Is this another Tory scandal brewing? (Part 1)

Justice minister stripped of powers

Ken Clarke to take charge after Djanogly failed to declare family interest in claims management companies

The justice minister, Jonathan Djanogly, has been stripped of his responsibility to regulate firms that "ambulance chase" the public following a Guardian investigation that revealed how he and his family could profit from controversial changes to legal aid he was piloting in parliament.

Djanogly, the heir to a £300m family business, had failed to declare that his teenage children were minority shareholders in his brother-in-law's businesses – two firms that advertise claims and are part of an industry that Djanogly regulated in government.

Do you get the feeling that after each Revelation about members of this government you just have to shout NEXT

It's why they were kicked oot in 1990wotstit.

Big cats and spots comes to mind

1997.
The date is engraved on the inside of every Tory's eyelids.

It will be replaced by 2014 in due course.

"Gove aide given parliamentary pass while at New Schools Network"

Dominic Cummings was issued with a parliamentary pass by the Education Secretary Michael Gove seven months before he became Gove’s special adviser and while he was working for the charity New Schools Network.

The revelation by the Bureau will raise further questions about the close links between Gove, his now special adviser and New Schools Network, a charity providing advice and guidance to set up the schools. The creation of independent state-funded schools is a key policy of the Education Secretary.

Earlier this year the links between the charity and the Education Secretary came under scrutiny after e-mails from Cummings, a close confident of Gove, to the Department of Education were leaked to 'The Financial Times'. The e-mails revealed that Cummings, a big supporter of free schools, had urged the department to find a way to fast track money to NSN.

Cummings later went on to work for NSN, first as a volunteer in June last year and then as a paid freelancer from July to December 2010. He received one of the four parliamentary passes that Gove, as a minister, is allowed to issue, from August 2010. The passes provide unrestricted access to Parliament and holders are also allowed to escort up to six guests into the Houses of Parliament.

Lisa Nandy, Labour MP for Wigan and member of the Education Select Committee, who has raised concerns about taxpayers' money given to NSN said: "Cummings’ simultaneous involvement in the NSN and the DfE raises serious concerns about a potential conflict of interests".

The Bureau has also found that Cummings breached parliamentary rules by failing to register his employment at NSN while holding a parliamentary pass.

From August to December 2010 Dominic Cummings appears on the Register of Interests of Members’ Secretaries and Research Assistants, sponsored by Education Secretary Michael Gove. His place on the register means Cummings held a parliamentary pass.

The parliamentary register, which was updated in August, October, November and December 2010, requires that all holders of photo-identity passes register "any occupation or employment for which they receive over £329 from the same source in the course of a calendar year, if that occupation or employment is in any way advantaged by the privileged access to Parliament afforded by their pass".  At no point did Cummings register his paid work at NSN.

Lisa Nandy added: "The fact that he has failed to register this income is deeply suspicious. It simply cannot be right that Cummings was putting pressure on civil servants to award money to a charity from which he was receiving undeclared income.  Ministers and the Head of the Civil Service must treat this with the seriousness it deserves and investigate the opaque process through which the NSN was awarded its funding and state what action will be taken given that the House of Commons rules have been broken."

Despite numerous efforts made to contact him, Mr Cummings was unavailable for comment. The Department for Education said it could not comment as Cummings was not employed by the department at the time.

Privileged access?

NSN director Rachel Wolf confirmed that Cummings freelanced at the charity from July to December 2010. She has previously told 'The Guardian' that Cummings "averaged about 10 days a month". This means Cummings worked around 60 days in 2010 and, assuming the freelancer was working for more than the minimum wage, means he was paid in excess of the register’s stipulated declaration limit of £329.

In relation to his access to Parliament Ms Wolf said: "Dominic [Cummings] was a freelance, not an employee. This issue has nothing to do with the NSN".

In November 2010, while Cummings was freelancing at NSN and enjoying DfE access through his parliamentary pass, the Department finalised a grant to the NSN. The grant, for £500,000, was awarded to the organisation in June without being advertised and without inviting any other organisations to tender.

Former Shadow Secretary of State for Education Andy Burnham was so concerned with the links between Dominic Cummings, the DfE and NSN that he wrote to Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell in August 2011. In his letter Mr Burnham, who did not know that Cummings had a parliamentary pass before his appointment as special adviser to the Education Secretary, wrote: "Departmental freedom of information releases indicate that Dominic Cummings held regular meetings with official and ministers prior to his appointment in February 2011. Can you provide reassurance that his role at this time did not contravene the letter or spirit of any Government guidance, for example, can you confirm that he was not instructing civil servants?"

O’Donnell replied saying: "Turning to your questions regarding the various Civil Service, Special Adviser and Ministerial Codes, I am satisfied that these were not contravened during the process of awarding a grant to the NSN".

NSN and the Conservative Party

While registered as an ‘independent charity’, the New Schools Network team has several links to the Conservative Party and to Education Secretary Michael Gove.

NSN Director Rachel Wolf worked previously as Michael Gove’s special adviser.

Chief Operating Officer Natalie Evans was Deputy Director of Policy Exchange. Gove was founder and chairman of the right wing think-tank.

Diana Berry, Director of Development at the charity worked as Head of Fundraising for Conservative Campaign Head Quarters.

Mike Crowhurst, NSN’s Publications Manager worked for Conservative MP Mike Penning.

Trustee Theodore Agnew has long been a donor to the Conservative Party and has donated £144,000 to the Tories since 2007.

Trustee Amanda Spielman was a member of the Sykes review group commissioned by Michael Gove to review the school assessment system.

Source:-
http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2011/11/18/dominic-cummings-given-parliamentary-pass-while-at-new-schools-network/

Before anyone accuses me of hypocrisy, please note that the above article is free from copyright and may be reproduced (a) if the source is acknowledged, and (b) as long as it is posted in its entirety.

Nothing should surprise us.

From the extensive choice of thoroughly nasty individuals which make the Tory Party the unpleasant entity it is, few are are repulsive as the oily little creep Gove, whom I would trust about as much as I would a compulsively bad-tempered crocodile experiencing an especially painful bout of toothache.

If ever a chap deserved a scorpion thrust into his underpants, it is the rat-like Gove...

careful Phil, watch the luggage purleeeeze!!!


It is only the Bories who are allowed to blaspheme.
On the subject of "Bories" - remember Lurcher. Is he still around?

I followed his example yesterday and blocked a car that was parked in a disabled bay without a blue pass! Only thing was, I held the roadway up as well. Still, All the horns were WELL tested!

Recently a TV documentary filmed an apparently healthy woman parked in an Invalid Bay, who upon confrontation drove to the Nursing Home and demanded that her mother be dressed and placed in the passenger-seat for production to the cameras.

There's nowt funnier than folk!

Don't panic, there will be plenty more.

Quote
On the subject of "Bories" - remember Lurcher. Is he still around?


That's a blast from the past, often wondered what had happened to Lurcher myself.

Ahhhh Lurcher,,i remember him from msn,,he died(very painfuly) from pancreatic cancer,,right miserable left wing bastard he was too.

he is in my thoughts


has baroness udin paid that cash back yet?

I have a blue parking badge, but seldom get to us it. Asda car park invalid spaces are always full, one day a saw a young woman parked in an invalid parking place get into the her car with three young children. I suppose she was handicapped in a way, anyone would be with three little kids in tow.

It's always good to see sincere concern expressed for others. It distinguishes humankind from the beasts...

often wondered what had happened to Lurcher myself..

And what about A. Turtle, Vincent Price, Putney Dandridge IV, gerry1, Jorros, No F in Tory, Toomuchtaxpayer, Mrs Blenkinsop, Raypro, and last and very much least, brown boots1?

Add pigsrule and private sector employee to that list! Both came very high on the list in the 'totally tonto' stakes in which other notable stars included the aforementioned gerry, Raypro and the late and unlamented boots...

But if one were forced to choose a 'comedy' double-act from hell , look no further than Raypro and pigsrule who could have competed as 'Moron and Unwise'...

And do you remember this old friend, which looks as if it might be relevant again?

nice to see empathy, compassion and concern for others in Nin's post

I miss lurcher,,first spoke to him on MSN about 6yrs ago,,and we didnt get on (why should we,,he was on the left i am on the right).

But by did that man have british bulldog balls,,he was a lefty version of me,,didnt mind calling people bas*ards and the c word and never held his tounge..you could insult him to high heaven and back, but he never got insulted and vice versa.

my own father died(in agony) of pancreatic cancer and what i say now i say with upmost respect to lurcher.

He was a tough mean miserable old bastard,,,,just like my dad...and fought his corner until he was no longer able too.

in my mind,,those are the true qualities of any man.

agreed.

Ahhhhhh Brownboots1

perhaps he has succumb to aids? or joined the libdems.

Is this another Tory scandal brewing? Should Gove fall on his sword?

Incomers look at the British welfare system and conclude that we are fit for plucking.

are fit for plucking.



CAREFUL


Being a pheasant plucker's son, there ARE some difficulties which can be encountered.

Ivan, we hear constantly of one Tory scandal after the other, yet hear very little about them from the Official Labour party, I dont know about you, but if I enter into a battle, I take every weapon available to me, so why is The Labour party just sitting on such a stockpile of political arms, I sometimes wonder if they are doing their very best to oust this Unholy Coalition we never elected. The Tory's are the masters of the sound bite, things such as, " the shit left us by the preveous Government" Or the " Crap we inhereted" or the "We are all in this together", and it seems to work, its called self fulfilling prophecy, if its said enough, people will end up believing it. They constantly lie about Labour, yet Labour do not defend themselves, its as though they are relying on the common sence of the public, where in fact the public do not posess too much common sence, they tend to watch TV and believe all they are told, and as we see much more of the Government, we hear more Tory soundbites than anything else. Its as though, they (Labour) are sitting back and allowing the Coalition to deal with the finantial problem without effective opposition whilst we are in the Global mess, in the hope it will be gone in 2015, in time for the next GE. I sereously hope I am wrong, but as things are I feel Labour should have a much bigger lead in the oppinion polls than it does.

Give the Coalition enough rope and it will hang itself. No rush.

I noticed from accidentally picking up a Daily Express( I have now washed my hands) when waiting for a friend at a hospital appointment this afternoon that Ian Duncan Smith is reported as being annoyed at Cleggy for 'insisting' that benefits must rise by the CPI inflation measures. Is this a start in the plan to gradually create a dividing line with the LidDumbs in time for the next election?

Maybe it should be pointed out in no uncertain terms to Duncan Smith and the Express that, but for Clugg, the shifty Tory Party would not have had their chance at the power they craved so badly. Not only a bunch of bastards, it seems, but a bunch of highly-ungrateful bastards with short memories...

Never seen that one coming Phil......... Never, ever thought you would stick up for Nick

As for IDS, he is following party policy, keep the great unwashed down.

bobby. A cynic might think that Labour doesn’t want to get back into office just yet. It took from 1979 until 'Black Wednesday' in 1992 before the voters (after being diverted by the Falklands, cheap shares and council houses) realised what a vile, despicable and incompetent lot the Tories are. So far, people have only had just over 18 months of their lies, hypocrisy and vicious attacks on the poorest and weakest in society. Ed Miliband seems convinced that this evil coalition will last the full five years, so he’s playing a long game.

There are other factors. I just don’t think that Shadow Cabinet members get the publicity from the press which the Tories received when they were in opposition. I also think Labour – not expecting an election until 2015 – is still formulating policy. If you do that too early, it risks being out of date in two or three years’ time. What I have noticed on Facebook (where there is a ‘Cutting Edge’ account) and on Twitter is that Labour MPs, rather than sitting on boards of directors getting filthy rich like Tories such as Maude did in opposition, are being very active all over the country trying to win hearts and minds. For example, take a look at how busy Lisa Nandy always seems to be (you can access her website from our links board). Hopefully, these MPs are also listening to voters, so that the next government won’t be as arrogant and out of touch as the present one.

One thing seems obvious. The Tories couldn’t win a majority in 2010 when they had everything in their favour. After so many lies and broken promises, and so much destruction to personal lives, the NHS and the welfare state, I really can’t imagine anyone who didn’t vote for them last time switching to them next time. On the other hand, about 60% of those who were duped into voting for the Lib Dems have already gone to Labour. The next election result would appear to be a foregone conclusion.

They continue undaunted ....

The Prime Minister (no less) has generously pledged an EXTRA £41Million to the London Olympics organisation to augment the Opening and Closing ceremonies budget.

Not his money of course - ours.

Who told him he could do that?



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/8935767/London-2012-Olympics-budget-for-ceremonies-doubled-to-over-80m.html

At present most reputable polling organisations like YouGov for example put the Labour Party ahead of the Conservatives by between 4 and 6 points, the UK Polling Report projection based on all polls indicates that an election now would see a Labour government with a 34 seat majority.

I cannot see into the future, and neither can anyone else, we can only guess or take a bet based on what we know, and the way I see things the Labour Party have an Achilles heel, but they also have one particular weapon on their side.

The Achillies heel is Ed Milliband, based on image and appeal, the wrong candidate won the leadership election, he does not come accross as a powerfull leader who speaks with conviction, instead he speaks like someone from a Vicks Sinex advert.

The one thing that is on Labours side is "time", and personaly I think that time will help to secure a Labour victory at the next election - even with Ed Milliband at the helm ( if he is still at the helm come 2014 / 15 ).

I feel sure that after 4 or 5 years of misery, and with the misery set to continue even after the next election, the British people by then will have had enough, victory should easily be in the bag for Labour.

The austerity and cuts is understandable to probably most people, but not the scale of it all, and by 2015 the truth behind Tory dogma and policy will start to become clear, people will be worried about the NHS, it will suddenly dawn on people that once again - yet again - as before - the Tories cannot be trusted with the NHS.

keenobserver1 wrote:Never seen that one coming Phil......... Never, ever thought you would stick up for Nick

As for IDS, he is following party policy, keep the great unwashed down.

Keeno - all things are relative and I simply point out that it is the height of ingratitude that Tories should badmouth the party which gave them power. As for Glugg, he is a lying toad who sells his promises for a sniff of power , shared with the poisonous Tories. The only 'sticking-up' which he warrants is a long sharp stick up his trouser-leg...

This really must be the most corrupt government which we’ve had for centuries, especially with the NHS being carved up between firms which make generous donations to the Tories (while the Lib Dems allow it to happen). Now more details of lobbying have emerged.

Samira Shackle writes:-

'Senior figures at Bell Pottinger, a leading lobbying company, have been secretly taped claiming that they can influence David Cameron and other senior Cabinet ministers. An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalists, published by ‘The Independent’, taped senior executives at the public affairs firm saying that they had access to the Prime Minister, William Hague and George Osborne, as well as Steve Hilton, Cameron's policy chief, and Ed Llewellyn, the Downing Street chief-of-staff.

On the recording, Tim Collins, the managing director of Bell Pottinger, said he had worked with Cameron and Osborne in the Conservative Party's research department, and that Llewellyn has worked under him at Conservative Central Office: “I've been working with people like Steve Hilton, David Cameron, George Osborne for 20 years-plus. There is not a problem getting the messages through.”

Collins does, indeed, have strong ties to the Conservative Party. He was an MP for eight years, and a member of the Shadow Cabinet (under three successive Tory leaders) for five. He was previously a speech-writer for Margaret Thatcher while she was Prime Minister, and Press Secretary and principal spokesman for John Major during the 1992 election campaign.'

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/12/bell-pottinger-senior-cameron

This is supposed to be a democratic country with one person, one vote determining influence over government policy, not how much money you throw at the corrupt Tories.

There are far more pressing issues than party politics. They are all one and the same anyhow. Co-horts in crimes (they pass off as legitimate) against society and the majority of citizens. You think the rioters were immoral and opportunistic?.....the establishment/government/company bosses leave them standing.

Radical change is what is needed.......the present 'cosy and comfortable' establishment won't provide that - they a too busy frantically trying to maintain life as they've had it, and the system that rewards ruthless greed and favours them and their circle jerk clique of accomplices in legitimised theft and robbery.

Seems to be something to do with being human, sickchip.

"Survival of the fittest" is embedded in our genes. Why does the Male produce millions of spermatazoa when only ONE can be sufficient for purpose?

There are far more pressing issues than party politics. They are all one and the same anyhow.

sickchip. I couldn't agree less. How the Tories must love it when they fragment and privatise the NHS, take benefits from the disabled, destroy the jobs of 710,000 public sector workers and make the poor pay extra VAT, only for misguided souls such as you to announce that they're no worse than anyone else.

As Billy Bragg told us on 'Twitter': "The biggest enemy we face isn't capitalism or Conservatism...it's the deadly lure of cynicism."

It's the Rich wot gets the pleasure
and the Poor wot takes the blame.
It's the same the 'ole World over,
Ain't it all a bleedin' shame!

A friend told me today that they have a failing Academy in their area and the Local Authority were apparently instructed by one Michael 'Shitty' Gove to go and sort out the problem, despite the much-trumpeted supposed autonomy such establishments have from 'council control'.

How typical that -when one his flagship ideas hits the rocks - the little rat should turn to one of those hated Councils that he consistently criticises. And there will be much more of this. What will the despicable toad do when those Authorities have been starved of funding by his government and no longer have the staff to function effectively...?

String him up now! This reeks of corruption!

Surely Pease Pottage only has public schools Phil, whatever is the world coming to, still the gardeners have to come from somewhere and if they're putting the lid on immigration homegrown will have to do!

Ivan wrote:

There are far more pressing issues than party politics. They are all one and the same anyhow.

sickchip. I couldn't agree less. How the Tories must love it when they fragment and privatise the NHS, take benefits from the disabled, destroy the jobs of 710,000 public sector workers and make the poor pay extra VAT, only for misguided souls such as you to announce that they're no worse than anyone else.

As Billy Bragg told us on 'Twitter': "The biggest enemy we face isn't capitalism or Conservatism...it's the deadly lure of cynicism."

Ivan.......

Labour were happy to start the ball rolling on privatising parts of the NHS (But Shhhhh....dont mention that please)
We all know there are quite a few people claiming disability when they shouldn't be...are you happy for these people to keep defrauding the tax payer?....Maybe you are?
VAT...I agree with you on this one
Public sector jobs.....So many non jobs created under New Labour that now many 'real' public sector workers are suffering because we can't afford them unless we borrow to the extent of Gordon Brown (Hello Greece)
Billy Bragg??? I would rather take advice from Billy Bunter

As I recall, back in 1997 when Labour ousted the Tory scum, we had waiting lists for urgent cardiac surgery in excess of 2 years, many died awaiting surgery. Labour chose to use the services of the private sector in order to reduce those waiting lists and save life and have been castigated by you bleeding Tories since, obveously something not so important to the Rich boys of the Conservative party, who could afford private health care, but the losers in this where the working classes.
As for your other nonsence re people defrauding the tax payer, It was the Bitch Thatcher who encouraged the miners, steelworkers and shipbuilders she made unemployed, join the ranks of the dissabled, just to keep the unemployement figures down.
Even with that cynical move, unemployement went up to 3.8 million under the twat John (fancy a currey)Major, and it was up to 3.8 million with the other measures they took like the YTS scheme, very similar to what they are proposing yet again, and guess what, we are destines to beat the Tory 3.8 million unemployed by many, many more. Bring on all the social unrest nessesary to bring this misserable Coalition down.