I recently signed up for the Bylines Network easyfundraising page and have been blown away by it within only a few days. I don’t do a lot of online or indeed any shopping, but it’s so clever in picking up donations. For example, I wanted to find out where we’re staying in Barcelona later this year to meet up with friends there, and up popped an option to donate when I checked on booking.com. How easy is that to sign up! Just think how much we could all raise by simply clicking the link, and that is literally all you have to do. It won’t cost you a penny extra.
Then a few days ago, I happened to be making a purchase at Tesco and again, it popped up and with just a simple click I helped make £1 for the Bylines. Just imagine how much we could grow if just a fraction of our readers signed up to help us.
So why donate to Bylines Network?
Given that so much of the UK now faces news deserts with a severe lack of local news and with many of those publications now owned by a handful of organisations, it’s an easy sell that we can help plug those holes. And since we aren’t owned by anyone, our writers define our agenda.
At a national level more and more publications have become nothing more than right-wing propaganda platforms. We’ve always known about the likes of the Daily Mail and Express, but now publications like The Daily Telegraph have been drawn in too.
When I was growing up, it was a reasonable broadsheet newspaper. But now, for example, DeSmog recently analysed some 2,000 Telegraph opinion pieces and found that of the 171 that were reporting on environmental issues, a whopping 85% of those were identified as ‘anti-green’, where they questioned climate science and attacked climate policy and environmental groups. And you guessed it, Tufton Street is involved, with 10 of those writers being connected to the Global Warming Policy Foundation. If you’ve not heard of them, you probably have heard of their campaign arm Net Zero Watch, based at, you guessed it, Tufton Street.
The Bylines Network really does give citizens a voice. Take our Yorkshire Bylines article, for example, questioning BBC bias towards right-wing commentators – it’s now been read by an incredible 300,000 people and referenced by numerous MPs like Labours Rupa Huq. This is the power of citizen journalism.
The NHS
Across the network we’ve given voices to doctors, those wishing to save the NHS and nurses, such as this Bylines Cymru writer talking about broken mental health services in Wales. At a personal and individual level, if we just look at one Bylines, we have given a voice to Gemma Gould on her journey with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Sam Williams on why long Covid is being ignored and Judy Copage on her personal battle with the NHS to get treatment for thyroid disease. And that is just at Central Bylines!
Think how many people we have given a voice to across all 10 Bylines, with well over 10 million reads covering a huge range of topics and issues.
The state of Britain
There have been teachers and university lecturers talking about our education system. And we’ve had numerous articles on the plight facing so many, with unprecedented challenges of poverty Britain, where ‘Victorian’ diseases are on the rise with scurvy, rickets and malnutrition at an all-time high in recent years, and child poverty levels increasing.
The Bylines Network is becoming increasingly recognised by current and future MPs, for example Andy McDonald writing for North East Bylines, Jon Trickett for Yorkshire Bylines, Kenny MacAskill for Bylines Scotland and Caroline Lucas for Sussex Bylines. Jack Abbott, who is set to be the next Labour MP for Ipswich, was a founding member of East Anglia Bylines and championed SEND issues. We’ve even had political parties announcing major policies, with Anthony Slaughter, Welsh leader of the Greens, announcing the party’s support for Welsh independence via Bylines Cymru.
The environment
At Yorkshire Bylines we have regular contributions from Brian McHugh and Andy Brown on environmental issues. Elsewhere we’ve given a platform to those wanting to stop new coal mines in Cumbria, pollution on Teesside, and greenwashing of cruise ships. The team at West England Bylines’ publish a regular Sewage Watch series. In Scotland and East Anglia we’ve published articles addressing the proliferation of new electricity pylons across huge swathes of unspoilt countryside. We’ve also reported on Restore Trust’s attacks on the National Trust via, you guessed it, Tufton Street. And even on the birds and the bees!
Do you think the likes of GB News, Telegraph, Daily Express or Daily Mail want your voice to be heard? If not then perhaps it’s time to sign up to donate to us each time you shop – at no cost to yourself!
Disinformation and a general election
As we move closer to a general election and beyond, it’s vital that we have the Bylines Network publications to counter misinformation and provide a platform for citizen voices. A great example of this is Tom Hardy’s excellent report for West England Bylines ‘Dog whistles and fig leaves: disinformation and political propaganda.
A Bylines Network director’s view
That’s my take on the Bylines Network, please read Mike Galsworthy’s article on why ‘We need your support to keep the Bylines Network flourishing!’. Indeed Mike sums up who we are here really well in his recent article for Bylines Scotland:
“We host a diverse range of writers and encourage them to write about issues that matter most to them. Whether students, pensioners, nurses, campaigners, or business leaders, whether majority or marginalised communities. We’re a rich fabric of people in these nations and everyone should be empowered to be heard.”
So who is and what does easyfundraising do?
I was quite blown away when I started researching easyfundraising. Founded in 2007, last year it surpassed £50mn of donations raised for charities and good causes right across the UK. It’s quite incredible considering it’s just off the back of people shopping online.
Easyfundraising supports over 43,000 causes including the Bylines Network. Others include PTA groups and schools, which are one of the biggest beneficiaries receiving over £15mn so far. Since 2007 the scheme has also raised over £7mn for sports and teams – for example, the Lawn Tennis Association has raised over £250,000 for tennis clubs – and over £4mn for wildlife groups.
Who can I buy from to help?
A staggering number of brands are on the platform – just about all the famous name brands with an online presence, and many more.
Supermarkets include Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, Morrisons, Co-Op, Waitrose and Iceland. If you are clothes shopping you can enjoy the likes of ASOS, JD Sports, Jack Wills, Adidas, Boden, Decathlon, H&M, Hollister, GO Outdoors, Fat Face, Marks and Spencer, New Balance, Nike, New Look, Under Armour, UGG, Urban Outfitters and Reebok.
For other retail, some of the big names on the platform include Amazon, B&Q, Dunelm, Dreams, Habbitat, John Lewis, Oliver Bonas, Shark, Boots, Holland and Barett, Lloyds Pharmacy, Neals Yard, Superdrug, Argos, Carphone Warehouse, O2, and Vodafone. And for holidays and insurance you can find the likes of Booking.com, Confused.com, Go Compare, IHG, Irish Ferries, Last Minute.com, NCP Parking, P&O Ferries, Qatar Airways, Uber, Raddison Hotels and TUI.
What a fantastic way to raise money, I do hope you join up and choose Bylines Network as your chosen entity. You can sign up here.
Read more from Mark Cunliffe here, and check out our free Yorkshire Bylines Election Gazette:
