Stop voting for fucking Tories

[SaintK]

When me and her were talking about the latest sleaze last night, my wife said that this is not about Paterson, there are bigger fish to fry/save.

She is not the only one who thinks this https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... e-watchdog


oh and just when you think having the gall to dismantle the process when it catches you out was as bad as it gets, now they demanding that the independent commissioner should be sacked and disgraced

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... n-paterson

The builder we used for an extension on our house was also refurbing Boris's Thame family house so it could be rented this summer.

when he took on the job he was dealing direct with BJ and the spec was to do it as cheap and bodged as possible so he could rent it for some quick cash. About halfway through a design consultancy took over and the budget quadrupled and he never spoke to BJ again. All the bills were paid by the consultancy. not saying it was tory donors paying but....

Sounds like the same "consultancy" paid for No 10 as well.........according to Dom

[sockwithaticket]

Looks like my email may have done the trick

Clearly direct causality. Can you upbraid them a bit more often, Margin?

I've drafted a message of my own to send Jeremy Hunt, for all the good it'll do. Will have to amend it a bit if they do backtrack to say that even , though they might not have gone through with it, the fact they planned to do so is dangerous for our notions of fairness and democratic oversight.

Maybe mention that now you have seen the Tories, "vision", of Democracy, you won't be putting an X beside his name.

I never have (futile votes for the local Lib Dems or independents, woo!) but probably no harm in saying so anyway. I doubt he'd check (if they even can?).

[SaintK]

Clearly direct causality. Can you upbraid them a bit more often, Margin?

I've drafted a message of my own to send Jeremy Hunt, for all the good it'll do. Will have to amend it a bit if they do backtrack to say that even , though they might not have gone through with it, the fact they planned to do so is dangerous for our notions of fairness and democratic oversight.

Maybe mention that now you have seen the Tories, "vision", of Democracy, you won't be putting an X beside his name.

I never have (futile votes for the local Lib Dems or independents, woo!) but probably no harm in saying so anyway. I doubt he'd check (if they even can?).

Only whether you are a party member or not.
Though nothing would surprise me with this shower of spivs.

[Insane_Homer]

[dpedin]

Owen Patterson was just an excuse, a convenient opportunity, for the Tory Gov to attack and try and dismantle the existing standards processes. They are shitting themselves about other cases, the PM is already under investigation re taking funding for decorating No10 and there are other dodgy Tory cases in the pipeline. However Owen Patterson, member of ERG, is expendable and they will not hesitate in selling him down the river if required. The bigger issue for them is the covid PPE VIP fast tracking of personal contacts and subsequent links to ministers and senior Tories. This was the first go at trying to rig the system so they can protect themselves from being investigated and in all likelihood found guilty. Given the outcry they have now moved to Plan B and will try and form a cross party approach to rigging the system, however time is against them. The opposition parties should drag their heels and be 'all aid short of help' and let the existing systems stay in place for the foreseeable future - Chris Bryant and Short have already indicated they are remaining in place and will continue as normal, at least until the end of 2022. Expect more frequent attacks and even more dodgy manoeuvrings to change the standards systems before they find themselves in the dock. This is going to get very dirty indeed!

[Paddington Bear]

Imagine a number of people have watched the Blair/Brown doc. Plenty of takeaways but the big one for me was how Blair fully understood what you can do with a large majority. He understood how to wield State power.
Boris has a majority of 80 and yet continually U-turns. In this case that's a good thing, but the lack of confidence to use the power a majority gives you is striking.

[tabascoboy]

The Committee commented that it does not doubt that Mr Paterson sincerely believes that he has acted properly. Mr Paterson is clearly convinced in his own mind that there could be no conflict between his private interest and the public interest in his actions in this case. But it is this same conviction that meant that Mr Paterson failed to establish the proper boundaries between his private commercial work and his parliamentary activities, as set out in the Guide to the Rules. The Committee concluded that being able to judge the difference between one’s private, personal interest and the public interest is at the very heart of public service and a senior member of the House with many years standing should be able to make that distinction more clearly.

And this seems to be the crux of it. There is a certain breed, and not necessarily only Tory, who honestly believe that the rules either: don't apply to themselves; or, claim that the rules must be wrong or ambiguous and anyone trying to enforce them is unfit for their duties and must be replaced by someone or a body more "sympathetic". It's arrogance of the highest order.

[I like neeps]

Imagine a number of people have watched the Blair/Brown doc. Plenty of takeaways but the big one for me was how Blair fully understood what you can do with a large majority. He understood how to wield State power.
Boris has a majority of 80 and yet continually U-turns. In this case that's a good thing, but the lack of confidence to use the power a majority gives you is striking.

There's absolutely no ideology behind the current conservative party apart from winning elections and enriching themselves on an individual level though so it's hard to govern if a tomorrow's chip paper is the most important consideration.

Government by front page and back pocket.

[Hal Jordan]

And say what you like about Blair (and there is much to be said) he was never a lazy, disinterested heavy drinker, he actually took the post of PM seriously.

[fishfoodie]

Would you trust them to not massively over-reach when it comes to regulating Social Media ?

Or will they seek to use these powers, & the threat of personal prosecution, to stifle legitimate criticism of the Government in SM ?

Dorries told the committee that she wants to accelerate the introduction of personal liability sanctions for company managers to spark a faster response to the threat of online harms.

The draft bill includes personal criminal liability sanctions for executives which can be introduced two years after the implementation of the bill.

However, Dorries said it was “nonsense” to give firms two years to change, confirming she was looking at “three to six months” for criminal liability to be introduced.

“So, to the platforms, take note now - it will not be two years,” she told the committee.

“We are looking at truncating that to a very much shorter timeframe and that’s one of the areas as secretary of state I want to go further in this bill.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... st-updates

[I like neeps]

Remember when they claimed the vote was a compassionate act to help a colleague?

Now Owen Patterson has quit. Hope he keeps his 100k job at Randox,?

[Insane_Homer]

He's thrown the pram and quit. By election coming up.

[tabascoboy]

No worries, he can make £30 per hour as a veg picker now

[Rhubarb & Custard]

That members of the government have been calling on the standard's commissioner to consider her position is sadly not striking in any way

[I like neeps]

He's thrown the pram and quit. By election coming up.

Cancel culture strikes again! When will the woke illeberal left stop?!

[dpedin]

Owen Patterson was just an excuse, a convenient opportunity, for the Tory Gov to attack and try and dismantle the existing standards processes. They are shitting themselves about other cases, the PM is already under investigation re taking funding for decorating No10 and there are other dodgy Tory cases in the pipeline. However Owen Patterson, member of ERG, is expendable and they will not hesitate in selling him down the river if required. The bigger issue for them is the covid PPE VIP fast tracking of personal contacts and subsequent links to ministers and senior Tories. This was the first go at trying to rig the system so they can protect themselves from being investigated and in all likelihood found guilty. Given the outcry they have now moved to Plan B and will try and form a cross party approach to rigging the system, however time is against them. The opposition parties should drag their heels and be 'all aid short of help' and let the existing systems stay in place for the foreseeable future - Chris Bryant and Short have already indicated they are remaining in place and will continue as normal, at least until the end of 2022. Expect more frequent attacks and even more dodgy manoeuvrings to change the standards systems before they find themselves in the dock. This is going to get very dirty indeed!

Fecks sake - that happened quicker than even I thought it would! Full Tory u-turn and Patterson finds out about it whilst shopping in supermarket, the feckers didnt even bother to tell him in advance. I knew he was expendable but even so a 2 min phone call would've been expected? He obviously resigns as his 'mates' have sold him down the river and he knows he is now being thrown to the wolves without the protection he thought he had. He will be looking to extract his pounds of flesh. I also expect the ERG will be fuming to see one of their own thrown under the bus by the Blonde Bumblecunt and will be out for blood as well.

This is in danger of unwinding fast for the Gov and they still have the Blonde Bumblecunt and a few other Tory mates under investigation by Short and Bryant's Standards Watchdog. I wonder what their Plan B is? Either way they have lost all support for changing the current system and if I was the opposition I would use stand back and let the Watchdog carry on with its work. The Tories are obviously shitting themselves.

If I was an MP or Minister sent out to protect and defend the Gov position this morning and then to find they reversed at a great rate of knots I would be feckin furious! If I was a MP that was whipped into voting for the amendment, followed orders and then got lots of abusive from my electorate and then hear about the u-turn I would be furious as well! Serves the stupid feckers right!

[sturginho]

That members of the government have been calling on the standard's commissioner to consider her position is sadly not striking in any way

I wonder if she can investigate them for that?

[Insane_Homer]

That members of the government have been calling on the standard's commissioner to consider her position is sadly not striking in any way

The way this lot do U-turns she'll be in the house of lords by next week.

[SaintK]

Owen Patterson was just an excuse, a convenient opportunity, for the Tory Gov to attack and try and dismantle the existing standards processes. They are shitting themselves about other cases, the PM is already under investigation re taking funding for decorating No10 and there are other dodgy Tory cases in the pipeline. However Owen Patterson, member of ERG, is expendable and they will not hesitate in selling him down the river if required. The bigger issue for them is the covid PPE VIP fast tracking of personal contacts and subsequent links to ministers and senior Tories. This was the first go at trying to rig the system so they can protect themselves from being investigated and in all likelihood found guilty. Given the outcry they have now moved to Plan B and will try and form a cross party approach to rigging the system, however time is against them. The opposition parties should drag their heels and be 'all aid short of help' and let the existing systems stay in place for the foreseeable future - Chris Bryant and Short have already indicated they are remaining in place and will continue as normal, at least until the end of 2022. Expect more frequent attacks and even more dodgy manoeuvrings to change the standards systems before they find themselves in the dock. This is going to get very dirty indeed!

Fecks sake - that happened quicker than even I thought it would! Full Tory u-turn and Patterson finds out about it whilst shopping in supermarket, the feckers didnt even bother to tell him in advance. I knew he was expendable but even so a 2 min phone call would've been expected? He obviously resigns as his 'mates' have sold him down the river and he knows he is now being thrown to the wolves without the protection he thought he had. He will be looking to extract his pounds of flesh. I also expect the ERG will be fuming to see one of their own thrown under the bus by the Blonde Bumblecunt and will be out for blood as well.

This is in danger of unwinding fast for the Gov and they still have the Blonde Bumblecunt and a few other Tory mates under investigation by Short and Bryant's Standards Watchdog. I wonder what their Plan B is? Either way they have lost all support for changing the current system and if I was the opposition I would use stand back and let the Watchdog carry on with its work. The Tories are obviously shitting themselves.

If I was an MP or Minister sent out to protect and defend the Gov position this morning and then to find they reversed at a great rate of knots I would be feckin furious! If I was a MP that was whipped into voting for the amendment, followed orders and then got lots of abusive from my electorate and then hear about the u-turn I would be furious as well! Serves the stupid feckers right!

Kwarteng was on the early morning interview rounds actually calling for Kathryn Stone's resignation!!
Funny how things pan out

[SaintK]

In other news, looks like there will definitely be a by-election in Leicester East. What a nasty piece of work

The MP Claudia Webbe has been sentenced to 10 weeks in custody suspended for two years after being found guilty of a campaign of harassment, including threatening an acid attack, against a woman.
Webbe was found guilty of harassing Michelle Merritt, a friend of her partner, with threatening phone calls. A trial was told she had called Merritt a slag, threatened to “use acid” and said she would distribute naked pictures of Merritt to her family.

The 56-year-old has also been ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work after being found guilty of harassment.

[Insane_Homer]

Now that he's quit he second job as an MP I'm sure he can up his hours at his other 2 jobs and $$$ in proper, seeing at they're not linked in any way

[tabascoboy]

In other news, looks like there will definitely be a by-election in Leicester East. What a nasty piece of work

The MP Claudia Webbe has been sentenced to 10 weeks in custody suspended for two years after being found guilty of a campaign of harassment, including threatening an acid attack, against a woman.
Webbe was found guilty of harassing Michelle Merritt, a friend of her partner, with threatening phone calls. A trial was told she had called Merritt a slag, threatened to “use acid” and said she would distribute naked pictures of Merritt to her family.

The 56-year-old has also been ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work after being found guilty of harassment.

Now expelled from the Labour Party. Recall Petition soon I should think...although

"If a sitting MP is convicted of an offence and receives a custodial sentence of more than a year, they would already automatically lose their seat and recall does not apply."

Does that apply to a suspended sentence too?

[fishfoodie]

Now that he's quit he second job as an MP I'm sure he can up his hours at his other 2 jobs and $$$ in proper, seeing at they're not linked in any way

He'll have a bit of a commute.

I only heard today; that the two businesses he was shilling for; are in NI. So it's not as if he could even defend the shilling by saying he was supporting local businesses

I liked this comment:

What is it exactly? What is the correct term for what they’ve done? It’s not really a U-turn is it. If you do a U-turn, you can drive right back to where you started. The longer one searches for the correct metaphor, the longer one realises there is no other way to put it than to state the ineluctable fact that you can put your pants in the wash but you can’t unsh*t yourself. Not when the whole school saw it happen and they’re talking about nothing else.

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ow ... 51479.html

He has saved them from having a second vote, & have a couple of hundred Tory MPs, humilate themselves, by trooping thru a different lobby, from a few days before

[SaintK]

In other news, looks like there will definitely be a by-election in Leicester East. What a nasty piece of work

The MP Claudia Webbe has been sentenced to 10 weeks in custody suspended for two years after being found guilty of a campaign of harassment, including threatening an acid attack, against a woman.
Webbe was found guilty of harassing Michelle Merritt, a friend of her partner, with threatening phone calls. A trial was told she had called Merritt a slag, threatened to “use acid” and said she would distribute naked pictures of Merritt to her family.

The 56-year-old has also been ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work after being found guilty of harassment.

Now expelled from the Labour Party. Recall Petition soon I should think...although

"If a sitting MP is convicted of an offence and receives a custodial sentence of more than a year, they would already automatically lose their seat and recall does not apply."

Does that apply to a suspended sentence too?

Don't know but hope so!!!

[tabascoboy]

Either way, it would be a scandal if she manages to keep her seat on a technicality. Get her out!

[fishfoodie]

Either way, it would be a scandal if she manages to keep her seat on a technicality. Get her out!

Someone can always start a recall petition, & get the signatures needed.

[Lobby]

In other news, looks like there will definitely be a by-election in Leicester East. What a nasty piece of work

Now expelled from the Labour Party. Recall Petition soon I should think...although

"If a sitting MP is convicted of an offence and receives a custodial sentence of more than a year, they would already automatically lose their seat and recall does not apply."

Does that apply to a suspended sentence too?

Don't know but hope so!!!

Yes, suspended sentences still count as custodial sentences under the Recall Act, so a petition should now be triggered automatically.

It now requires 10% of the Leicester East constituency to sign the petition for her to be expelled so that Keith Vaz (or whichever other shyster the Labour Party chooses this time) can be elected.

[SaintK]

Either way, it would be a scandal if she manages to keep her seat on a technicality. Get her out!

Someone can always start a recall petition, & get the signatures needed.

.............and end up with Keith Vaz as Labour candidate again

[Biffer]

Good Law project has documented PPE contracts awarded without competitive bids for 50% over the price that was being paid during the pandemic, £20 million bung to a middleman, cabinet Office over ruling the department of health finance team, Priti Patel allegedly pushing the contacts forward.

[I like neeps]

Grubbier and grubbier.

[Margin__Walker]

Nothing surprises me. What a total shower.

[fishfoodie]

Either way, it would be a scandal if she manages to keep her seat on a technicality. Get her out!

Someone can always start a recall petition, & get the signatures needed.

.............and end up with Keith Vaz as Labour candidate again

I notice on PR; that , & the usual Tory fluffers, are deflecting & complaining about the lack of a longer custodial sentence.

I'm sure when they heard that recording of the phone call between the bumblecunt & his pal from Eton, planning to have a journalist beaten up; they were similarly outraged that the bumblecunt failed to get sent down for his deeds .... that or they're all hypocritical cunts.

[Biffer]

Is it answer B?

[Insane_Homer]

No truth to the rumour Yorkshire cricket will be offering Owen Paterson a seat on the board to clean up their image...

[ASMO]

In other news, looks like there will definitely be a by-election in Leicester East. What a nasty piece of work

Now expelled from the Labour Party. Recall Petition soon I should think...although

"If a sitting MP is convicted of an offence and receives a custodial sentence of more than a year, they would already automatically lose their seat and recall does not apply."

Does that apply to a suspended sentence too?

Don't know but hope so!!!

A suspended prison sentance is still a prison sentance and is treated as such for things like dbs checks, se urity clearanced and direct vetting.

[SaintK]

£30k per month for his second job but he's always been "focussed" on his job as a constituency MP
Yeah righty ho!!!!

The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, has been challenged over his previous earnings outside parliament.

On Times Radio, it was put to Zahawi that, between 2015 and 2017, he was working for Gulf Keystone Petroleum, at one point earning almost £30,000 a month.

But he said: “My attentions were always focused on my constituents, any outside interest I had had nothing to do with my parliamentary duties.”

[Margin__Walker]

Always find it odd the extent to which MPs are allowed to moonlight like that. I sort of get that they want to give people some leeway to be able to attract highly competent people into the job, but surely being an MP should be a full time job. I'd honestly rather we just paid them a bit more and had people who were 100% engaged in it and didn't run into such a minefield of competing interest and lobbying accusations. Sure it won't be enough for the people who have huge side gigs, but fuck them, they can go do something else.

[Paddington Bear]

There's surely a reasonable line between an MP who wants to keep practicing as a doctor/barrister/serve in the TA etc and "consultancy" which we all can see has huge potential for corruption.

[sockwithaticket]

£30k per month for his second job but he's always been "focussed" on his job as a constituency MP
Yeah righty ho!!!!

The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, has been challenged over his previous earnings outside parliament.

On Times Radio, it was put to Zahawi that, between 2015 and 2017, he was working for Gulf Keystone Petroleum, at one point earning almost £30,000 a month.

But he said: “My attentions were always focused on my constituents, any outside interest I had had nothing to do with my parliamentary duties.”

That's more than many earn in a year for a side gig. He's either being grossly over-paid or he's not putting his full effort into one of the two jobs.

Agree with, Margin. Pay MPs a bit more, but they can't have outside jobs while serving in parliament.

[Big D]

What happens if we stop voting for any of the cunts?