... and the sleaze goes on ...

I'm afraid that lemongrove has no sense of smell.

Lemongrove The point is that all avenues were not being explored. Over the last 12 months many manufacturers have complained that they tried to approach the govt but got no response. No just those who either make ventilators or made equipment that would be easy to adapt. but those who make PPE etc etc.

Someone here is actually condoning Johnson's behaviour- I find this unbelievable.

THE question is- the tax 'arrangements' with Dyson and Senior Directors was for a single, emergency purpose- the provision of ventilators which never happened. So currently, those 'arrangements' should be nil and void. Or do they still stand. How can we find out for sure (Dyson would not be moving back if it was not 'permanent').

In my book as an ex-HMRC employee, what Johnson was advocating would have amounted to encouraging improper conduct by an HMRC inspector.

There is a law against that and Johnson, if it had gone ahead would be chargeable under the Act.

I can’t remember the details.

Of course it doesn’t stink, what nonsense being spouted on here ( but any attack on Johnson is no doubt deemed to be good).In the tense atmosphere last year over the need to provide ventilators all avenues were being explored.If anyone on here thinks that the British public cares about anything other than getting us through this pandemic safely, providing what we needed, and lately getting us all vaccinated, then they need to think again.Why do you think the Conservatives are leading in the polls?
Starmer picked the wrong battle to get people fired up about this time.

It really stinks doesn't it "Dinahmo".

I copied the following from an accountants' forum about the Dyson affair. Johnson insists that he wanted to save lives but he didn't look at manufacturers in the UK. As with PPE and other matters, he didn't approach the experts but just his cronies.

Apologies for the length but it is an easy read.

"According to texts revealed by the BBC on Wednesday, vacuum cleaner manufacturer Sir James Dyson contacted Prime Minister Boris Johnson directly to ask for tax breaks for his staff in March 2020.

The request sought exemptions from PAYE and other taxes for Dyson employees who might fail the statutory residence test while obliged to work in the UK as part of his company’s effort to support the government’s ventilation procurement programme. A key message in the exchange reads:

Rishi has fixed the Country Day Count issue but not Work Days. The former is now covered under an 'Exceptional Circumstances' umbrella, Work Days are not. So, he has freed up your ability to be in the UK but not to work there - even in support of this National emergency

Johnson did not deny the content of the texts during a fiery episode of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) later in the day and responded: “I make no apology at all to shift heaven and earth as any prime minister would do in the circumstances to source ventilators.”

He believed – wrongly it transpires - that our hospitals needed more ventilators than usual channels could supply. As a result, he was willing to bend over backwards when Dyson offered assistance.

Yet even his supporters might squirm at the tone of the texts, which include a line that sounds like an outtake from bad sci-fi movie: “I am First Lord of the Treasury and you can take it that we are backing you to do what you need.”

The NHS ultimately rejected the ventilator designs proposed by the Dyson empire, which is now primarily located in Singapore, and the provisional plan was abandoned within a few weeks.

While the manufacturer reputedly lost money because the deal was shelved, if it had it been completed the group would probably have made profits that would be taxed at Singapore rates rather than those in the UK.

Sir James clarified that he was “seeking compliance with rules”. In fact, he was seeking a change to the law, which duly arrived the following month as a Covid emergency measure, effectively bypassing Parliament and applying to anyone working in relevant projects.

Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer lost no time in characterising Sir James Dyson as an expat “billionaire Conservative supporter” who had hotlines to both the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister and was given assurances that neither his company nor his staff would face any adverse UK tax consequences as a result of entering into this arrangement.

If nothing else, that means Dyson enjoyed a big competitive advantage over UK-based manufacturers.

The furore may partly stem from recent history. There have been numerous controversies involving deals between HMRC bigwigs and multinational companies that reduced unpaid tax, interest and penalties to palatable sums.

In each of these high-profile cases, had the parties which entered into the settlements paid tax on the correct basis, the amounts received by the Exchequer would have been considerably greater.

At a time when the government is already being accused of “sleaze and cronyism”, the last thing it needs are suggestions that Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson have both offered to change tax law for the benefit of a friendly tax exile."

I think/hope that may have a slow fuse Whitewave. I can't believe it mentioned so little. What a waste. We at least need to know what it is going to be used for.

It sounds as if the £125,000 a year press secretary has been sacked too. Johnson is obsessed with doing things like America. His need to tack onto their tail makes ME want my country back.

So the £2.5million state of the art tv studio built by this sleazy government over the past couple of months has been kicked into touch.

Easy come easy go I guess. Why worry it is only the tax payers money.

It was an emergency situation mistakes were made particularly with PPE supply, the usual checks could not be made so there was bound to be some dodgy deals. My own opinion is that the government were playing catch-up all last year and should have handled the pandemic better.
However, since the new year, the lockdown and vaccination has been regulated very well and put the country in a much better position. I’m sure this will be reflected in local election results, plus the poor performance of Starmer will help too.

It looks to me that Johnson is repeatedly saying "ventilators" and obliterating the fact that cuts made by the Conservative government were the reason for the shortages. It's a farce to even suggest that just because they stopped digging the cuts hole they were not responsible for the country having immense difficulty pulling ourselves out of it when the inevitable crisis came along.

Pippa, to return to the original point of your post, I am more concerned that the majority of voters are not bothered by the behaviour of this administration, are not complaining, shouting from the rooftops about it. The vanity project of his 'White House' briefing room? Dyson? Race Relations? Corrupt awarding of contracts? Lies in HoC? The man and his administration are morally bankrupt and anyone who thinks otherwise lives to a very different moral code to me. If Johnson was my son/husband/brother I would be ashamed of him.

Whilst I do not approve of some of the actions of this current Government, why oh why would I vote out my local councillors who are/have done a good job over the past years because of the actions of the Government?

I will not sacrifice local issues for the sake of telling our PM that I am cross with him

I have the same problem, but the excellent local Tory councillor is part of the problem as far as I am concerned as he is climbing the slippery pole of party politics and by voting for him, I am giving my support to this venal, corrupt Tory administration.

That's not really about sleaze so thoughts on that.

I think it's about sleaze, in that Johnson was prepared to order (I am the First Lord of the Treasury, he said ('so they do what I tell them', unspoken but implied) HMRC to waive taxation rules for his mate, and about privileged access to the government; in particular, to the PM. We've already seen Cameron exploiting that...

As far as I can see, the Ventilator campaign in March 2020 was something in the nature of a vanity project. Yes, existing manufacturers were given support to rapidly increase production, but did we need to call in Johnson's Brexit supporting mates, Dyson & JCB, for example, to 'design' a new, cheap, ventilator for mass production (when all the medical experts were saying that it just couldn't be done quickly)? Trying to Grandstand in the face of a national medical emergency.

As it is, the ventilators produced by actual bona fide manufacturers in that initiative weren't used...

I'm a bit confused by it Maizie, to tell the truth. I can appreciate that it was urgent but he was asking for his workers not to be charged additional tax for spending longer than the laws allow working here.

Didn't Dyson cheerlead that referendum we had in 2016 which brought in such laws?

That's not really about sleaze so thoughts on that. They need to bring things up to date. Handing over the mobile phone so someone can take a list of all the calls daily and then the owner can make notes regarding all the phone calls - or they could all be recorded but really, shouldn't that be necessary.

I think Johnson, who cannot walk straight but only manipulate the truth, does not want to tell the truth even if it is in his favour until he has had a chance to put his spin on it which probably make clarity almost impossible. Almost as if that's what he wants

P.S. Apologies for derailing the thread.

To return to the topic.

How about the Dyson texts to the PM in March 2020?

Our local councillors have done a good job, opposing planning permissions, social care is of a good standard, our roads are repaired fairly quickly compared to other areas etc.

Last time we had a Labour majority we had huge increases in council taxes, they were not approachable our grass verges and parks were not maintained (I could go on but I hope you understand)

Are you able to say how long ago you had a Labour led council and if there has been any difference in funding since the tories took over, GG13?

I'm interested because there have been reports of funding differences over the last decade, obviously with a suspicion that they've been politically motivated, and many councils are being blamed for cuts in services which have been a result of swingeing cuts to central funding.

Indeed

Whitewavemark2

Governments use the local results as a signal.

If the Tories do well - and I fear they will- Johnson will see it as a signal to continue his wayward path.

I totally agree with you, I am facing a dilemma.

Our local councillors have done a good job, opposing planning permissions, social care is of a good standard, our roads are repaired fairly quickly compared to other areas etc.

Last time we had a Labour majority we had huge increases in council taxes, they were not approachable our grass verges and parks were not maintained (I could go on but I hope you understand)

Governments use the local results as a signal.

If the Tories do well - and I fear they will- Johnson will see it as a signal to continue his wayward path.

GrannyRose15

Can I remind everyone that many of us have a chance to vote on May 6th.

Whilst I do not approve of some of the actions of this current Government, why oh why would I vote out my local councillors who are/have done a good job over the past years because of the actions of the Government?

I will not sacrifice local issues for the sake of telling our PM that I am cross with him!

GrannyRose15

Can I remind everyone that many of us have a chance to vote on May 6th.

Yes, yes and yes. I really hope people do, but from what I read here I'm not so sure.

Can I remind everyone that many of us have a chance to vote on May 6th.

It could be that Covid, "the enemy" currently has, as Ilovecheese suggested, put people in a position where they will give up some democracy in return for safety. We do this all the time when we make treaties but it might be worth remembering that in the past this has not lasted once the "enemy" is gone. However, if we look at 1945 voters will expect a post crisis programme they can believe in. In 1945 the Conservative government lost, not because of their war-time years but because of their 1930s reputation. Will the voters remember the Conservative inflicted austerity? That will probably depend on what has been achieved since and just how the "get wealthy at cost to the people" sleaze is seen.

We have also just seen a UN report about our countries report on racism calling it "an attempt to normalise white supremacy". We will have to ask how many think that is actually the way to go. It seems to be horrifyingly more than we knew and it also seems Brexit has freed many to want some sort of white supremacist government. Steptoe certainly lives on.

Yep, PippaZ, that's spot on. They are morally bankrupt and have shown time and again they are above the law. Unfortunately they are ahead in the polls (which doesn't mean much anyway) but also people defend them!
I feel very frightened by this lack of accountability which shows at least they really have taken back control.
I had a conversation with a courier the other day complaining about his long hours and poor pay. I told him my dad and grandad had fought for decent pay and working conditions all their lives and now it is all being thrown away.
What makes me sad is this guy couldn't even see there might be an alternative.
What's happened to my country?