WELCOME TO MY SUBSTACK
I’LL BE HONEST….*
This isn’t Plan A. I actually intended to launch this Substack two weeks ago with a big expose about covid vaccines. I have wanted to write about the jabs for ages. It is a subject I really care about, and mainstream media remains ridiculously nervous of talking about. What’s more, I know stuff that others don’t.
Why? Because I’m lucky enough to possess a hard drive with some 1.3m words of private WhatsApp messages between the man who was prime minister during the pandemic; the man who was Health Secretary during the pandemic and the man who was vaccines’ minister during the pandemic.
Remember the Daily Telegraph's Lockdown Files? Let's just say there's a lot more where that came from.
But all that will have to wait. The Vaccine Files have been compiled and are ready to publish. I’m itching to press go. But now is not the moment.
Because at its heart, this new Substack is about what’s happening on the Right of UK politics. Now Rishi Sunak has called the election, it makes sense to focus on sharing my insider knowledge of the campaign.
So for the next few weeks, I’ll be using my new Substack to bring you revelations, intelligence and analysis from the heart of the general election. While the focus will be on the Right, I am first and foremost a journalist, not a political activist. I am in the news business. I love nothing better than breaking stories. So if I come across interesting information about the Left, or indeed any other useful intelligence, you’ll find it here.
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*an expression politicians should never use. Begs the question: aren’t you always?
ABOUT ME:
I am Isabel Oakeshott, a political journalist and broadcaster. My politics aren’t exactly a secret: I am horrified by what has happened to our country after 14 years of so-called “Conservative” rule. I want to see the end of mass immigration; I want radical tax cuts; and I am appalled by the bloated welfare state. Like millions of other exasperated people in this country, I just want our cripplingly expensive public services to work. Our country could be amazing. Voters have been betrayed.
However, this Substack is not about my political agenda. It’s about what’s happening out there.
My background is in newspapers. Formerly Political Editor of the Sunday Times, I now write for the Daily Telegraph; the Spectator and a bunch of other titles. I am proud to be International Editor at News UK’s Talk radio/TV and appear on various other TV and radio channels. I have been on BBC1’s flagship current affairs show, Question Time, something like 16 times. (someone very bored counted.)
I specialise in breaking stories. Before the Lockdown Files and the pandemic, I published a series of sensational diplomatic cables that infuriated Donald Trump. This scoop - a collaboration with the brilliant young reporter Steven Edginton - led to the dramatic resignation of the UK’s then Ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch. Around that time I also revealed a cache of emails between HRH Prince Andrew and his private banker friends. My stories annoy the Establishment. I make no apology for that. If it’s in the public interest, I want it out there.
In addition to newspaper journalism and political commentary, I write non-fiction books (ten in the last ten years) on issues ranging from the state of the UK’s armed forces and the state of the NHS; to the true cost of cheap meat. All my books have attracted extensive media coverage. My second ever book, Farmageddon, about the horrors of factory farming, has been translated into six languages.
While my connections to the insurgent political party Reform UK are well known, I am not a member of any political party and never have been. The truth is, I care more about breaking stories than I do about political agendas. After 20 years in the newspaper industry, it’s in my blood.
FUNDING:
I have thought long and hard about how to fund this Substack, which does not have any private backers or sponsors. I want as many people as possible to read my work. However, doing it properly takes time and money. So I’d love to encourage people to subscribe. Paid subscribers will hear about my stories first; get full access to my writing; be invited to special events and have the opportunity to ask me questions. They’ll also be able to post comments and vote for what I should cover. If people subscribe, I can keep revealing; keep investigating; keep responding to tip-offs. On which note….
WHISTLEBLOWERS AND TIPSTERS…
If there’s something important you want to expose and you need help, you can contact me. If it sufficiently serious and sounds credible and newsworthy, I’ll look into it.
It needs to be in the public interest; and controversial allegations will need hard evidence. Original documents and other written or photographic records are best. If you’ve broken the law; harmed anyone; threatened UK national security; or are acting for a hostile state; don’t come to me. Otherwise, I’m all ears. Scandals involving the armed forces; the NHS; the police; the judiciary; the education system; the courts; public money and public figures? I live for this stuff…..
