Dodgy Dave

[TheCat]

Yes yes. This govt is sh!t....

And you don't like brexit

Noted.

[Seabag]

TheCat Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yes yes. This govt is sh!t....

>

> And you don't like brexit

>

> Noted.

Shall we pretend otherwise, for the sake of the country? See if Boris makes any changes to his Government?s way of operating, or do we get more of the same not quite the actual truth type warm words?

Then where are we?

[Seabag]

Do we think that if there wasn?t a pandemic, then the government would be operating on a different level, doing things by the book, by the rules?

? much of this comes down to character and personal judgment. Systems are often only as strong as the people operating within them.?

With that in mind, I?d not hold my breath on Johnson or his team.

https://apple.news/ADvgQvVK8Q9awJEI3Arm7hg

From the Evening Standard

[diable rouge]

Johnson with his 'text leak' investigation once again showing he's more concerned with being found out than the actual dodgy behaviour of politicians, par for the course for someone who doesn't like scrutiny and accountability.

We saw post-referendum how politicians have changed with respect to parliamentary accountability and our unwritten constitution which relies on politicians' integrity and adherence to the norms. The modern day politician, and this PM and Gov in particular, have become shameless because they've been clapped and cheered on for political bias over Brexit.

This is a good article by Jill Rutter highlighting that a tougher independent set of rules is needed, but don't hold your breath while Johnson is PM...

The UK?s system for ensuring the principles of public life are observed in practice is looking increasingly unfit for purpose.

An ex-PM bombards his colleagues with pleading messages to help a company in which he has a significant personal stake.

A needy current PM assures a donor and supporter via text that he will ensure the Chancellor will fix the tax system for him.

And people inside the system sign each other off doing things which seem to have at the very least a serious conflict of interest. As Eric Pickles told the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, this suggests a system where one cohort looks after another, in the expectation they will later benefit.

The system has never been free from lobbying ? it has always taken place. It?s always been open to businesses to put their case to the Government.

Indeed it is perfectly legitimate for Dyson to highlight the fact that a feature of the tax system is impeding their (failed) participation in the Government?s ventilator challenge, and suggest the Treasury might change it.

Ministers often return from receptions (when they were allowed) asking officials to investigate a suggestion that someone buttonholed them with over the canapes, or with a wheeze that has been put to them by a constituent.

The first question is therefore whether we can trust the people on the receiving end of that lobbying to treat it appropriately ? to ensure issues are decided on their merits and with no hint of the ?improper influence? or ?favours?.

But beyond a general exhortation to uphold the ?highest standards? of propriety, the Ministerial Code is notably silent on the sorts of concerns raised recently.

Moreover, the UK?s Ministerial Code has no real status. It can be rewritten by the Prime Minister. It could be withdrawn by the Prime Minister if it proved too annoying.

As we saw with concerns about Robert Jenrick and the Westferry planning decision, which benefited a Conservative donor, the PM decides whether investigations are needed; and, as we discovered in the Priti Patel case, the PM decides whether the code has been broken and whether that breach requires any sanctions.

That is a contrast to Northern Ireland, where the ministerial code is now to be enforced by the independent standards commissioner who oversees MLAs ? this was one of the procedural reforms resulting from the renewable heat incentive scandal which triggered the collapse of the Northern Ireland executive.

The Chair of the Committee on Standards of Public Life (set up in the wake of the sleaze revelations in the Major government) has already proposed strengthening the status and role of the independent adviser on ministerial interests ? not least by letting them decide whether to initiate an inquiry rather than wait for a request from the PM, and allowing them to publish a summary of their findings when they decide, rather than the PM.

[Seabag]

Slip slip sliding downwards, with their own momentum. It?s like a series of Black Ader, with Dom C and BJ

W4nkers, let them do their utmost.

[Seabag]

It?s getting more pongy over in Whitehall

And it?s seeping out in all sorts of places. With a government so used to telling lies, it?s left in the awkward position of where the truth is being painfully picked out of it, one story at a time.

Still, I am rather enjoying this sh1tfest, all of it self inflicted, all of it delicious.

https://apple.news/Ac21p5VwlS0-P3D6ZxL2qTg