Current Politics in the United Kingdom

[Devius]

[U99]

Originally Posted by foxbat1

Feels like a proper Tory scandal, like back in the 90s.

I'd love to know, how the heck he intends to 'explain this away' to his local party. 😁

Originally Posted by foxbat1

Great headline from the Mirror. I was reminded of the leaked Tory spreadsheet of dirt they had on their MPs from a few years ago. He's listed as being known to employ male prostitutes.

So when we were thinking that Truss's leadership campaigning to fellow Conservative MPs, appeared to resemble someone offering the promise of *sexually arousing activities* in return for voting for her... 🕵️🥇🎯

A (comedy?) drama based upon the stories mentioned in the spreadsheet, could be *superb* viewing for VEF fans. Somebody please DO IT!!! 🤓🍺💥

[Devius]

Westminster sleaze and scandals: All the MPs who are suspended or have lost the whip
The number of MPs sitting as independents now outnumber the Lib Dems
Andy Gregory
Thu, 18 April 2024 at 1:31 pm GMT+1

Another day in Westminster, another party whip suspended or withdrawn – as allegations of sleaze, dishonesty or failure to uphold parliamentary standards land yet another MP in hot water.

Mark Menzies, the Tory MP for Fylde and a government trade envoy, is under investigation over allegations that he misused campaign funds and abused his position after making a late-night phone call saying he’d been locked up by “bad people” demanding thousands of pounds.

Mr Menzies, who has relinquished the Tory whip pending the results of the internal party probe, now finds himself among 18 MPs who currently sit as independents, having lost their party whip since the 2019 general election.

The growing number of independents has outnumbered the Lib Dems as the Commons’ fourth-largest cohort of MPs since January 2023, and now includes eight former Tories, seven former Labour MPs, along with one each from the SNP, DUP and Plaid Cymru.

Full article:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mp-suspended-who-tory-labour-sleaze-b2530714.html

[BondJmsBond]

Originally Posted by Devius

Westminster sleaze and scandals: All the MPs who are suspended or have lost the whip
The number of MPs sitting as independents now outnumber the Lib Dems
Andy Gregory
Thu, 18 April 2024 at 1:31 pm GMT+1

Full article:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mp-suspended-who-tory-labour-sleaze-b2530714.html

I'd love to make fun of you guys, but my State (New Mexico) has a shockingly rich history of corruption going back long before it was a state.
So bad that no one really knows who actually owns large parts of the State.
I think 3 or four in a row of our State Treasurers went directly from office to prison.

More recently, the guy who owned the car dealership where I worked for two years as a kid became mayor and was later involved in the biggest bribery and kickback scandal I've seen here.
https://www.krqe.com/news/metro-cour...n-restitution/

So, carry on.

[Devius]

Boris Johnson broke rules over Venezuela talks, government advisers say

Boris Johnson broke government rules by being "evasive" about a meeting with the Venezuelan president, the committee that vets ex-ministers' work has said.

The former PM had failed to clarify his relationship with a hedge fund that set up the talks, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) said.

He met President Maduro in February, reportedly with a founder of the firm.

Under the rules, ex-ministers must not take new jobs for two years after leaving office without Acoba's advice.

Mr Johnson left Downing Street in September 2022. The committee can issue public rebukes of former government ministers but has no powers to enforce its recommendations or punish them.

Acoba has reported the breach to Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, who is in charge of the Cabinet Office which oversees the machinery of government.

A spokesman for Mr Johnson declined to comment.

It is not the first time the former prime minister has fallen foul of Acoba.

In June 2023, it found he had committed a "clear breach" of the ministerial code by not clearing a role writing a weekly column for the Daily Mail. Mr Dowden later decided no action would be taken against Mr Johnson.

His talks with Nicolas Maduro in February were private and his trip was not paid for by the UK government.

Last month, his spokesman said the purpose had been "to emphasise the need or Venezuela to embrace a proper democratic process".

Mr Maduro has run Venezuela since 2013. He has faced widespread protests, but in 2018 won a second term in presidential elections widely dismissed as neither free nor fair.

'Not necessary'

In his letter to Mr Dowden, Tory peer Lord Pickles, chairman of Acoba, said: "Mr Johnson has repeatedly been asked by Acoba to clarify his relationship with Merlyn Advisors [the hedge fund that set up the meeting].

"He has not done so, nor has he denied the reports in the media that he has been working with Merlyn Advisors on a non-contractual basis."

In correspondence released by Acoba, Mr Johnson said he had no contractual relationship with the company, and had not been paid for any meetings in Venezuela.

"I was extensively briefed by HMA (His Majesty's Ambassador) Caracas before the meeting and used the occasion to push for democracy, human rights and the support of Ukraine," he added.

Lord Pickles raised concerns that the trip had been paid for by Merlyn Advisors, and about the nature of Mr Johnson's activities for the company even without a formal contract.

"If that is the case, there is a reasonable concern that you were acting in a capacity that would be inconsistent with Acoba's guidance on 'one-off' speaking engagements - which does not provide blanket approval for ad-hoc advisory work," the peer warned.

Mr Johnson did not answer further questions from Lord Pickles about his relationship with Merlyn, and said he believed it was "clearly not necessary" to consult Acoba about it.

Lord Pickles disagreed, suggesting Mr Johnson might have been working for Merlyn as an adviser - in which case he should have sought Acoba's advice.

But the peer admitted there was little action that could be taken against Mr Johnson as the rules "no longer have relevance in the modern world and are unenforceable to applicants determined to ignore them".

The government should reform the rules as it promised last July, Lord Pickles added, to ensure that those who broke them faced consequences.

Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the former prime minister had "once again demonstrated a complete disdain for the rules, while Rishi Sunak is too weak to do anything about it".

"The rules in place to stop this revolving door are wholly inadequate - and completely toothless," he added.

Labour has promised to set up an "ethics and integrity commission" if it wins power, with enforceable rules and clear sanctions for people who break them.

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68855382

[foxbat1]

Sunak rejects offer of youth mobility scheme between EU and UK

Rishi Sunak has rejected an EU offer to strike a post-Brexit deal to allow young Britons to live, study or work in the bloc for up to four years.

The prime minister declined the European Commission’s surprise proposal of a youth mobility scheme for people aged between 18 and 30 on Friday, after Labour knocked back the suggestion on Thursday night, while noting that it would “seek to improve the UK’s working relationship with the EU within our red lines”.

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, suggested the scheme, which would also have allowed young people from within the EU to stay in the UK to work or study for the same period of time, would have been an area in which there could be “closer collaboration”.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...ween-eu-and-uk

Seems needlessly cruel. Here's a great opportunity for young people whose lives have been blighted by austerity and brexit.

Sadly Labour seems to have ruled it out as well, because apparently they hate young people too now. Probably because Jeremy Corbyn is popular with them.