I seem to remember one poster trying to encourage us to “clap for Boris” When he was ill. Still waiting.
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An overview of what's happened just this week in government
(95 Posts)#TheWeekInTory (Wed to Sun)
1. Let’s start with the milder corruption: it was revealed Matt Hancock tried to block 400 homes and a primary school near Newmarket racecourse, after receiving at least £65,000 in donations from horseracing bigwigs who opposed the scheme
2. And then Robert Jenrick, the Housing Minister, overruled his dept and planning officers to rush through planning permission that saved Richard Desmond a £45m fee. Desmond is a billionaire pornographer, former-Express owner, and (subsequent to this) a Tory donor
3. The Tory Manifesto says: “we will offer more homes to local families, enabling councils to use developers’ contributions via the planning process”
4. The lost £45m was the “developers’ contribution”. One of Britain’s most deprived areas lost it. A billionaire kept it.
5. And then, I'm sure coincidentally, Desmond donated £12,000 to the Tory Party the next week. A bargain – only 0.02% of the £45m he saved
6. So this week Jenrick denied he had done anything wrong
7. Unfortunately, he had already admitted his actions were “unlawful” on 29 May
8. And then the business minister said voters could “raise their concerns at Tory fundraisers”
9. So now have to donate to the Tory Party before we can complain about the Tory Party doing illegal things for their donors
10. In Coronavirus news: Boris Johnson announced more relaxations of the lockdown, saying he would “trust the British public to use their common sense”
11. 48 hours later a major incident was declared on the South Coast, as 500,000 people common-sensibly crowded the beaches
12. Boris Johnson said he “would not hesitate” to bring back lockdown if the rules on social distancing weren’t observed
13. 48 hours later, he hasn’t brought back lockdown
14. Then the govt announced councils would have the “power and resources” to enforce local lockdowns
15. But council leaders wrote to the govt to explain that they don’t actually have the legal powers to do this
16. And then 8 out of 10 councils in England have declared they are at risk of bankruptcy, having absorbed cuts of between 26% and 50%
17. Health leaders, including the presidents of Royal Colleges of Physicians, Nurses, GPs and Surgeons wrote to the govt asking for an urgent review of preparations for a second wave
18. The govt declined to do a review
19. And then the WHO warned of global shortage of oxygen and breathing equipment
20. So naturally, the govt opened pubs and cinemas
21. Then, after a month of not telling us the daily test numbers, the govt went a step further and cancelled the daily briefings altogether
22. UK Statistics Authority issued a 2nd official warning about the “trustworthiness” of the govt’s figures
23. Association of Medical Research said 74% of clinical trials had been put on hold in 2020 due to cuts
24. So we spent £900k painting a flag on Boris Johnson’s plane
25. And then it was revealed the govt spent £12m on the “world beating” contact app that didn’t work
26. If you paid the average £50,000 programmer salary, £12m buys 320 programmers
27. The German app code is open-source, and the free repository for it lists 34 programmers
28. The UK has repeatedly declined to use the free German App
29. Boris Johnson claimed in Parliament that "no country in the world has a working contact tracing app”
30. There are working contact tracing apps in: Angola, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh...
... Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Rep, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Latvia, Malaysia, Morocco, N Macedonia, Netherlands, Norway, NZ, Poland ...
... Qatar, Russia, S Africa, S Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland and Vietnam. That's 42 countries.
31. The gov declined to publish its report on food and medicine shortage risks from no-deal Brexit, which surely bodes well.
32. Boris Johnson said Brexit must be delivered, as we have a “democratic duty” to listen to the people
33. A report this week found 9m voters – most thought likely to oppose the Conservatives – will vanish from the electoral roll when new Westminster seats are drawn up
34. When the govt (breaking pre-election promises) merged the Dept for International Development into Foreign Office 2 weeks ago, they said there would be no cuts to overseas aid
35. This week the Treasury asked govt depts to find "a minimum of 30%" cuts, including overseas aid
36. The govt continued to decry the removal of statues connected with slavery, as this might “diminish public knowledge of British history”
37. Govt cuts led to the closure of 773 public libraries, and I suspect many of them contained books about British History
38. The Minister for Arts said the govt was “committed to supporting the Arts Sector in through crisis”
39. Emergency funding for the arts (converted into £)
- France £6.3bn
- Germany £900m
- Canada £295m
- Italy £221m
- NZ £90
- Spain £68m
- Ireland £18m
- UK £0
40. In 2019 the govt committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050
41. A year on a report found at the current rate, the govt would hit its target by the year 3650, which is 1500 years from now, a mere 1470 years too late
42. This week it reached 38°C in the Arctic
43. The govt said it would “fairly and courageously to maintain law and order” in the light of the #BlackLivesMatter movement
44. And then the govt announced it wants to abolish trial by jury in order to address a 41,000-case backlog caused by its own cuts
45. It's Friday. Not even very late Friday. There are 2 more days of this week to go.
Courtesy of Russ in Cheshire
twitter.com/RussInCheshire/status/1276512600398925824
Or clap for the spads, or maybe the chief spad who's been running the country for the last six months.
It's not a full time job, he was still able to take time off during lockdown to flout the rules and drive to Durham.
Oh yes this is rather a good idea I think.
“Next year we can all clap for our MPs rather than give them a pay rise”
I see Johnson is shamefully trying .to lay the blame for the care home deaths on the owners.
Is there anything this man won’t say without embarrassment?
But it isn’t even our ‘leader’. It’s his unelected advisor.
Apart from Trump can anybody think of another leader attempting to change so much in such a short time?`
I think you are correct fennel
I haven't read every single post on here, but my view is that all these Messups (I was going to use a more graphic phrase) are because the party in control doesn't really care about the welfare of the majority of the population.
Only their own class and their own money which always takes priority.
Indeed, whitewave.
Words fail!
Can MPs now vote remotely, then?
In the face of the complete mess that this government has made of virtually everything it has touched - the pinnacle being the way they have handled this epidemic - I would say it is Conservative supporters whose views and allegiances are "entrenched". They would have to be in order to enable them to continue to defend the indefensible.
Janpt
growstuff Pot calling kettle comes to mind. You are an excellent example of 'entrenched views' just like the rest of the party you support.
Which party is that?
growstuff Pot calling kettle comes to mind. You are an excellent example of 'entrenched views' just like the rest of the party you support.
So many willing victims, though, Maybee70
Has a country ever before deliberately followed such a path of self destruction?
when was it decided that it was still ok for MP’s to speak in parliament via the internet
It was about a week after MPs were required to attend Parliament to vote in person.
The absurdity of those long queues of socially distanced MPs waiting to vote and everyone mocking them had something to do with it, I suspect. Also it may have dawned on them that queuing outside when it rained wouldn't be very pleasant 
not refined! Reduced
So today we know that there will be no transition, the point h as been passed.
Our freedom to travel will now be refined from 1/1/21
To look like this
I know I’m out of touch with all this but when was it decided that it was still ok for MP’s to speak in parliament via the internet and I assume they can vote that way also ? I thought they were all supposed to be taking their seats in parliament and queuing outside to vote. When was that changed ?
If ineptitude was an Olympic sport the UK government would be the gold medallist - for its world beating performance.
Here's Russ again. His 'Week in tory' this week is actually only 4 days.
Enjoy... (or go and cry quietly somewhere)
This episode of #TheWeekInTory is just stuff since Friday
1. Ineptitude alert: due to Brexit the UK is leaving the EU’s Galileo satellite scheme, which is vital for satnav
2. Independent experts said developing our own satellite system would cost around £4bn
3. So instead, the govt announced £500m investment to make existing satellites to do the job
4. But they are too close to earth to be used for GPS positioning, so cannot work
5. A space policy expert said “The fundamental starting point is, we’ve bought the wrong satellites”
6. Democracy news: it was reported “PM wants Brexiteer to head Civil Service”
7. But the Code of Conduct says Civil Servants “must not act in a way that is determined by party political considerations”
8. Then Michael Gove gave a major speech about the need to decentralise govt
9. And the next day the Cabinet Secretary was sacked, so that Dominic Cummings could centralise more power
10. A replacement – David Frost, a Brexiteer - was appointed, and will now be Cabinet Secretary, National Security Advisor and simultaneously lead Brexit negotiations
11. The former Cabinet Secretary Lord O’Donnell said “I’m worried about the appointment” as it was “made without any due process”, and Frost “doesn't have much background in security”. He said “it shows an erosion of civil service impartiality”
12. Public safety news: 3 years from Grenfell, the National Audit Office found only 14% of dangerous buildings have had their cladding removed
13. The UN warned the UK may breach international law over its failure to remove combustible cladding from high-rise buildings
14. Days after corruption allegations against Robert Jenrick & Matt Hancock, it was revealed developers backed by Johnson as London Mayor donated almost £1m to the Tory Party
15. If you take away some of the letters and add different ones, “donation” is an anagram of “bribe”
16. And now, onto Covid. On 1 June the govt said “we will work around the clock to ensure that nobody goes hungry as a result of this crisis [Covid19]”
17. This week govt data revealed 7.7m adults missed meals, and 3.7 used food banks during the crisis
18. Senior police officers warned govt that lifting the lockdown was “total madness”
19. The next day the govt lifted the lockdown
20. The day after that, a major incident was declared as 500,000 people crowded beaches, and illegal street parties broke out across the country
21. Priti Patel said “I want to make sure our police are absolutely resourced”
22. Since 2010, Tories have cut 21,000 police officers, 23,000 police support workers, and shut 600 police stations
23. Trading Standards, which investigates fraud, also had 70% of its budget cut
24. The Home Secretary said the public “shouldn’t take liberties” with the rules and “the full weight of govt powers” could be called upon to ensure guidelines are followed
25. I've looked into this, and Dominic Cummings is still in his job. So, remarkably, is Robert Jenrick
26. Matt Hancock said “a protective ring had been thrown around care homes” by the govt
27. A report this week showed the risk of Covid-related deaths in UK’s care homes is 13-times higher than in German care homes
28. The govt told parliament there are sufficient supplies of PPE
29. The next day govt confirmed that the phrase “200 pieces of PPE equipment” refers to 100 pairs of gloves
30. UK Statistics Authority issued a 2nd official rebuke about the trustworthiness of govt data
31. To address the financial crisis caused by Coronavirus, the PM pledged a £1bn school building programme over 10 years
32. This is 1/7th of the cuts to school budgets since 2010
33. The Blair govt increased school budgets by £12bn in 3 years, which is 40x as much per year
34. A SAGE scientific report said fully reopening schools without substantial improvements in the performance of the test-and-trace system could risk a new surge in cases of Covid-19
35. So the govt announced it would fine parents who didn’t send their children to school
36. Boris Johnson compared himself to Roosevelt and promised a £5bn “New Deal” to boost the economy, and said “this is what the times demand”
37. Roosevelt’s New Deal expenditure was up to 40% of US GDP at the time
38. Johnson’s £5bn is slightly less: about 0.2% of UK GDP
39. PM promised £100m for 29 road projects - around £350k per road
40. The Manchester Airport bypass alone cost £280m
41. And then it was revealed Johnson’s “New Deal” is not new at all, it just brings forward money already promised in previous budgets. So... Old Deal.
42. The govt refused to rule out tax rises to pay for the coming crash
43. Then Boris Johnson explicitly ruled out tax rises for the rich, saying we should “clap for bankers who make the NHS possible”
44. So if the rich aren’t being taxed, that means… oh, it’s you and me again
45. On 24 June, Jeremy Hunt wrote an article in the Telegraph urging the govt to do mass testing of NHS and Care staff to prevent a second wave
46. On 24 June (the same day) Jeremy Hunt (the same Jeremy Hunt) voted in parliament against mass testing of NHS and Care staff
47. The WHO said “a second wave of Covid 19 is a highly likely outcome” and advised all nations to begin preparations for one
48. The govt declined to do a review into preparations for a second wave, even when one was recommended by the Royal Societies of Surgeons, Nurses & GPs
49. BMA reports 1 doctor in 7 is planning to quit after the current crisis subsides
50. Over 22,000 EU-national staff already quit the NHS after the Brexit vote
51. Tories cut £1bn from NHS training budget from 2018 to 2023, so there aren’t enough trainees to replace them
52. And, to end on a cheery note, researchers in China discovered a new type of swine flu capable of triggering a pandemic.
53. So far, there's no confirmation that Chris Grayling is involved in Chinese pig-farming
54. This is just 4 days. My previous #TheWeekInTory was worse
twitter.com/RussInCheshire/status/1277992483255775233
No. 48 is very worrying...
John Cotter
@John_Cotter
This isn’t normal. It’s poundshop Putin territory. Britain led by a political David Brent. The sadness of a fragile male ego laid bare.
A Tory grown up
Ken Clarke
@MrKennethClarke
The UK government’s public health policy now seems to be ‘go abroad on holiday, you’ll be safer there!’
Katie Hopkins has been banned from Twitter for the foreseeable future.
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