One of Those Paradoxical Little Things

Like many another fortunate lexical item, the preposition despite tends to loosen up a little when translated from English into Modern Standard Journalese. Demotically a rather surly and contradictory sort of word, connoting events that occur in defiance of other events, in the paws of the press despite is transformed into a far more accommodating character. In many Modern Standard Journalese contexts its literal meaning can signify an entirely predictable and widely anticipated result, as when the Righteous State continues its ethnic cleansing despite the pious noises emitted by those selling the Righteous State the wherewithal to do exactly that. Similarly, His Majesty's Government has been granting licenses to care profiteers despite their no-nonsense attitude to workers' rights; the British Home Office has been condoning exploitation and maltreatment of immigrant workers despite being the British Home Office; and Team Starmer has shown no particular concern over the situation despite having been elected on a manifesto of change. Despite their professional fluency as thinkers in Modern Standard Journalese, there are some at Britain's leading liberal newspaper who seem to view this as some sort of failure.