Summary of a week of Tory rule

Steve Bannon the famous white suprematist who helped Trump into power, has heaped praise onto Cummings and hopes and expects the U.K. government to lurch to the far right.

Oh good.

Times cartoon

Tim Neale

It’s 1st Aug and the next 6 mnths are going to be unmitigated misery - the virus peaking again, economic collapse and mass unemployment, then a thin-deal or no-deal Brexit and the snapping of supply chains we take for granted. We’ll be lucky if we’re not eating each other by Feb.

I agree

The latest week in Tory Land - part 1

1. The dictionary definition of Honour is, “the quality of knowing and doing what is morally right”. Keep that in mind as we tackle the Honours system

2. Boris Johnson gave lifetime appointments to his own brother, and to the editor of the Telegraph, the newspaper which provided Johnson with his most obsequious coverage

3. Theresa May’s husband was knighted for “political service”, although an ITV investigation found “a brief stint as chairman of Wimbledon Conservative Assoc was as close as he got to politics”. But he was named in the Panama Papers, which is credentials enough for this govt

4. But more political than Ian Botham, an anti-immigration cricketer who bafflingly lives in Spain, and now has the power to affect our laws

5. And Claire Fox, who backed IRA bombings, never apologised, is now able to influence terrorism laws for the rest of her life

6. Also, arise Lord Alexander Lebedev, son of a KGB spy, and the man who threw an “anything goes party” for Boris Johnson which Tory cabinet ministers said made Johnson “a security threat” and “open to Kompromat” (Google that word)

7. Half the new Lords are leading campaigners for Brexit, and as such are viscerally opposed to unelected power and sprawling bureaucracy. They join 808 unelected members of parliament. There are only 650 elected ones

8. And in an already spiffing week for democracy, the govt set up a council to investigate ways to prevent courts from ruling ANY govt action is unlawful, even if it is literally unlawful

9. And now stats news, and the Office for Statistics Regulation said the PM repeatedly used poverty stats “selectively, inaccurately and, ultimately, misleadingly”

10. Then the ONS revealed the UK had the worse excess death rate in Europe

11. So Johnson hailed Britain’s “massive success” on Covid19, and I wondered how things could get worse...

12. Hello, Iain Duncan Smith! Two weeks after the cost of IDS’s Universal Credit rose by a £1.4bn, the Lords found it was “not fit for purpose” and needed £8bn more

13. The cross-bench Lords committee found Universal Credit “has led to an unprecedented number of people relying on food banks”

14. Dominic Raab saw this as an opportunity, and posed, smiling, at a food bank that specifically illustrated massive government failure

15. In Oct 2019 IDS voted to accelerate the passage of the Withdrawal Agreement, specifically so it wouldn’t have to face parliamentary scrutiny

16. In Mar 2020 IDS voted for the Withdrawal Agreement. Wait for it...

17. This week IDS apparently got around to reading the WA, saw it would cost £160bn, and demanded it be renegotiated.

18. He said the details were “buried away, unnoticed by some”, which is kinda why we needed time to scrutinise it, but Iain will be Iain

19. Iain being Iain has cost the country £170 billion this week alone, in return for a future that is demonstrably worse

20. Small change, but it was also revealed it will cost £1bn to replicate the chemical industry safety regime that we got for free from the EU

21. Oh, and £170,000 loan to a “sex party company”, which honestly, barely raises an eyebrow compared to the rest

22. And now Covid, and a study found Dominic Cummings’ Durham adventure “was a key factor in the breakdown of a sense of national unity” that cost lives

23. A cross-party group of MPs said the failure to close airports in March was “inexplicable” and “a serious mistake” that led to thousands of deaths, and ever-so-slightly worryingly, they could not identify anybody in govt who was making decisions

24. The govt’s top coronavirus expert, who attempted to persuade the govt to lock down, revealed he has never met Boris Johnson, our PM, who said he was “taking personal responsibility” for lockdown and Covid policy

25. Dido Harding, head of the Covid App, said “I absolutely don't accept that this is failure, it's the opposite". It cost £13m, which is £12.3m more than the functioning Irish app. And then it was abandoned because it didn’t work

Part 2

26. She also leads Test + Trace. A report found contact tracers “making only a handful of calls every month and occupy their time with barbecues and quizzes”

27. Test +Trace contacted only 50% those at risk, so local councils set their own up in 2 weeks. They’re tracing 98%

28. The govt announced a lockdown for Britain’s 2nd largest city-region not via a PM announcement, but via a tweet at 10pm, 2 hours before it began

29. Directors of public health were not informed before the lockdown, and no procedures were in place for implementing it

30. A SAGE subcommittee said there was “a high risk of widespread urban disorder” requiring military intervention, and a decision to reopen pubs would "complicate these problems and introduce entirely new ones”

31. The govt opened pubs

32. The govt said extremely vulnerable people should stop shielding

33. The govt said shielding was essential to stop the spread of Covid

34. The govt said people should return to work in offices

35. The govt said people should increase their isolation

36. The govt said it would isolate over-50s

37. The govt said it would not isolate over-50s

38. The govt said you can’t meet other families in your home

39. The govt said you can meet other families in pubs

40. The govt said pubs might have to close so we can open schools

41. The govt said pubs would be spared Covid-19 restrictions

42. The govt said it would be “as good as over by Christmas”

43. The govt said we should “not delude ourselves this will go aware in a few months”

44. The govt said it was abandoning its pledge to conduct regular testing in care homes

45. The govt said it wasn’t abandoning its pledge to conduct regular testing in care home and oh god, kill me

46. The PR firm responsible for creating a false Labour manifesto website and a renaming the Tory twitter page “factcheckUK” then tweeting falsehoods was granted a £3m Covid-19 communications contract. There was no tender process

Part 3

47. A report found only 45% of adults have even a “broad understanding” of the lockdown rules, which is hardly surprising when the PR firm’s major experience is false news

48. Only 26% of emergency funds for small charities had been allocated, and even less actually paid

49. After introducing quarantines on returning tourists, Dominic Raab said “you cannot be penalised in this country lawfully for following the rules”

50. It was later admitted that employers can penalise employees who quarantine, but the govt hadn’t known this. The actual govt

51. It was revealed UK negotiators “only engaged with Brexit issues [the single most important political business since WW2] in the last 2 weeks”

52. The PM’s father said Johnson was “living in cloud cuckoo land” about getting a free trade deal without meeting EU standards

53. The OECD showed the number of UK citizens emigrating to the EU has risen 30% since the Brexit vote

54. The report concluded “These increases in numbers are of a magnitude that you would only expect when a country is hit by a major economic or political crisis”

55. Polling shows a drop in Tory support by expats, and pinpointed “the implications of a hard Brexit” as the primary reason

56. Random Tory MP news: a Tory MP said the “vast majority” of people breaching lockdown rules were from minority, and specifically Muslim, backgrounds

57. But a study found 80% of infections in locked-down areas were in the white British community and said this should be “a warning to the complacent white middle class”

58. In 2019 the govt promised a “transparent and independent appointment strategy” for top Whitehall jobs. This year, 44% of those appointed to top Whitehall jobs are close personal friends of Michael Gove, which might just be one of those absolutely incredible coincidence things

59. More Gove: the NI politician John Hume died, and Gove praised his “integrity and wisdom” in helping to create the Good Friday Agreement

60. Gove wrote a 58-page pamphlet opposing the Good Friday Agreement and said those involved in the GFA were akin to “appeasing the Nazis”

61. A Tory MP was arrested for alleged rape, and not only did the party not suspend him, it was revealed the chief whip and Jacob Rees-Mogg both knew about it for at least a month and did nothing

62. The effortlessly brilliant Liam Fox appears to be a major cause of Russian hacking of British politics, after it was found he was highly likely to have used unsecured personal email for classified govt business, and got 451 pages of it nicked

63. Jeremy Hunt, who is worth £14m, and once explained bogus expenses claims by saying he forgot about 7 houses he owned (and which of can honestly say we haven’t forgotten about 7 houses we own) boasted of using £50 of taxpayer’s money to buy fish and chips

64. The govt announced it would employ an official PM’s spokesperson at a cost of £100,000, even though Whitehall rules about civil servants explicitly forbid it, and the rules explicitly say the PM must answer questions personally

65. Boris Johnson said of Black Lives Matter, “I hear you, and I understand”

66. And then this week the govt refused to even begin a review into possibly introducing more black, Asian, and ethnic minority history in schools

67. It’s Wednesday. Two more days to go, and then we begin another #TheWeekInTory for me to catalogue, assuming I don’t shove my head through a bacon-slicing machine first

I got as far as number 4 and realised that if people are going to quibble about awarding a peerage to a man (never mind one of the best cricketers Britain has ever produced) who raised millions for charity then I couldn’t be arsed ploughing through the rest!

Thank you for that accurate but very depressing update Wwmk3

Well done, Russ in Cheshire

Thanks for copying and pasting it all on here, WwMk2

Is there anyone who can point to a tory success in the last 7 days? A demonstration of honesty, perhaps? Or rectitude in dealing with public money? Or admitting an error...

It wouldn’t be so bad or deeply depressing if, as maizie suggests we could point to something outstanding or merely good that the government is doing, but the list seems empty.

Anyone think the £10 off a meal at Nando’s or MacDonalds would be better spent giving people £10 off buying fruit and veg for the family ?

vegansrock

Anyone think the £10 off a meal at Nando’s or MacDonalds would be better spent giving people £10 off buying fruit and veg for the family ?

Definitely.

Article today about the scrapping of proper planning.

Architects and planners are concerned it will lead to a whole generation of sub-standard housing leading to slums.

This government is ignoring history it would seem in the rush to get the economy moving.

There are so many better ways and just look at the intelligence and foresight of the building that took place between the wars.
Building were planned correctly and housing was of good quality. These millions of 30 style houses provide generation after generation if quality living.

But it was done with proper control, unlike the stupid proposal being put out by this shambles of a government, where profit seems to be god above everything else.

Good morning ?. I'm not sure how I missed this thread but I am so glad I found it!
Not sure where to start!
I find it beyond belief that anyone could not look at the corruption of this government and not be screaming from the rooftops in outrage! I'm not sure what's worse,their corruption or callousness.! At one time there would be outrage because a member of parliament/cabinet minister either had an affair,fiddled their expenses,broke the law (remember the wife who took the blame for her husband's driving offence?). The papers would be full of it and normally the person involved would resign or be sacked within days.
What has changed?
Initially I did wonder if the pandemic had made the government more visible. Certainly before this most key figures other than the Prime Minister and maybe the Chancellor of the Excheqer were pretty much in the background unless something was changing,eg Ian Duncan Smith,Jeremy Hunt. During lockdown not only were we more aware of them but it was a daily insight into how they dealt with the crisis and their integrity and capabilities. I have a feeling that up until this year a lot of people may have disengaged from politics, viewing all parties as being the same,unfulfilled promises and blaming the other party for problems. Then of course there was Brexit but that's a whole thread on it's own!
The pandemic was different despite cynicism even I expected the government to do the right thing and protect the country. I had closely followed reports of the Virus since January. The initial isolating of people off cruise ships seemed to be an indication the government were on the right track. Then there was the infamous race meeting and Boris's comments about shaking hands with coronavirus victims etc. For me the pivotal moment was care homes. I work in one,my daughter works in another. There was no protective shield. Not all care homes are good,even when they are it's a broken system. Owners would not cut corners on PPE,it simply wasnt there to buy. Also in a nutshell residents are an income,no one is going to risk £50 grand a year for cost of PPE.(that's per resident). My daughter works in a different care home and her manager was threatened with the sack if she didnt admit patients who had been in hospital and covid status unknown. Fortunately she stuck to her guns and they have been covid free. They also dont employ agency staff. My care home is another story too long for here. Sorry to digress but before it was wider knowledge I knew the situation was dire, tantamount to murder. To hear the government blatantly lie was chilling. I think we can see evidence of the government's corruption but there is always an element ,however tiny,that maybe there is an explanation. In my case there was no doubt whatsoever. My eldest daughter was slightly surprised that I was so shocked,after all a decade of austerity has shown unbelievable callousness to the most vulnerable in society. This felt different,more sinister whether through ignorance or design tens of thousands of people died unnecessarily, many without the medical treatment that would have eased their suffering.
I find it unbelievable that we now appear in a situation where pubs are appearing to take precedence over children. Of course it's all to do with the economy,parents cant work if schools are closed etc.
Of course we cant let the economy collapse but Boris is more concerned about sponsors and chums who own those shiny towers that people trundle to every day. Large cities such as London have long been the playground of the rich with service workers travelling in to maintain the system as hospitality workers, cleaners,jobs related to tourism. Ordinary people are being squeezed out,few remain as they simply cant afford to live there. The trend seems to be that those that can work from home are starting to see the advantages, especially if more local hubs can be set up for meetings. I have a feeling big business is wondering if they need to pay the costs of those shiny towers!
Of course not everyone can work from home. This is where the governments callousness comes to the fore. Those that are frontline workers,especially those that are vulnerable due to ethnicity, underlying health conditions and low pay have no choice but to expose themselves to the virus. This is particularly the case with those who were shielded. They are told they can return to work if its Covid safe. The only way you can prove it isnt is to be in it. Agencies that you report it to have been decimated by austerity. The dubious safety net of SSP has been removed. Of course shielding was always more about protecting the NHS than those that were shielded. That was accomplished and they are on their own.
Anyone with any compassion wonders how this can go unchallenged whether it's the plight of societies most vulnerable or the blatant corruption of the government. I'm not sure what the answer is. Is it because we appear a compartmentalised society, a real sense of community can be hard to find. People are absorbed in their own little bubbles and they are often only popped by a change in life circumstances such as illness,job loss,needing care or support for a relative. How we receive information is diverse. Since she left home my youngest daughter hasn't watched live tv and I dont think shes ever bought a newspaper. My eldest is the total opposite though! Those that do watch the news carefully can find themselves bewildered at how apart from a few notable exceptions there feels as if there is no challenging the current situation . Live chat shows such as This Morning etc on the whole seem more steered towards getting back to normal and up until recently what to wear on your Spanish holiday rather than questioning whether it's a good idea to go at all . We dont need constant gloom and doom but apart from a bit of social distancing you would think it was all over!
So,I apologise for the lengthy post. The key question is why the Government isnt being held to account. I think there are many reasons from peoples lack of knowledge to peoples feeling of powerlessness as to how to change it. Theres always the possibility we are just now a more self absorbed and self centred society. I dont think it applies to any one sector of society either. It did meet disapproval but yesterday on another thread I pointed out the similarities between Trump and Johnson. Both are populist and seem to possess great charm when needed,both appear floored when anything other than popular slogans are needed. Despite a sleazy charm both seem to be able to lie,and be racist,sexist,and have a very low moral compass and this is acceptable for a position of power. Both use that position to further their and their circles best interests whilst showing a breathtaking ruthlessness to those who are vulnerable or of no use to them. I'm not sure why we have found ourselves with two such leaders. Bad luck or design?

Dorsetcupcake61

Good morning ?. I'm not sure how I missed this thread but I am so glad I found it!
Not sure where to start!
I find it beyond belief that anyone could not look at the corruption of this government and not be screaming from the rooftops in outrage! I'm not sure what's worse,their corruption or callousness.! At one time there would be outrage because a member of parliament/cabinet minister either had an affair,fiddled their expenses,broke the law (remember the wife who took the blame for her husband's driving offence?). The papers would be full of it and normally the person involved would resign or be sacked within days.
What has changed?
Initially I did wonder if the pandemic had made the government more visible. Certainly before this most key figures other than the Prime Minister and maybe the Chancellor of the Excheqer were pretty much in the background unless something was changing,eg Ian Duncan Smith,Jeremy Hunt. During lockdown not only were we more aware of them but it was a daily insight into how they dealt with the crisis and their integrity and capabilities. I have a feeling that up until this year a lot of people may have disengaged from politics, viewing all parties as being the same,unfulfilled promises and blaming the other party for problems. Then of course there was Brexit but that's a whole thread on it's own!
The pandemic was different despite cynicism even I expected the government to do the right thing and protect the country. I had closely followed reports of the Virus since January. The initial isolating of people off cruise ships seemed to be an indication the government were on the right track. Then there was the infamous race meeting and Boris's comments about shaking hands with coronavirus victims etc. For me the pivotal moment was care homes. I work in one,my daughter works in another. There was no protective shield. Not all care homes are good,even when they are it's a broken system. Owners would not cut corners on PPE,it simply wasnt there to buy. Also in a nutshell residents are an income,no one is going to risk £50 grand a year for cost of PPE.(that's per resident). My daughter works in a different care home and her manager was threatened with the sack if she didnt admit patients who had been in hospital and covid status unknown. Fortunately she stuck to her guns and they have been covid free. They also dont employ agency staff. My care home is another story too long for here. Sorry to digress but before it was wider knowledge I knew the situation was dire, tantamount to murder. To hear the government blatantly lie was chilling. I think we can see evidence of the government's corruption but there is always an element ,however tiny,that maybe there is an explanation. In my case there was no doubt whatsoever. My eldest daughter was slightly surprised that I was so shocked,after all a decade of austerity has shown unbelievable callousness to the most vulnerable in society. This felt different,more sinister whether through ignorance or design tens of thousands of people died unnecessarily, many without the medical treatment that would have eased their suffering.
I find it unbelievable that we now appear in a situation where pubs are appearing to take precedence over children. Of course it's all to do with the economy,parents cant work if schools are closed etc.
Of course we cant let the economy collapse but Boris is more concerned about sponsors and chums who own those shiny towers that people trundle to every day. Large cities such as London have long been the playground of the rich with service workers travelling in to maintain the system as hospitality workers, cleaners,jobs related to tourism. Ordinary people are being squeezed out,few remain as they simply cant afford to live there. The trend seems to be that those that can work from home are starting to see the advantages, especially if more local hubs can be set up for meetings. I have a feeling big business is wondering if they need to pay the costs of those shiny towers!
Of course not everyone can work from home. This is where the governments callousness comes to the fore. Those that are frontline workers,especially those that are vulnerable due to ethnicity, underlying health conditions and low pay have no choice but to expose themselves to the virus. This is particularly the case with those who were shielded. They are told they can return to work if its Covid safe. The only way you can prove it isnt is to be in it. Agencies that you report it to have been decimated by austerity. The dubious safety net of SSP has been removed. Of course shielding was always more about protecting the NHS than those that were shielded. That was accomplished and they are on their own.
Anyone with any compassion wonders how this can go unchallenged whether it's the plight of societies most vulnerable or the blatant corruption of the government. I'm not sure what the answer is. Is it because we appear a compartmentalised society, a real sense of community can be hard to find. People are absorbed in their own little bubbles and they are often only popped by a change in life circumstances such as illness,job loss,needing care or support for a relative. How we receive information is diverse. Since she left home my youngest daughter hasn't watched live tv and I dont think shes ever bought a newspaper. My eldest is the total opposite though! Those that do watch the news carefully can find themselves bewildered at how apart from a few notable exceptions there feels as if there is no challenging the current situation . Live chat shows such as This Morning etc on the whole seem more steered towards getting back to normal and up until recently what to wear on your Spanish holiday rather than questioning whether it's a good idea to go at all . We dont need constant gloom and doom but apart from a bit of social distancing you would think it was all over!
So,I apologise for the lengthy post. The key question is why the Government isnt being held to account. I think there are many reasons from peoples lack of knowledge to peoples feeling of powerlessness as to how to change it. Theres always the possibility we are just now a more self absorbed and self centred society. I dont think it applies to any one sector of society either. It did meet disapproval but yesterday on another thread I pointed out the similarities between Trump and Johnson. Both are populist and seem to possess great charm when needed,both appear floored when anything other than popular slogans are needed. Despite a sleazy charm both seem to be able to lie,and be racist,sexist,and have a very low moral compass and this is acceptable for a position of power. Both use that position to further their and their circles best interests whilst showing a breathtaking ruthlessness to those who are vulnerable or of no use to them. I'm not sure why we have found ourselves with two such leaders. Bad luck or design?

Good post.

You clearly had a lot to get off your chest???.

Keep going though.

Thankyou Whitewave2 ?. I certainly did. ?. We are indeed living in very strange times and I dont think anyone can predict where we will be in a years time. We could be at the start of a very long road. Sometimes I'm not sure what's worse,the predicted gloom or that nothing changes at all! Theres always hope that those who deserve it will be made accountable but it's a slow process. I do sometimes wonder how this all will be viewed by historians and sociologists in the future. Maybe the saving grace is that there is still so much altruism and kindness to be found even if it exists in such a barren environment. ?

I must admit one detail that I find odd is the stopping of testing in care home until September. I think some care homes were struggling even recently to access tests. I may have missed it but no explanation was given. Has the risk disappeared? My first thought was the tests were in short supply and needed elsewhere! Incidentally I live quite near the infamous Bournemouth. Looking at the infection maps Bournemouth is ok. My area less so and an area adjacent deep red. Of course it's all relative, infection rates here still nothing compared to other areas. My daughter didnt at all mind the testing although it's not a fun experience it was quite reassuring. Her fiance works at our nearby test centre and it's gone from extremely quiet to non stop! Maybe people just more aware? Find it hard to believe the governments world beating tracking and tracing system actually is!

Brighton has gone from pink to deep red over the past few weeks.

So beginning to be extra careful again. Not that we haven’t been really.

Dorsetcupcake61, I think most of us realised the consequences of discharging the elderly from hospitals to care homes - without testing. Therefore,I simply can't believe it was an oversight, or accidental.

Like you, we;

'knew the situation was dire, tantamount to murder.'

What I can't understand, though, is the denial of the loyal Boris supporters. It just beggars belief.

Indeed Whitewave, at the moment even a desperate need of a haircut wont tempt me out.!
Hetty58 it is beyond belief. I do wonder in part whether that is due in part to Boris attempting to lay blame with care homes. Hes a buffoon but a sly one. Care homes do vary tremendously and there have been some terrible exposes in recent years. Of course there are tremendously good ones with unbelievably dedicated staff. I imagine if on the whole you support the government you could explain this by telling yourself the government did their best but the blame lies in the hands of money grabbing care home owners and slapdash poorly trained staff. Even so you would expect calls for it never to happen again.
From a relatives point of view time will tell. Some residents have no or irregular visitors. Some have visitors daily. Well they did. No one has entered a care home since March. Some care homes have been very transparent others not. I have heard of carers threatened with dismissal if they discuss the number of deaths at the home. With no outsiders in the home theres no one to notice the missing residents.! Relatives are still grieving, and trying to cope with a complex world maybe in time questions will be ask. What is chilling is that it has happened globally.

I can remember Hancock announcing on television what the government was doing to prepare for covid. One thing was to ask care homes to take the elderly from hospital so that they could continue their recovery and free up hospital beds.

They can’t deny it was done I heard them say it!

Testing was not mentioned nor I assume carried out.

How much of our money has been given out to ,the governments friends without tender or consideration?

“The Conservative Government allowed the PPE stockpile to run down & then bought 50 million unusable masks from an offshore finance company with no history of providing NHS equipment. Our health workers were not fully protected. Tragically lives were lost.”

Apparently the owner of the offshore finance company is a friend and advisor to Liz Truss.

It's all about who you know.

Yes the government bought beds in care homes. In a bizarre way it solved the bed blocking crisis (assuming those patients were happy to go) which up until then was mainly caused by bickering about who was going to fund care whether at home or in the community. Patients were either not tested as none available or if they were tested the results often weren't available until after discharge which if it was positive was too late. Care and nursing homes can and do barrier nurse residents for flu or even norovirus. Covid is in a different league as we've seen from PPE used on frontline NHS which I doubt a care home would have access to. Residents who needed to access hospital for an emergency were often sent back untested. Even the best care homes can struggle for staff. Once the virus is in it's very difficult to control, especially if residents are mobile and have dementia. GPs and community nurses apparently refused to visit care homes. Nursing homes at least had trained nurses who could administer end of life care and drugs.
I imagine the theory behind all of this was the government didnt want the UK to be seen as having the same scenes as in Europe and other countries where much better healthcare systems than ours were overwhelmed and people were collapsing on the streets. We didnt. It was a bit of a warzone,but the nightingale hospitals were underused etc. Instead tens of thousands of people died in care homes. The government must have known, there was the evidence about how virulent the virus was and who was most likely to die. Someone in the government must have been aware that social care was at breaking point even before the crisis. It was the government who commandeered PPE away from social care to the NHS. Choices had to be made,no doubt impossible ones. They ought to have the guts to admit their mistakes. Instead they lie about everything insisting it wasnt there fault and lurch from one mistake to the other whilst still lining their buddies pockets.!