The article argues, drawing on interviews, event observations, academic and policy literature, that the UK’s Open Government Data (OGD) initiative should be understood as part of a deep seated social and political struggle with significant processes of co-optation and contestation over outcomes underway. The OGD initiative’s intersections with both the PSI re-use industry and the UK government’s programme of forced ‘austerity’ and marketisation of public services are problematised. Civil society advocates’ vulnerabilities within this context are discussed and a number of recommendations are offered for the progressive shaping of OGD based on egalitarian principles.