EXPOSED: Starmer’s Labour Blocks Public Access to Information on Corporate Land Grab Through 86 ‘Free Zones’

EXCLUSIVE: Freedom of Information requests reveal Keir Starmer’s government is systematically refusing to disclose vital information about the largest peacetime transfer of British sovereignty to foreign corporations in modern history. The scale of the cover-up suggests something far more sinister than mere administrative burden.

The Great British Information Blackout

My attempts as a British citizen to question the true extent of the government’s “free zones” programme has been met with blanket refusals from Keir Starmer’s Labour government. I’ve sent several Freedom of Information requests seeking basic transparency about Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) and their connection with the rollout of 86 deregulated zones across Britain, which have been systematically blocked using spurious “manifestly unreasonable” justifications.

The government’s desperate attempts to hide this information expose the true scale of what campaigners are calling the “corporate colonisation” of Britain – a process that has accelerated under Labour despite pre-election promises of transparency and democratic accountability.

What They’re Hiding: The 86 Zone Corporate Empire

The blocked FOI requests sought information about an astonishing 86 “free zones” comprising:

• 74 Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
• 12 Freeports

These zones span 34-75 kilometres in diameter – vast swathes of British territory where normal democratic oversight has been suspended in favour of corporate self-regulation. Yet the majority of the British public remain completely unaware these zones even exist, let alone that they’re being funded by their tax money.

Mass Land Seizures Hidden from Public View

The government’s refusal to disclose CPO data prevents the public from understanding the true scale of forced land acquisition occurring across Britain:

• Birmingham alone: A £2.2 billion project involving CPOs affecting 1,833 properties
• Norfolk and Suffolk: Systematic displacement with “villagers losing homes” to corporate development
• Basingstoke: Residents unable to discover if their area falls within expanded zone boundaries
• National scale: The government refuses to reveal total CPO numbers, affected properties, or regional breakdowns

This information blackout makes it impossible for communities to understand if they’re next in line for corporate seizure or to organise effective resistance

The Corporate Influence Network

The blocked requests specifically sought information about corporate involvement in shaping these policies, including:

• BlackRock: The world’s largest asset manager, now controlling 80% stakes in major UK ports
• Deloitte: Management consultants profiting from zone implementation
• Amazon: E-commerce giant endorsing policies that benefit their logistics operations

Labour’s refusal to disclose contracts, memoranda of understanding, or financial arrangements with these corporations suggests these relationships would not withstand public scrutiny.

Rachel Reeves: The Transparency Denier

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reportedly refused to commit to National Audit Office investigations into England’s 8 Freeports and 48 SEZs despite mounting concerns about lack of transparency and questions over value for taxpayers’ money.

This represents a fundamental betrayal of Labour’s pre-election commitments to open government. Reeves is actively blocking the very audit mechanisms designed to protect public finances from corporate exploitation.

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Democratic Exclusion by Design

The government’s response reveals the extent to which the British public has been systematically excluded from decisions affecting their sovereignty:

No Public Consultation

The blocked requests sought details of public consultations for the 86 free zones. The government’s refusal to provide this information strongly suggests minimal genuine consultation occurred – because none of substance actually took place.

No Parliamentary Oversight

Despite spanning vast territories and involving billions in public money, these zones have been implemented with minimal parliamentary debate or scrutiny under secondary legislation.

No Referendum

Citizens have been denied any democratic say over the creation of zones that fundamentally alter the relationship between state, citizen, and corporation across major parts of Britain.

The ‘Manifestly Unreasonable’ Smokescreen

Labour’s rejection uses the “manifestly unreasonable” provision of Environmental Information Regulations – typically reserved for genuinely vexatious requests. However, seeking basic transparency about:

• How many properties have been compulsorily purchased
• Which communities are affected by zone boundaries
• What public money has been allocated to private corporations
• Whether proper consultation occurred

This is not “manifestly unreasonable” – it’s fundamental democratic accountability. The government’s use of this provision exposes their contempt for public scrutiny

The State Aid Scandal

The blocked requests specifically sought information about state aid totalling billions of pounds flowing to private corporations operating within these zones. The 10-year tax breaks and enhanced allowances represent a massive transfer of wealth from British taxpayers to foreign shareholders.

EU state aid rules would have prevented these arrangements – making Brexit’s hidden agenda increasingly clear. The zones are designed to operate “for at least 25 years” outside normal regulatory frameworks, creating permanent corporate fiefdoms on British soil

Information Apartheid: Two-Tier Transparency

While ordinary citizens are denied basic information about policies affecting their communities, corporate interests enjoy privileged access to government decision-making. This creates an “information apartheid” where:

• Corporations: Full access to policy development, preferential consultation, guaranteed returns
• Citizens: Blanket Freedom of Information refusals, exclusion from consultation, forced displacement

The Zonification of Britain

The government’s information blackout prevents public understanding of the “zonification” of Britain – the systematic carving up of the country into corporate-controlled territories operating under different legal frameworks.

These zones represent:

• Regulatory capture: Corporate self-regulation replacing democratic oversight
• Fiscal capture: Public money flowing to private shareholders
• Territorial capture: Foreign corporations controlling critical infrastructure
• Democratic capture: Policy-making transferred from elected representatives to corporate boards

What This Means for British Sovereignty

The systematic refusal to provide transparency about these arrangements suggests they represent a fundamental transfer of British sovereignty that would not survive public scrutiny. The zones create:

• Corporate courts: LCIA arbitration mechanisms allowing foreign corporations to sue the British government
• Tax avoidance: Artificial jurisdictional boundaries enabling systematic tax minimisation
• Regulatory arbitrage: Different rules for corporations inside and outside zones

Democratic bypass: Policy implementation without parliamentary or public oversight

The Scale of the Cover-Up

The government claims providing transparency would be “manifestly unreasonable” because it would require “three or four teams” to compile the information from “multiple repositories.” This admission reveals:

1. No central monitoring: The government doesn’t even know the full extent of what it has authorised
2. Fragmented accountability: Responsibility deliberately dispersed to avoid oversight
3. Resource priorities: Transparency for citizens ranked below corporate convenience
4. Systematic opacity: Information systems designed to frustrate rather than facilitate public access

Labour’s Betrayal of Democratic Values

Starmer’s Labour came to power promising to “restore trust in politics” and deliver “transparent, accountable government.” Yet when confronted with the largest peacetime corporate power grab in British history, they have:

• Blocked transparency: Systematic refusal of FOI requests
• Prevented scrutiny: Refusal to commit to independent audits
• Excluded communities: No meaningful public consultation
• Protected corporate interests: Privileged access for foreign corporations over British citizens

A Citizen’s Shock at Government Secrecy

I am a concerned citizen attempting to understand these policies. All I can say at the moment is:”I am shocked by the blanket refusals I am receiving as a citizen of the UK.”

This shock should be shared by every British citizen. When a democratically elected government systematically refuses to provide basic information about policies affecting millions of people and billions of pounds of public money, democracy itself is under threat.

The Questions Labour Won’t Answer

The blocked FOI requests sought answers to fundamental questions every British citizen deserves to know:

• How much British land has been transferred to corporate control?
• How many families have been displaced through compulsory purchase?
• How much public money has been given to foreign corporations?
• What safeguards exist to prevent criminal exploitation of deregulated zones?
• Why were communities excluded from consultation about policies affecting their sovereignty?

Labour’s refusal to answer these questions is an admission that the answers would expose systematic corporate welfare, democratic exclusion, and sovereignty transfer on an unprecedented scale.

Excerpt from FOI request to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Environmental Information Regulations 2004 – EIR2025/16233, 2 July 2025 – The Department is not obliged to comply with your request for information, by virtue of the exception at Regulation 12(4)(b) of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR), as we consider it to be ‘manifestly unreasonable’. It may be helpful to explain that your request is very broad. At least three or four teams would need to sift through multiple different repositories to access, sort through and pull together the information requested. We would then need to review the material for any information that falls within an EIR exception, including any personal data or information relating to policy development. This would be a significant burden on the Department and divert valuable resources away from the Department’s important other work.

The Corporate State in Action

What we’re witnessing is the emergence of a “corporate state” where:

• Corporate interests take precedence over citizen rights
• Information flows favour private profit over public accountability
• Policy development occurs in corporate boardrooms rather than democratic institutions
• Public resources are systematically transferred to private shareholders
• Democratic oversight is replaced by corporate self-regulation

Time for Mass Resistance

The government’s information blackout makes clear that transparency will not be given – it must be taken. British citizens must demand:

Immediate Disclosure

• Full publication of all CPO data related to the 86 zones
• Complete transparency about corporate contracts and financial arrangements
• Public release of all consultation documents and feedback
• Independent audit of public money transfers to private corporations

Democratic Accountability

• Parliamentary debate on every zone before implementation
• Public referendums for communities affected by zone boundaries
• Citizen representation on all zone governance bodies
• Regular public reporting on zone performance and public benefit

Sovereignty Protection

• British courts to have final jurisdiction over all zone disputes
• Democratic oversight of all policy decisions affecting zones
• Public ownership of critical infrastructure within zones
• Citizens’ right to information about policies affecting their communities

The Fight for Britain’s Future

Starmer’s Labour government is facilitating the largest transfer of British sovereignty to foreign corporations in peacetime history while systematically denying citizens the information needed to understand or resist this process.

This represents a fundamental assault on British democracy that transcends traditional party politics. Every citizen who believes in democratic accountability, national sovereignty, and transparent government must demand answers.

The information blackout ends now. The corporate colonisation of Britain must be exposed, debated, and democratically controlled.

British sovereignty is not for sale – no matter how much foreign corporations are willing to pay or how desperately Labour politicians are willing to look the other way.

The people have a right to know. The government has a duty to tell them. Democracy demands nothing less.