Gavin Lee is pleased to welcome Peter Geoghegan, an award-winning investigative journalist. He's the editor of the Substack Democracy for Sale and the author of the best-selling book "Democracy for Sale". Geoghegan explains the significance of the Channel 4 investigation not simply over the conduct allegedly captured on camera, but in the broader question of how political influence is financed and made visible, or invisible, within British democracy.
His central argument is that the polling controversy may be more consequential than the hypothetical discussion of routing a foreign donation, precisely because the polling actually occurred and entered the public sphere. Polls, in his account, are not neutral measurements of opinion: they can help construct political momentum, determine news agendas and shape perceptions of electoral viability.
