolation from my young family, and place an unnecessary, crushing strain on my wife, who bears the brunt of my complex needs. My detailed submission, outlining systemic failures and structural neglect, was intended to drive political action. Ten ...
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The Shadow Governance: Why Britain’s Think Tanks Need Scrutiny. By Dusty Wentworth

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Think tanks are often presented as neutral research bodies, offering independent expertise to politicians. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and they look far less impartial. Funded by opaque donors, many function as unregulated lobbying outfits — shaping laws, budgets, and public debate without a shred of democratic accountability. Lobbying in Disguise: The Legal Loophole Britain already has a lobbying register, created by the 2014 Lobbying Act. But here’s the catch: it only applies to consultant lobbyists. Think tanks are exempt. That means a minister can receive a policy paper drafted by a think tank bankrolled by hedge funds, oil firms, or even foreign states — and the public has no way of knowing who really wrote it. Imagine a report recommending lower corporate taxes, paid for entirely by a billionaire who stands to gain most from the change. While the Ministerial Code requires ministers to declare meetings with outside organisations, it does not cover reports, br...
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BritCard – A Policy of Panic, Not Leadership. By Dusty Wentworth

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The government’s plan to introduce a compulsory digital ID—marketed as the “BritCard”—is more than just another contentious policy. It is a glaring window into the weakness of the Prime Minister’s leadership, the outsourcing of ideas to external actors, and the panic setting in as Reform UK surges in popularity. Far from strengthening Britain’s borders, the scheme risks wasting money, deepening public distrust, and exposing the government’s detachment from the public mood. Labour’s Historic Reversal The Labour Party once defined itself squarely against compulsory ID. In 2010, after years of controversy, it was Labour in government that scrapped the preceding Blair/Brown ID card scheme, describing it as intrusive and wasteful. The 2010 Labour manifesto pledged to end it entirely, a clear recognition of public opposition and civil liberties concerns. For years, the very mention of ID cards was treated as a cautionary tale of government overreach. Fast forward to 2025, and a L...
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The Hidden Tax on Mobility: Why Adding VAT to Taxi Fares Puts Disabled People at Risk. By Dusty Wentworth

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A Lived Example: The Wheelchair Assessment After waiting thirty weeks for an NHS wheelchair assessment, I prepared to attend a crucial appointment. On the morning of the appointment, my car failed to start. Public transport was not an option: buses would not have got me there on time, and even if they had, broken ramps and delays made them unreliable. Missing that appointment would have meant being left in a wheelchair that no longer met my needs, leaving me in pain and at risk of injury. A call to my trusted private hire company changed everything. A driver who knew me arrived quickly, folded and stowed my chair, and ensured I reached the hospital on time. This was not a luxury journey; it was a vital safeguard of my mobility, health, and independence. It illustrates why taxis are not optional for disabled people — they are essential. Introduction The Chancellor’s reported proposal to impose 20% VAT on taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) fares has sparked widespread debate...
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Against the Dopamine Dealers: Writing as Resistance By Dusty Wentworth

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They told us writing was dead. That no one reads anymore. That if it can't fit on a reel, a slide, or a TikTok, it doesn't matter. But they were wrong. I still write—and not to chase likes, or feed algorithms, or become an influencer. I write to reclaim something they've stolen: our attention, our agency, and our ability to think clearly in a world addicted to the next swipe. The Rise of the Dopamine Dealers Look around. The platforms that promised connection now pedal compulsion. They're engineered not for truth, but for tension. Not for clarity, but controversy. They thrive on the quick fix—the flash of outrage, the sugar rush of affirmation, the numbing scroll that never ends. This isn't true connection; it's content farming. And the harvest, unfortunately, is our very minds. Big Tech doesn't care if what you post is true, thoughtful, or brave. It cares only that it's seen, shared, and emotionally charged. Substance is punished, often redu...
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The Dark Reflection of Power: What ‘The 48 Laws of Power’ Reveals About Society’s Hidden Tensions. By Dusty Wentworth

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Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power is undeniably a captivating read—an intricate tapestry woven with historical anecdotes, psychological insights, and strategic manoeuvres. Yet, beneath its compelling surface lies a profound and unsettling question: Is this book truly a guide to empowerment, or an unmasking of the toxicity that underpins human nature? In essence, does it reveal a society driven not by cooperation and integrity, but by manipulation, cunning, and ruthlessness? As I navigated Greene’s rules—many echoing tactics employed by spies, criminals, and elite military units such as the SAS—I was struck by an uncomfortable realisation: these principles are not merely theoretical tools for personal gain. Instead, they mirror the covert strategies of clandestine organisations and shadowy actors operating beneath the veneer of civilisation. Power as a Mirror of Human Nature The tactics outlined in Greene’s work—disguise, deception, strategic silence, and manipulation—are...
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Beyond Incompetence: The UK’s Political System Is Morally Bankrupt and Built for Impunity By Dusty Wentworth

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What Happens When Power Faces No Consequences? Imagine if a CEO squandered hundreds of millions of pounds on a project that never launched. Imagine if they handed multi-million-pound contracts to personal contacts without scrutiny, then walked away with a promotion. In the private sector, they'd face legal action, shareholder revolt, and professional disgrace. In British politics, they face none of the above. In the United Kingdom today, power is wielded without legal consequence. Ministers waste vast public sums, push through unworkable schemes, and mislead the nation—yet no one is prosecuted, fined, or held to account. This isn’t just negligence. It is systemic impunity. And it is morally unforgivable. Rwanda, PPE, HS2: A Catalogue of Unpunished Failure The Rwanda deportation scheme cost the taxpayer over £290 million. Not a single deportation flight ever took place. A Supreme Court ruling in November 2023 deemed the plan unlawful. The government responded by passing ...
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From Faith to Performance: How the West Distorted Islam By Dusty Wentworth

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The Islam I Knew vs. The Islam I See in Britain If I could return to any point in my life, it would not be the easy days—it would be the formative ones. The hot days. The strange days. The days when everything smelled of jet fuel, dust, and possibility. It would be Saudi Arabia, from 1973 to 1984. A long way from Suffolk, but nowhere has ever felt more like home. The Islam of My Childhood As a boy, I grew up in Saudi Arabia and later Oman. My family were not Muslim. My father had a deep love of the Middle East and, out of respect for our host nations, he made sure we were schooled in Islamic religion and culture so that we could show proper understanding. It was never about conversion; it was about respect. Back then, Islam was not simply a religion observed at certain moments; it was the framework of life itself. The call to prayer rolled across the desert air, marking the rhythm of the day. Mosques stood not as political statements but as anchors of community. At King Kha...
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The Flags We Fly: Reclaiming the Narrative of the Union and St. George's Cross. By Dusty Wentworth

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When you see the Union Flag or the St. George’s Cross, what do you feel—pride, shame, or discomfort? For some, these banners stir a deep sense of belonging and identity. For others, they evoke the darkest shadows of empire, racism, and exclusion. And for too many, they have been reduced to weapons in today’s culture wars. But a flag is never just a piece of cloth. It is a story—woven from centuries of triumph and tragedy, moments of courage and moments of cruelty. To abandon these symbols to extremists is to let them define our national story for us. To reclaim them is to face our past honestly, and to use them as beacons of unity, resilience, and hope. ​The Union Flag: A Symbol of Unity, Forged in History The Union Flag, often referred to as the Union Jack, represents centuries of evolving political and cultural union across the British Isles. Its story begins in 1606 with the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne as James I. The need for a flag to repres...
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The War Cry of Veterans: A Warning to Government. By Dusty Wentworth

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Imagine standing alone at dawn by a war memorial, the vast expanse of honed stone cold beneath your fingertips. You close your eyes and recall the faces of comrades lost—brave souls who entrusted their lives to duty, freedom, and the values you hold dear. Now picture those freedoms slipping away, eroded not by foreign tyranny, but by a government increasingly suspicious of its own citizens—its own veterans. This is the stark reality facing Britain under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government. The very individuals who sacrificed everything for our liberty now find themselves stripped of protections, stripped of trust, and stripped of the right to speak out without fear. Betrayal at the Highest Level: The Legacy Act Repeal and Veteran Outrage In 2023, the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act provided conditional immunity from prosecution to veterans and paramilitaries involved in the Troubles—if they fully cooperated with truth recovery processes. It was ...
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