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EuropeanPowell Profile picture
@EuropeanPowell
Jul 15, 2022 • 24 tweets • 8 min read • Read on X
Tories already expanding vocabulary of Freeports by adding 'zones' into the mix, they're not just ports! The #Liverpool zone has a population of 2,3 million! Entire regions under corporate laws dictated and enforced under a privately owned judiciary. Brexit deregulation hell.
Excellent article by @eyes_lilly on Tories post Brexit Charter cities which are well underway as the next ERG PM takes the UK to it's authoritarian corporate run conclusion.
medium.com/@cormack.lawso…
Of course none of this was on the side of a bus, r/w #libertarian policies have for decades proven notoriously unpopular with the public, that's why think tanks were used under a pretext of 'charity status' so r/w ideologues could carry on with their destruction by stealth
Prof.Paul Romer (mentor to Rishi Sunak) who along with Penny Mordaunt is now installing UK’s Charter Cities post Brexit. Once deregulation is hastily done, it's open season for the radical right to do whatever the f*ck they want, privatising whole cities
taxpayersalliance.com/charter_cities…
Great blog here on pros & cons of charter cities, basically when the right have control, it will be awful. Cities have long exercised power over land use and zoning (notice how Tories talk of zones)& they have frequently used this power to exclude needy outsiders #Brexit
verfassungsblog.de/the-danger-zon…
They do this by passing local ordinances that prevent the construction of public and low-income housing. Home-voters fear that the presence of low-income residents will diminish their quality of life and increase the crime rate. Ring any bells on hostile Govt policies?
Don't think that a new Govt can repeal those laws, they will be irreversible and under the jurisdiction of private companies, why do you think Truss, Sunak, Mordaunt, Trevelyan have been back and forth to the US? They are importing r/w charter cities model to UK. ERG's endgame.
@5by5Creativity writes on the whole libertarian package that comes with right wing charter cities now being installed in post brexit UK. Please follow her, she's fantastic
bylinetimes.com/2022/06/30/bor…
@AnnAubert3 I believe has written the first article on UK charter cities, read it here and please give her a follow she's brilliant!
yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/brexit/br…
@fslconsult wrote this astonishing piece on charter cities 'Beware the Tories New Threat to our Democracy' Please follow him. #CharterCities
pressreader.com/uk/the-sentine…
Tories 'Global Britain, leveling up' slogans belie the truth of what's actually being planned for the 'emerging economy' of 3rd country UK. Frontier capitalism is a form of corporate colonialism, it swoops in when a country's economy is in crisis & severely weakened by disasters.
Cherry on top for Tories was the pandemic, an opportunity to cripple the public sphere by stealing billions via non tendered contracts to mates with no experience in PPE. Lack of competition was copied from the Bush administration during 9/11. 'Ramped up' military funding next.
Tories have for years been emptying public coffers, your taxes intended for public spending stolen for corporate gain & ultimate control of your lives, welfare state will be a thing of the past. R/w revolution took chunks out of public services, next step is ripping out the core.
Need your help in getting this out to the public at large, time is running out, next Tory PM is an ERG libertarian evangelical zealot who will ensure the harshest of r/w policies are unleashed on an unsuspecting UK public. Please read, research and RT before its too late.
unroll @threadreaderapp
Appeal to my followers & anyone alarmed by what the Tories are not saying about their post Brexit plans for privately run cities (charter cities) to please RT/like this thread. I need your help to create momentum and raise awareness in the hope the msm & opposition pick this up.
“Don’t be daft, it couldn’t happen here”
Charter cities are a ploy to enrich the rich even further, increasing inequality. US billionaire Peter Thiel, a key financier of Trump campaign, sees them as a route to replacing the US Govt with corporate power.
thenational.scot/politics/20267…
Honduras perfect example of why Romer’s model is ultimately unrealistic & can be oblivious to particular contexts, cultures -especially a country currently in political and economic turmoil. Ring any bells? Brexit, Covid ravaged UK incoming Sunak/Mordaunt!
faithandpubliclife.com/a-case-against…
Our cost-effectiveness model suggests that over 50-years horizon charter cities would have a 127x return on investment. See that 50 years bit?
'We don’t believe that charter cities are a cost-effective method to lift individuals out of poverty directly'
rethinkpriorities.org/publications/i…
'Laboratories of governance' model means additional risks involved. Corporatised Neocolonialism. Many charter city projects already riskier than traditional real estate investments. Reminder Russia report states: Brit Est compromised beyond prevention, estate agents, lawyers, PR
Honduras, Romer's idea became mired in controversy almost immediately. Residents in the proposed sites complained that officials had not consulted them. The Govt signed an investment deal without the consent of the Transparency Commission. Remind you of anything in UK?
Those who voted for Brexit knew nothing about Tories plans for r/w lawless charter cities, info was scant in the public domain save for @bakerstherald & a few independent/obscure sources, Don't forget that advocates of charter cities leaned on the above report I just shared.
My 🧵on ERG who for 29 years have been shutting down all moderation, taking public money and astronomical sums from private corporate donors and using that to push the most radical libertarian ideologies into Govt policy making under mask of charity status

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More from @EuropeanPowell

EuropeanPowell Profile picture
Oct 27
Apart from @TheCanaryUK has anyone seen a single left-wing media outlet investigate the duopoly's nationwide rollout of deregulated free zones?
The ongoing proliferation of free zones under Keir Starmer now includes AI Growth Zones, and Defence Growth Zones (the digital layer), while Labour published their paper, Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan in June 2025. The paper states it will merge the Tories' Freeports and SEZs under the umbrella of Industrial Strategy Zones (ISZs)
@novaramedia @declassifiedUK @TurnLeftMediaUK @DoubleDownNews @owenjonesjourno @The_TUC @RMTunion @UniteSharon @TheGreenParty @yourparty @zarahsultana @jeremycorbyn @ZackPolanski
Jeremy Corbyn 100% against Freeports and Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
@jeremycorbyn
"A freeport is essentially a tax-free zone created by a government to persuade a global corporation to move in there, and be exempt from an awful lot of laws and property taxes, and a number of other taxes as well, a lot of workers protections are lost in these free zones"
x.com/EuropeanPowell…
@jeremycorbyn @TheGreenParty voted to oppose the introduction of Freeports and Special Economic Zones across the United Kingdom at its annual party conference in Manchester in 2024
Read 11 tweets
EuropeanPowell Profile picture
Oct 18
My article on UK Special Economic Zones is free to read on my Substack. Please subscribe and, where possible, make a donation to my online Ko-Fi tip jar.
ko-fi.com/europeanpowell
Thank you💚
open.substack.com/pub/europeanpo… Image
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I think what’s happening in the UK with free zones represents one of the most significant, and underreported transformations of democratic governance in modern British history.
This is Structural State Capture, Not Policy Failure

The evidence I’ve compiled, combined with Private Eye’s Richard Brooks’ recent 8 page article on his Teesside investigation, reveals a systematic architecture of extraction rather than isolated corruption.
Read 14 tweets
EuropeanPowell Profile picture
Oct 6
It is patently clear that if the MSM gave as much attention to Palantir and Blackrock's incursions into the public sector, and the duopoly's nationwide rollout of deregulated free zones as much as they give to Nigel Farage and immigration, we would be seeing outrage directed at these actual seismic issues that are secretly changing Britain into an authoritarian state under a right-wing corporate political model.
Palantir – the surveillance tech giant founded by Peter Thiel with deep ties to intelligence agencies is now embedded in our NHS, our police forces, the Ministry of Defence, and across the public sector, including Coventry City Council.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is quietly absorbing Britain’s infrastructure and housing stock. And across the country, both major parties are rolling out “investment zones” – deregulated corporate free-for-alls that gut planning laws, environmental protections, and democratic oversight.

This isn’t speculation. It’s happening right now.

BlackRock’s infrastructure grab

Meanwhile, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with £11 trillion under management, is systematically acquiring British public infrastructure and housing. From water companies to energy networks, the assets built with public money are being converted into profit streams for global investors.
Read 9 tweets
EuropeanPowell Profile picture
Oct 5
Blackrock have 677 registered entities at Companies House UK, possibly more, many of the addresses are from the Cayman Islands. Blackrock has 80% ownership in 3 British Freeports, Felixtowe, Harwich, and Thamesport, they are moving into critical public infrastructure.
Blackrock also has 4.7% shares in Palantir.
Palantir have 24 contracts with key UK public institutions, the NHS, the Ministry of Defence, the polices forces, the Cabinet Office, the DLUHC, and Coventry City Council whose contract is the 24th and was arranged by Keir Starmer this year.
The UK is being privatised.
…te.company-information.service.gov.uk/search?q=Black…Image
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Starmer's enthusiastic partnership announcement suggests policy capture at the highest levels. This isn't ordinary foreign investment; it's a systematic acquisition of control over the infrastructure backbone of the UK's economy by one the most criminally corrupt shadow banks in the world.Image
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BlackRock's own former ESG chief called it a "dangerous placebo that harms the public interest". Blackrock is embarking on what it calls its Infrastructure Imperative. This represents a serious incursion into the public sector, it is wholly dependent on UK public services collapse.
Blackrock's own documents show they view government financial distress as an "opportunity" - making them a vulture capitalist threat to struggling public finances rather than a genuine partner in national development.
Read 10 tweets
EuropeanPowell Profile picture
Oct 3
In June 2025, the Starmer government released the Industrial Strategy Zones Action Plan, which consolidates the Tories' 12 Freeports and 74 SEZs with Labour's new AI Growth Zones (200 applications to date), Defence Growth Zones, University and Food Enterprise Zones.
This represents a fundamental shift toward privatisation across the UK.
Areas outside these designated zones simply cannot compete as millions in public funding is lavished on free zone applicants.
Neither the public nor the Press were consulted about these details due to secondary legislation being embedded in the Tories free zone policy, which Labour lapped up behind the scenes while signing off on these carve-outs.
Keir Starmer’s AI Growth Zones, layered atop 86 deregulated free zones (12 Freeports, 74 SEZs), are wiring the UK into a techno-feudal fiefdom, fueled by Bitcoin’s environmental carnage, automation, and corporate land grabs costing £19.78 billion, with £64 billion more pledged.
These dedicated AI Growth Zones (200 bids on sites so far) are designed to speed up planning permission and provide energy connections needed for AI infrastructure.
gov.uk/government/pub…
Bitcoin’s energy-guzzling mining, water-intensive infrastructure, and lithium extraction threaten landscapes like Dartmoor, while tech lords like BlackRock, Palantir, and libertarian ideologues, Peter Thiel, Nigel Farage, and Balaji Srinivasan, carve nations into corporate sovereignties. This is end-times fascism: billionaires bunkering down in deregulated enclaves, ravaging the planet, and dismantling governments.
The Public Knows Nothing, and The Stakes, Economic, Democratic, and Environmental, are Existential.
europeanpowell.substack.com/p/the-genius-a…
Lithium Mining: Poisoning Dartmoor and Beyond
Bitcoin’s hardware, ASIC miners, relies on lithium-ion batteries and semiconductors, driving extraction. Dartmoor, absorbed into Plymouth’s Freeport, faces lithium mining threats, using 500,000 gallons of water per ton of lithium and risking river pollution with arsenic and heavy metals.
@PlymouthGreens on X warns of “ecological devastation,” with habitats destroyed for crypto tech. Globally, lithium mining for crypto and AI tech emits 15–20 tonnes of CO2 per ton, per a 2024 International Energy Agency report, compounding Bitcoin’s carbon footprint.
In Teesside, Houchen’s blockchain push could import lithium-intensive hardware, indirectly fueling this destruction.
Read 17 tweets
EuropeanPowell Profile picture
Sep 20
You need to see what Blackrock are doing with Global Infrastructure Partners in the US.
They are taking public companies that provide critical infrastructure such as water, electricity, data centres, food markets, logistics, land, schools and hospitals, and farmland.
Keir Starmer’s govt has partnered with Blackrock (and Blackstone) plus 700 more corporate lobbyists).
It means the commons is up for grabs and your bills will skyrocket, this is how corporations monopolize critical public infrastructure.
Blackrock in partnership with Keir Starmer’s changed Labour Party are going to privatise the UK.
Watch the video
m.youtube.com/watch?v=uwTxjZ…
x.com/europeanpowell… x.com/europeanpowell…
In January 2025, Keir Starmer launched AI Growth Zones, 200 bids on sites so far, bidding to remain open indefinitely.
Data centres are key to AI Growth Zones.
Think of them as the physical backbone of the internet and digital services we use daily.

A single large data center can consume as much electricity as a small city. This increased demand on the local power grid can drive up electricity rates for everyone in the area

Many data centers use water-intensive cooling systems, consuming millions of gallons daily. This can strain local water supplies and drive up water costs, particularly problematic in areas already facing water scarcity. Some facilities use “evaporative cooling” where water literally evaporates away and must be constantly replenished.

Residents report increased respiratory issues, bad tasting water, headaches, and sleep problems. These could potentially be linked to electromagnetic fields from the equipment, diesel backup generators that periodically run for testing, or stress from constant noise.

The constant hum of cooling fans, HVAC systems, and backup generators creates persistent noise that can be particularly disruptive at night. Even when facilities meet legal noise limits, the continuous nature of the sound can be genuinely disruptive to quality of life.

The combination of noise, increased utility costs, and concerns about future expansion can make nearby properties less desirable to potential buyers, depressing home values. The industrial nature of these facilities also changes the character of residential neighborhoods.
These concerns highlight the tension between our increasing digital needs and the very real local impacts of the infrastructure required to support them.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Watch the video.

m.youtube.com
Read 9 tweets

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