Will the corruption ever end? Gavin Williamson resigns

Ladyleftfieldlover

Private Eye (they can’t make things up or they get sued) has written about Williamson’s knighthood. It was basically awarded for him keeping quiet about Boris Johnson’s convoluted love life.

Convoluted love life - very polite! More like a Tom cat in the jungle

effalump

I sometimes think that we need a 'Parliament' made up of REAL people not career politicians that went straight from University to Whitehall. We have a PM whose wive is a billionaire, PM is a millionaire and worked for Goldman Sachs. He's not in a position to align with the 'ordinary person'. We need people with reali-life jobs and experience but not anyone like that Plumber guy who's had several facelifts. Sorry, but we know what he spends his profilts on.

Do you mean Charlie Mullins? Apparently, his hobby is collecting number plates, which sounds harmless enough to me. What are you implying?

Talking about it on this thread, varian

www.gransnet.com/forums/news_and_politics/1318185-Covid-seems-to-have-been-profitable-for-some?msgid=29755576

Tory peer Michelle Mone made £29m out of the "VIP" fast lane for PPE contracts

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/23/revealed-tory-peer-michelle-mone-secretly-received-29m-from-vip-lane-ppe-firm

If this happened in any other country we would call it corruption

No less than £1.6bn worth of Covid contracts were awarded as a result of referrals from just 10 Tory politicians

Now that is corruption

“Fmr Foreign Office Perm Sec Simon McDonald, who worked closely with Dominic Raab, is asked by
@AndrewMarr9
: “Do you think the characterisation of him as somebody who could bully, and around whom bullying happened, is a plausible one?"

“Yes”, he replied.”

I sometimes think that we need a 'Parliament' made up of REAL people not career politicians that went straight from University to Whitehall. We have a PM whose wive is a billionaire, PM is a millionaire and worked for Goldman Sachs. He's not in a position to align with the 'ordinary person'. We need people with reali-life jobs and experience but not anyone like that Plumber guy who's had several facelifts. Sorry, but we know what he spends his profilts on.

I’m sure I’ve read it before now, but Raab is now being accused of bullying behaviour.

What is it with these pathetic types?

As Starmer so cleverly described them. “Incompetent middle managers”

I have always thought the honours system was rife with corruption, cronyism and tokenism. When people like Gavin Williamson are now to be addressed as "Sir", in my opinion, it makes the whole thing farcical.

There seem to be too many stories of his bullying tactics and downright blackmail for there to be no foundation to the allegations. It is a disgrace that someone like him, and no doubt other disreputable individuals are given titles for equally disreputable reasons.

When a Tory MP was asked on Question Time (can't remember his name) whether he was voting for Truss or Sunak, he repeatedly avoided the question and finally said, when pushed, that he had not yet had the opportunity to talk to his colleagues about the issue. I wondered then what there was to talk about - other than to engage in some group or individual arm twisting. This type of corruption, ie where support is offered in return for some material or political gain or threats are used to force support, has been alleged and it suggests that the political system has a very dishonourable underbelly.

winterwhite

No, he isn't much good but he's not natural PMQ material and I have sympathy for him.
Compared to so many in his party he seems a decent man at heart and is out of his depth not waving but drowning. In these awful appointments he's obvs trying to bring together both sides of his warring party and to keep trouble-makers inside the tent. That was too ambitions and has failed, but not an unreasonable aim given that his two predecessors had quite rightly been slated for cronyism.
But how do we get from here to a GE?

I agree with this, he does seem decent. I hope that he proves to be strong enough to make his own decisions and ignore pressure from the Tories.

ronib

undines

Surely someone who calls desperate souls risking their lives on the seas to escape persecution as an 'invasion' does deserve the name 'Cruella'?

I know of a family who were refused settlement rights to live in Australia because one of their children has Downs Syndrome. The Australian government refused to take responsibility as my godson was likely to be an incumbrance on the state.

I think that this is pretty typical of Australia. An elderly woman we knew was refused permission to go and live in a house built in her daughter's garden because she had bad health. In the end the appeals process was dragged on for so long that she died before she could move there.
The same is true of Canada - another friend was refused permission to go there because she has MS. This despite the fact that she had a house and a business there and definitely enough cash to pay for private health insurance.

Grantanow

Well done Anne Milton for your honest Channel 4 News interview about Williamson. A great MP ditched by Johnson for her principled stand over his Brexit mess up.

Yes, Anne Milton was impressive and brave in her honesty about this tool.
A friend's daughter was a civil servant who worked for him in Education, apparently he was regarded as incompetent and unpleasant.

undines

Surely someone who calls desperate souls risking their lives on the seas to escape persecution as an 'invasion' does deserve the name 'Cruella'?

Lol really didn’t really think France was that bad. We definitely going to be invaded tomorrow thousands are planning on crossing we have no room in our hotels we are struggling to find places for them. All these fighting age young men coming to ruin our country with their drugs and child grooming. We do not want them here we are too soft and I hope she does stop the invasion. Why should our own ppl suffer with homeless vets etc and we give these ppl 3 meals a day heating and cleaners it’s a joke

Oh I know, but they are not meant to be above the law anymore than anyone else. Still liable for prosecution if found out with concrete evidence. Of course, it would take someone prepared to face the consequences of their skeletons being exposed to record the exchanged with any such exploitative whips. Not likely to happen any time soon, especially with this lot of pathetic muppets.

Anneeba

Having potentially embarrassing/ incriminating evidence about someone then threatening to release this to the press in order to exact favours seems to be blackmail to me. Corrupt Williamson? Yes, I think so.

That's how party whips work, Anneeba.

Having potentially embarrassing/ incriminating evidence about someone then threatening to release this to the press in order to exact favours seems to be blackmail to me. Corrupt Williamson? Yes, I think so.

Casdon
Your first sentence has lost me Mollygo as Suella Braverman has been widely called Cruella in the media, so if it was reported on Gransnet it wouldn’t be banned would it?
You obviously aren’t a poster who rushes to have people banned, but I wasn’t thinking about the media. You’re right I wouldn’t call for a ban on people repeating childish name-calling from the media if that’s what they want to do.

topcat, I’ve reported your post that repeats false allegations that Starmer is responsible for Saville and grooming gangs not being prosecuted.

I disagree with your views on Braverman, immigration and homelessness but, that’s simply a political disagreement so no problem. Your false allegations about Starmer are problematic

Given that my godson was going to stay here with his adorable eldest sister, it did seem to be a very inflexible decision but that’s bureaucracy for you. Although that in itself was a difficult decision. It seems that a Downs Syndrome person is costed out by the Australian government as indeed New Zealand and Uk and probably loads more countries. Seems that most countries have questionable migration systems.

ronib

At the time, my friends were devastated at an apparent rejection, although now they are very happy to have stayed here!

I am so glad to hear. But this was not the question. Did they, or did you, think it was right and fair to refuse entry because of child with disability?

oh no, not again- how many times do we have to explain that NO, he did NOT!!!

(Keir Starmer is not averse to making mistakes in his choice of staff after all Jimmy Saville and the grooming gangs were let off under his watch....)

It is not 'sniping, most of us were ready to give him a chance, but then he appointed 2 of the worst to key posts!

I was so hopeful that the Sunak premiership would herald in better government based on integrity, honesty and compassion, he then appoints ‘Odious Williamson’ and ‘Cruella’.!
No wonder the young and others have so little faith in the political systems we currently have.

Suella Braverman is in my opinion the only one telling the truth about the economic migrant invasion with 1k per day being ferried in over the channel by the government and who are currently occupying over 250 hotels around the country with a further 4 hotels per week being taken over to house them, they are killing the tourist industry. The hotel rooms should at least be offered first to the British homeless who are left sleeping on the streets or in substandard hostels without being served three meals a day.
Keir Starmer is not averse to making mistakes in his choice of staff after all Jimmy Saville and the grooming gangs were let off under his watch....
I think we should at least give Rishi a chance - the sniping began on his first day...

All old news now.....

Mollygo

Beware! Anyone perceived to be calling people names on GN or alluding to them in particular ways is enough for “some posters” to succeed in getting those doing it banned if they don’t like it.
Do I approve of all Suella Braverman’s actions? No-although she is a barrister so perhaps that’s what barristers do.
Do I think using name calling, (the sort of thing that goes on in playground bullying) makes posters appear any better than her? ?? If you call one person names, are you just as likely to refer to others unkindly?

OP Title Will corruption ever end?
No, no matter who is in power. Certainly I hope it will be noticed and acted on much more quickly in future. I’ve seen more than enough corrupt practices in the last few years, both from the politicians and from those who fraudulently claimed and kept grants during Covid.
Was Gavin Williamson fit for the post?
No, nor for a role in Education.
Was he corrupt?

Your first sentence has lost me Mollygo as Suella Braverman has been widely called Cruella in the media, so if it was reported on Gransnet it wouldn’t be banned would it?