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Another day in Westminster, another party whip suspended or withdrawn – as allegations of sleaze, dishonesty or failure to uphold parliamentary standards land yet another MP in hot water.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

[Devius]

Originally Posted by Devius

Continued...

We want 20mph speed limit, say worried villagers
18 April 2024

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3g5w552dlxo

Continued...

20mph Wales: Some roads to revert to 30mph after backlash

Some roads in Wales will revert to 30mph following backlash at the Welsh government's £34m default 20mph policy.

Transport Minister Ken Skates said the changes will address the concerns that "a lot of people" have raised "on a consistent basis".

"We've put our hands up to say the guidance has to be corrected," he said.

Swansea council leader Rob Stewart welcomed the change, but said the government must help foot the bill to swap signage.

Mr Skates highlighted the almost half a million signatures to a Senedd petition opposing the policy, brought in under former first minister Mark Drakeford and his transport minister Lee Waters.

"I have friends and family who have signed the petition," he said.

But the policy has also enjoyed support from groups including those representing cyclists, while some people have even called for it to be extended to areas not covered in the rollout to help make their communities safer.

Mr Skates was put in charge of transport for Wales on 21 March after Vaughan Gething succeeded Mr Drakeford.

"There is generally universal support for 20mph being targeted in areas where there are schools, built up areas like housing estates, and outside hospitals and so-forth," he told North Wales Live on Friday.

"But in many areas, routes that shouldn't have been included, were."

He said the changes will enable individual councils to revert routes back to 30mph where appropriate, adding that this will allow for "radical" changes, if that is "what people want".
Ken Skates

Mr Skates is expected to address forthcoming changes in a statement to the Senedd on Tuesday afternoon.

Rob Stewart, leader of Swansea council, said Mr Skates' "pragmatic approach" was "to be welcomed".

However, he said the Welsh government should "help us with the cost" of reverting back to 30mph roads.

Mr Skates added that he does not feel it would be fair to place that costs on local authorities, given that councils are making "really tough" decisions.

"I'm not going to say to councils that they need to find the money to make the changes," he said.

The controversial 20mph policy was introduced in Wales in September with the aim of improving road safety. It saw the default speed limit on roads in built up areas cut from 30mph to 20mph.

Mr Stewart added that he anticipated the changes to the policy could affect up to 10 roads in his own local authority.

"I don't think anybody is challenging the requirements or the ambition of the 20mph to make our roads safer, but it's about making sure we've got the balance right," he said.

"So I think it's just about being pragmatic and doing it in a way that's sensible."

Huw Thomas, leader of Cardiff council, said the news was welcome and that it was not possible to "pretend there isn't a half-million-person petition".

He said he was glad the power will rest with local governments and that the work will be "mostly" funded by the Welsh government.

Mr Thomas added that in Cardiff, where most of city was 20mph already, the policy had been "very popular" and that he "certainly can't see many roads changing".

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68859568

[Devius]

Scottish Greens to vote on SNP power-sharing deal
19 April 2024

Scottish Green Party members are to vote on whether to remain in power with the SNP after the Scottish government ditched key climate change targets.

Co-leader Patrick Harvie says things have “come to a head” with calls from members for a debate about the way forward.

The Greens are to hold an extraordinary general meeting to decide the issue.

The BBC understands it “is expected to hear a single motion on whether the party continues to co-operate with the Scottish government or not".

Both Mr Harvie and his co-leader Lorna Slater are ministers in the government and will argue that their party should stay there.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said on Friday that whether or not the Greens remained in the power-sharing deal was an internal matter for their members.

Ms Slater said the purpose of the extraordinary general meeting would be to allow members the opportunity to decide how to proceed nearly three years after joining the SNP in government under the Bute House agreement, external.

She said: “We have achieved more for people and planet in the past 32 months than other parties have in decades. Now we want to hear from our members on how they want us to continue this progress.

“Not everything in politics is easy, as we have seen over recent years, months and days, but our strength as a green movement is in standing up against those destructive forces who would set fire to everything we have achieved if given half the chance."

A binding vote

The party has not announced the date of the meeting but the BBC has been told it will happen some four weeks after members have been emailed to inform them of it.

The announcement of the vote came just a day after the SNP-Green government in Edinburgh confirmed it will scrap its annual and interim targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, Energy Secretary Mairi McAllan of the SNP accepted that the target of a 75% reduction in emissions by 2030 was out of reach.

That accepted the analysis of a critical report from the independent Climate Change Committee., external

Ms McAllan said the government must act to chart a course to achieve its target of net zero emissions by 2045 at a pace and scale which was feasible, fair and just.

Mr Harvie said he was "angry and disappointed" following the announcement.

But he has defended the Greens remaining in government, saying their participation has led to “record investment in climate and nature, free bus travel for more young people, rent protection, and much more.”

Scottish Greens councillor Chas Booth, who represents Leith on City of Edinburgh Council, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that as things stood he would vote to withdraw from government.

He said: "Dropping the 2030 target altogether without replacing it with anything that is more achievable looks to me like we’ve, in a sense, given up and walked away on climate. That is unacceptable from my perspective.

Some Greens are also unhappy about NHS Scotland’s decision to pause the prescription of puberty blockers following a landmark review of gender services in England by paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass.

After the NHS Scotland announcement the party’s LGBT wing, the Rainbow Greens, started a petition questioning the future of the deal with the SNP.

The group’s co-convener, Jen Bell, said the move had broken a promise in the Bute House agreement to “put trans patients at the heart of decisions on their own healthcare.”

Dr Cass said “we don’t have good evidence” that puberty blockers — which she defines as hormone treatment that stops the progress of puberty — are safe.

The vote of Scottish Green members will be binding, according to a party source. BBC Scotland also understands the SNP would carry on as a minority government if the Greens were to ditch the Bute House agreement.

The Bute House agreement is described as a “shared draft policy programme” in areas of mutual interest such as climate change, economic recovery from the pandemic and child poverty.

It also takes in the natural environment, energy and the constitution.

Both the Scottish Greens and the SNP advocate for an independent Scotland.

Party criticism

The Scottish government’s decision to abandon its 2030 emissions target put the Greens in the firing line for criticism more often aimed at the senior partners in the deal.

Scottish Conservatives chairman Craig Hoy said the Greens should be "nowhere near the levers of power within government".

He added: "The SNP's independence-obsessed coalition with their anti-growth Green counterparts has been a farcical disaster for Scotland.

“The overwhelming failure of this deeply damaging nationalist coalition is having a devastating impact on communities and businesses which is why the Bute House Agreement needs to be scrapped."

Scottish Labour's deputy leader Jackie Baillie said said it was no surprise that Green party members had "lost faith" in an SNP-Green government which had "failed to deliver at every turn".

She added: "While Green MSPs cheer on Humza Yousaf in Holyrood, he is slashing climate targets and siding with oil and gas giants who are raking in billions in profit.

“This SNP-Green government’s failures mean higher bills, fewer green jobs and other countries winning the global race for clean energy."

First Minister and SNP leader Humza Yousaf has also come under pressure from within his own party to end the power-sharing deal.

Kate Forbes, whom Mr Yousaf only narrowly defeated in the party leadership contest just over a year ago, is among those who have called for the Bute House agreement to go.

In December she said, external “nearly all the issues that have lost us support in the last year are found in the Bute House agreement and not in the SNP manifesto.”

The Greens, said Ms Forbes, had a progressive, ideological agenda which was unpopular in the country at large and were also hitting rural communities with over-regulation and tax hikes.

The party has been involved in several difficult policy issues, with legislation stalling on issues as varied as protecting the oceans, recycling bottles and making it easier to change gender.

First Minister Humza Yousaf has said he remains committed to the Bute House agreement.

The SNP leader said on Friday that he accepted there would be “bumps on the road” to net zero.

But he insisted his government had “brought forward an accelerated policy package” of measures to tackle the climate crisis which “reinstate our commitment” to achieving net zero by 2045.

Source:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cekl2v3124go