Grassroots for Europe Round Table RT#61 - Tracking tyranny, protecting freedoms, with Prof. Christina Pagel

Professor Christina Pagel is a world-leading health systems scientist who played a public role in challenging gross errors of UK government during the Covid-19 pandemic, reckless and negligent policy failures recently and damningly confirmed by a major official inquiry. This year she has intervened once more to chronicle and dissect a vaster assault in America by the Trump presidency, not only on public health and safety but on the entire system of democratic governance, truth, science and the rule of law. Today her “Trump tracker” database, updated almost daily, catalogues and tracks a continuing onslaught comprising nearly 2000 specific actions, classified into ten categories, from corruption to suppressing information to hollowing the state. This is now being supplemented by frequent video news summaries on Substack and an in-depth interview.

In October, Christina and her colleague Prof. Martin McKee launched a report which, prompted by the emerging findings on Trump, asks how far democratic institutions in the UK would be resistant to similar predatory capture by far-right government forces. Looking at ten key arms-length public bodies, they identify a number of troubling vulnerabilities, and cite new polling evidence of public support for action to reinforce our democratic institutions.

Trump wants to export his playbook to Europe. Could it happen here? Is it already happening to our BBC?

In October, Christina and her colleague Prof. Martin McKee [LSHTM] launched a report which, prompted by the emerging findings on Trump, asks how far democratic and public service institutions in the UK would be resistant to similar predatory capture by far-right government forces. Looking at ten key arms-length public bodies, they identify a number of troubling vulnerabilities, and cite new polling evidence of public support for action to reinforce our democratic institutions.

Our discussion will relate these latest findings to our agenda for defending democracy in Europe.