Is this another Tory scandal brewing? (Part 2)

First topic message reminder :

Maybe Goves wife will provide the job seekers with the money to buy her expensive facial creams, and maybe while she is at it she could take them out and buy them a new outfit to attend there interview with  so they can get a zero hour contract job.  

methought wrote:There could be any number of decent sound-bites for Labour in this collection of horrors. I hope they have some decent tacticians somewhere out of sight - cos we ain't seen nuthin yet....

If Ed Miliband shows his hand at the moment methought, Scameron would nick his ideas in the hope that he could nick the Labour voters also so Ed has to tread carefully I think his 2015 Manifesto will please the majority of the UK public.

"If Ed Miliband shows his hand at the moment methought, Scameron would nick his ideas."

Exactly, Redflag. Any athlete can lead a marathon for the first mile.

Maybe - but it does assist aspiring eventual winners not to still be in the changing rooms when the race is underway...

oftenwrong wrote:"If Ed Miliband shows his hand at the moment methought, Scameron would nick his ideas."

Exactly, Redflag.  Any athlete can lead a marathon for the first mile.

He could nick them OW, but I can assure everybody he would not implement them it would be a re-run of the 2010 general election ! LIES LIES & more LIES.

Cameron and Osborne face questions over taxpayer-funded coastal visits

From an article by Rowena Mason:-

"Cameron and Osborne are facing questions over their taxpayer-funded visits to coastal constituencies to hand out millions of pounds in grants, including £2m for Eastbourne's fire-ravaged pier. They appear to be paying special attention to seaside towns, many of which are being targeted by both Labour and UKIP.

Having created a minister for coastal communities (Penny Mordaunt), Cameron and Osborne embarked on a visit to Eastbourne and Poole, where they announced a further £8.5m in grants for regeneration of seaside areas. Cameron has been forced to deny that the funding was anything to do with the fact that the Sussex town is a key Tory target for taking off the Lib Dems. It comes after reports that Osborne has visited 17 parts of Britain in the last month on a ‘hard hat’ tour, many of them marginal seats, where he has been making funding announcements or promises about infrastructure projects.

Along with the Eastbourne funding, Cameron and Osborne unveiled a raft of coastal projects. These include:-
• £1.95m for the Jubilee Pool lido in Penzance, a Tory target seat held by Lib Dem MP Andrew George.
• £1.75m for the Victorian arches in Old Portsmouth, where Mordaunt is defending her Tory marginal seat and the Tories are hoping to take the other seat off Mike Hancock.
• More than £1.1m for repairs and improvements to the South West coastal path – an area of the country where the Conservatives are battling the Liberal Democrats for seats."

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/01/david-cameron-george-osborne-questions-taxpayer-funded-coast-visit

So the fight is on Ivan I just wonder what the Fib-Dems will have to say I know what I would say "BUYING VOTES".   I just hope he upsets the Fib-Dems they may come out and tell us the truth what went on in the gov't, I do not want to wait until one of them does their autobiography.  

Out of the three you have mentioned in your post Andrew George is the most likely to come out bad mouthing the Tories, or Clegg (if he grows a backbone) could because he knows that the polls have been very poor when it comes to his party, in the hope if he comes out he may help his ratings for the 2015 general election.

Top Tory minister mysteriously avoids £20,000 fine. One law for them?

by Tom Pride

"According to the UK government’s own web page, the fine for employing an illegal migrant worker is £20,000. Tory minister Mark Harper employed a cleaner – Isabella Acevedo – who was dragged from her daughter’s wedding ceremony and deported when it was revealed she had embarrassed Harper by not having all her valid documents.

For some unexplained reason, however, Harper himself – who was recently given a new ministerial job by Cameron – has not been fined £20,000. An employer won’t have to pay the fine if he or she can show a valid reason for employing an illegal migrant worker; however, being unaware of the fact is not considered to be a valid reason.

So what exactly is Harper’s 'valid reason' for not being fined? That he’s a government minister and a good friend of Cameron?

Irony of ironies – it was Harper who as immigration minister introduced the fine for employing illegal migrant workers."

http://tompride.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/top-tory-minister-mysteriously-avoids-20000-fine-one-law-for-them/

Cash-for-peerages row to reignite as Lib Dem and Tory donors head for Lords

by Patrick Wintour

"The perennial row about cash for peerages will be reactivated when as many as 20 Tory and Liberal Democrat supporters, including many party donors, are handed places in the House of Lords.

Nick Clegg pre-empted the row by blaming Conservatives for failing to agree House of Lords reform in the current parliament."

Why isn't Cameron being questioned by the police, as Blair was, over 'cash for peerages'? As one reader of the article put it, this is just more "ermine for the vermin".

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/cash-for-peerages-row-reignite-tory-lib-dem-donors-lords

Redflag said:  "I just hope he upsets the Fib-Dems they may come out and tell us the truth what went on in the gov't, I do not want to wait until one of them does their autobiography."

Red That is unlikely as they themselves where the Government and signed off each and every policy placed on the table by Cleggs good friend Cameron. If they do develop a streak of honesty all it will do is to make them even less electable than they are, I fear they will hang on till the end in order to get their pensions paid.

Maybe we will just have to wait until they lose their seats in the HOC after the general election in 2015 bobby, then maybe in a fit of anger the truth may come out.  As for their pensions they will only get paid if we have enough money because the Tories & Fib-Dems will have cleaned the treasury out through giving lucrative gov't contracts to their friends & donors.

12 Tory Donors, Pals And Cronies David Cameron Just Made Peers

Lost your seat in the European Parliament? No problem, have one in the House of Lords instead.

Hedge fund boss Michael Farmer has donated nearly £6 million to the Tories. He said: "You can call me a City fat cat if you want, but I'm not giving away my hard-earned money for fun." No, he's 'bought' himself a seat in the Lords.

The stench of corruption around Cameron grows ever stronger.   

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/08/david-cameron-12-tory-donors-cronies-peers_n_5661132.html?1407493765

".... he's 'bought' himself a seat in the Lords."

If he can actually find somewhere to park his bottom there. There are now three My Lordships for every two places on those overstuffed red leather benches.

Makes the London Underground look positively commodious.

oftenwrong wrote:".... he's 'bought' himself a seat in the Lords."

If he can actually find somewhere to park his bottom there.  There are now three My Lordships for every two places on those overstuffed red leather benches.

Makes the London Underground look positively commodious.

With the incoming cronies of Scameron that will bring the total up to 850 OW but there is only seats for 240, so that will be 610 that Ed Miliband will have to get rid of, then make those 240 go out and get the people to vote them into the HOL.

MP resigns over housing allowance

Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds has resigned, complaining that his £28,000 a year housing allowance wasn’t enough to afford a second home in Westminster.

Here we go again, the dirty the dirty Tory Bastard just can't get enough Tax payers money.
This evil scroat is/was a leading part of Herr Cameron's Government, the self same people who will argue that the minimum wage is adequate, cuts made to welfare payments are justified and Government sanctions which are killing people are fine for the poor, sick and starving people.
Baroness Warsi resigned over a matter of principle (I wonder though what she would have said if she where a Jew) but this nasty greedy git is resigning purely and simply because he wants more money.
When is the Labour Party going to wake up and attack this Government on their record of greed and sleaze

I whole heartily agree with you bobby,I am quite sure that the majority of normal people would love to be given £28,000 as their salary never mind for housing on top of a great salary but typical GREEDY Tories want to be paid the same as the robbing cheating thieving B(W)ankers.

If we're all in this together - Count me out!

The MP for Boston and Skegness in Lincolnshire won’t now stand at the 2015 general election, leaving the government over discontent about having to stay in a hotel because of the extortionate cost of London living.

Simmonds receives a housing allowance of £27,875 from the taxpayer on top of his ministerial salary of £89,435, giving him a total annual income of almost £120,000 per year. In addition, the Simmonds household rakes in a further £25,000 a year from Mark’s wife Lizibeth, whom he employs as his office manager.

"...complaining that his £28,000 a year housing allowance wasn’t enough to afford a second home in Westminster."

(bbc)

" Oh dear. How sad. Never mind..."

Exclusive: Tory donor made a peer under false pretences, say Sikhs

Downing Street deliberately created a misleading impression about a major Conservative Party donor who was awarded a peerage by David Cameron last week, The Independent has learnt.

Ranbir Singh Suri, 79, a jewellery magnate who is one of Britain’s richest Asians, was elevated to the House of Lords at the request of the Prime Minister. He has donated more than £300,000 to the Tories since 2004.

In its official citation for the new peerages, the Government described the new Lord Suri as a “businessman” and “former General Secretary of the Board of British Sikhs”. But The Independent has established that the Board has not existed for more than 20 years and only involved four or five people.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/exclusive-tory-donor-made-a-peer-under-false-pretences-say-sikhs-9667510.html

City banker made a peer by PM had given £300,000 to Tories two months earlier

A Tory donor ennobled by David Cameron last week had handed over £300,000 to the party just two months before, it has emerged.

Figures released by the Electoral Commission reveal that the city financier Michael Farmer was the Tories’ third biggest donor between April and June. In total Sir Michael has given the Conservatives more than £6m.

Details of donations made the main parties show that in the second quarter of 2014 the Tories moved further ahead of Labour in the fundraising stakes, raking in £7.18m. More than a third of that came from just 10 donors.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/city-banker-made-a-peer-by-pm-had-given-300000-to-tories-two-months-earlier-9667586.html

It would seem that £300,000 is the current minimum price of a Tory peerage......

oftenwrong wrote:Simmonds receives a housing allowance of £27,875 from the taxpayer on top of his ministerial salary of £89,435, giving him a total annual income of almost £120,000 per year. In addition, the Simmonds household rakes in a further £25,000 a year from Mark’s wife Lizibeth, whom he employs as his office manager.

Typical GREEDY Tory OW  or was the truth of the matter most of his constituents have told him not to come looking for their votes in 2015, so he is jumping ship before the voters give him a kick in the Ballot Box. 

Of course, Boston is one of the areas UKIP are very hopeful about - will be fielding a candidate who may well win.
When you travel in Lincolnshire, the UKIP brand is much in evidence - even have their own shop in the middle of Boston - fully staffed and open full time - Simmonds had no chance of winning in 2015

boatlady wrote:Of course, Boston is one of the areas UKIP are very hopeful about - will be fielding a candidate who may well win.
When you travel in Lincolnshire, the UKIP brand is much in evidence - even have their own shop in the middle of Boston - fully staffed and open full time - Simmonds had no chance of winning in 2015

I suppose Lincolnshire is normally a Tory safe seat boatlady, I only hope the people of Lincolnshire know what there getting into by voting for with Ukip there worse than the Tories more right wing, there are some Tory MPs do not like Scameron is right wing enough for them and may jump ship and join the Ukip party.

I just hope the good people of Lincolnshire do not jump from the frying pan into the fire, because it wil be too late as there is no MP recall in law at the moment & do not know if its in Labours Manifesto.

Rural area - they often prefer a right wing rep - probably many feel getting out of EU would be a good thing.

I bet there's a few who would support the return of the death penalty too, and a lot of the UKIP platforms - they won't see the downsides as having anything to do with them.

Many Europeans doing casual agricultural work - seen as 'stealing' jobs from locals.

There will be a strong appetite for denying immigrants access to NHS, welfare benefits, social housing etc - one way to ensure this will be to privatise all these benefits out of existence.

I'm guessing that the prospect of getting rid of Johnny foreigner will cause many to overlook the fact that they will be cutting off their nose to spite their face.

There is a lot of truth in your last line of post boatlady, I thought rural areas farms etc get subsidies from the EU, probably the reason for locals letting Europeans do the agricultural jobs because it SHYTE for wages.

Quoting previous messages

If you are answering the most recent message on a thread, there is no need to quote it. We only need to see messages once.

If you are having a discussion with someone, you wouldn’t repeat everything they’ve just said before answering them, would you?       

https://cuttingedge2.forumotion.co.uk/t391-posting-tips

One of our members repeatedly insisted (without providing any evidence) that the Westminster paedophile scandal affects all parties more or less equally. I remain convinced that this is mainly a Tory issue and that the paedophile ring centred on Thatcher’s government. The names of Keith Joseph, Rhodes Boyson and Michael Havers, all of whom are conveniently dead and can’t spill the beans and drag others down with them, have recently been mentioned. To that list we can now add Nicholas Fairbairn. You can’t help noticing just how many of the politicians and celebrities accused of paedophilia have been knighted. (Not so in the case of Keith Joseph, as he was a baronet.)

I have heard rumours about a couple of old Labour politicians, one of whom is now 86 and suffering from dementia, but the vast majority of the names that crop up are Tories. That could well be why Cameron is dragging his feet over finding a suitable person to lead the investigation into the Westminster paedophile ring, no doubt hoping that the whole matter can be pushed aside until after the general election next year.

QC’s daughter ‘raped by senior Tory MP at age 4’

Susie Henderson, the daughter of QC and temporary sheriff Robert Henderson, waived her right to anonymity to talk about the abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of her father and the late Sir Nicholas Fairbairn, a former MP for Kinross and Western Perthshire, when she was four.

Miss Henderson has called for a police investigation into her father and Fairbairn, halted in 2000 after evidence was mislaid and crucial details leaked to the press, to be re-opened.

She has chosen to come forward and be named after Fairbairn was implicated in the scandal over the Elm Guest House in London which saw youngsters abused by high-profile figures in the 1980s. Fairbairn died in 1995 at the age of 61, while Henderson died in 2012 aged 75.

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/qc-s-daughter-raped-by-senior-tory-mp-at-age-4-1-3509203

The article below suggests how far Thatcher’s government was prepared to go to suppress news of the paedophile ring becoming public, even using Special Branch and a D-Notice. Interestingly, the article says that “quite a lot of Liberals” are mentioned (although there weren’t that many Liberal politicians around in the early 1980s, even if David Steel had told party members to “return to their constituencies and prepare for government”).

How Cyril Smith Outwitted Barbara Castle in the Strange Case of the Paedophiles at the Home Office

In 1984, Don Hale was the 31-year-old editor of ‘The Bury Messenger’ and a former professional footballer for Bury. He’s now 61, with an OBE for his campaign as editor of ‘The Matlock Mercury’ which helped to overturn the unsafe conviction of Stephen Downing who had served 27 years of a life sentence for the murder of Wendy Sewell.

Don Hale remembers:-

“Barbara Castle was angry and said: “I’ve been working on something, I don’t suppose you can help me. I don’t mind you bringing my name into it.” She was objecting to the funding of the Paedophile Information Exchange and concerned about the number of prominent names apparently supporting them. When I asked her for something more substantial, she pulled about 30 A4 pages out of a briefcase.

I agreed to run something and set about contacting the Home Office and certain people mentioned. The names of Sir Keith Joseph MP and Dr Rhodes Boyson MP cropped up. When I explained the detailed nature of the information and that I couldn’t reveal my source, you could almost hear a pin drop.

Quite a lot of Liberals were mentioned in the documents, so I spoke to their former leader, Jeremy Thorpe. That’s what prompted Cyril Smith to turn up in my office. (Barbara had never made any allegations against him.) He was very angry and wanted an assurance I wouldn’t run anything. I wouldn’t give it.

Then came a visit from Special Branch one morning. Three SB men with London accents came inside; some of the uniformed men stayed outside. They all flashed warrant cards. One said: “I have a D-Notice here and a search warrant signed by a judge. This is in response to a call made to ‘Leon Brittan’s department’. They didn’t say they came from the Home Office.

They pushed me into a corner and one said: “Let me assure you this story is not in the public interest. It cannot be printed, as a matter of national security. Are you going to hand over your papers? If you don’t comply, we will arrest you for perverting the course of justice. You will be liable for up to 10 years in prison.”

For more details:-
http://www.tribunemagazine.org/2014/07/how-cyril-smith-outwitted-barbara-castle-in-the-strange-case-of-the-paedophiles-at-the-home-office/

Which prompts the question of whether the Police might now be quite so apparently willing to assist any similar cover-up attempted by a Tory home-office.

oftenwrong wrote:Which prompts the question of whether the Police might now be quite so apparently willing to assist any similar cover-up attempted by a Tory home-office.

Could this be the reason IDS has kept his job in the DWP, does he know where the bodies are buried in Westminister OW.

I think Cameron keeps IDS in his cabinet as a "lightning-rod," Redflag. That is to attract all the - let's call it flack - hurled in their direction.

Tory minister lines up with racing royalty against new homes

From an article by James Cusick:-

Tens of thousands of pounds from wealthy individuals and companies connected to Newmarket's horse racing industry have been paid into the local Conservative Party branch of business minister Matt Hancock, who opposed a controversial housing development the racing community believes will jeopardise the town's international reputation.

The Tory minister lobbied and wrote personal letters to Eric Pickles, the local government secretary, asking him to reject a 400-home development planned for the town. Owners of some of Newmarket's renowned stud farms and training yards have fought the proposed project at Hatchfield Farm, claiming it will damage Europe's largest horse training centre.

After years of legal wrangles, appeals and revisions which scaled the Hatchfield project down from its original 1,200 homes, the Tory-controlled Forest Heath District Council passed the project last month by a 10 to 5 majority. Just over a week later Pickles announced that he was 'calling in' the development to review their decision.

Hancock described the decision taken by his government colleague as "positive news for Newmarket and the racing industry as a whole". However, the decision flies in the face of current government policy, with the new housing and planning minister, Brandon Lewis, saying the government had "got Britain building again" and that his department would "pull out all the stops to help Britain's housing industry".

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-minister-lines-up-with-racing-royalty-against-new-homes-9673862.html

Brandon Lewis - 'spits'
  

oftenwrong wrote:I think Cameron keeps IDS in his cabinet as a "lightning-rod," Redflag.  That is to attract all the - let's call it flack - hurled in their direction.

Does Scameron really think people are that thick OW, even I know the orders come from the top, I also know where they get there policies from Thatchers papers from her time in gov't 1979-91

Extracts from two articles by Jack Blanchard which show that, as far as the Tories are concerned, where there’s smoke there’s brass……   

Cigarette firm gives Tory MPs £50k worth of freebies as industry fights plain box laws

Japan Tobacco International (which makes Benson & Hedges cigarettes) has given Tory MPs thousands of pounds worth of freebies as the industry battles against plans for plain cigarette packet laws. They’ve been treated to tickets and hospitality at top events like the Wimbledon men’s final, the Chelsea Flower Show and the opera at Glyndebourne country house this summer.

The firm spent £12,000 on eight backbench Tories and one Labour MP this year alone. But in total, 34 MPs have accepted gifts worth £50,000 from JTI since 2010. The vast majority, 29, were Tories – including the new foreign secretary Philip Hammond. Labour MP Grahame Morris fumed: “The links between the evil empire that is big tobacco and the Tory Party are truly insidious.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/cigarette-firm-gives-tory-mps-4067079

Tory MP who led plain cigarette packaging rebellion accepted £2,000 donation from tobacco supplier

Priti Patel, who led the rebellion against plain cigarette packaging, accepted a £2,000 donation from a tobacco supplier. Ms Patel, a close adviser to Cameron, has been an outspoken critic of banning marketing on cig packets. She blasted the proposal as “completely mad”, claiming it would kill off newsagents and lead to an increase in counterfeit cigarettes. And she threatened legal action when it was claimed her stance was motivated by her previous work as a PR consultant for a tobacco firm.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of anti-smoking charity ASH, said: “She tries to argue that the strong position she’s taking is principled and has nothing to do with her former role. However, she undermines her own case by accepting donations from those who profit from the sale of tobacco.”

Labour has long questioned the close links between the Conservative Party and the tobacco industry. Cameron’s election guru Lynton Crosby runs PR and lobbying firm Crosby Textor, which has worked for cigarette giants. And Ken Clarke used to be a director of British American Tobacco.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tory-mp-who-led-plain-3578709

The entire system of "lobbying" MPs by PR consultants working for business interests, smells as high as a week-old fish. It's yet another political scandal festering until it one day becomes national headlines.

Everything the Tories do Stinks to the High Heavens OW, but the most of the shenanigans will not come out until after the 2015 general elections and all the Tories and Fib-Dems will have scarpered.

Big Society charity winds up after claims it misused up to £2.5m in funding

From an article by Oliver Wright:-

“A controversial charity is to be wound up amid allegations that it misused funding and made inappropriate payments to its directors. The Society Foundation Network, which ran the Big Society Network, is being probed by the Charity Commission following several failed projects. The Network was also investigated by the National Audit Office over allegations that government money was incorrectly allocated.

The Big Society Network was launched by Cameron in 2010 and was given at least £2.5m of lottery and government grants, despite having no track record of charitable activity. An examination of its projects revealed a marked discrepancy between the charity’s aims and what it achieved.

A project called ‘Your Square Mile’ intended to encourage and enable local people to improve their community was awarded £830,000 by the Big Lottery Fund. In February 2012 the project had attracted just 64 signed-up groups compared with the million predicted. In April 2012, a project called ‘Get In’ was awarded a grant of £299,800 from the Cabinet Office despite officials concluding it was unlikely to meet its stated objectives. They were told to change their selection criteria and approve the grant. The project was never even launched. Another project aimed to build on the Olympic Games by encouraging people to excel in athletic, educational or creative challenges was awarded £997,960 in April 2013 by the Big Lottery Fund. It claimed it would sign up 120,000 people but was wound up within months.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/big-society-charity-winds-up-after-claims-it-misused-up-to-25m-in-funding-9681836.html

The shortcomings of Brooks Newmark MP

From an article by John Sargeant (not the TV and radio journalist!):-

Brooks Newmark MP has resigned as civil society minister after a series of cock ups, culminating in a literal one sent over the internet. The one which finally did for the married father of five children was apparently exposing himself in a series of explicit photos to an undercover male reporter, acting as a female activist. The story was about to break over the Conservative Party conference. The minister had promised his sex text lover: “Afternoons fairly full with speaking engagements but around late evenings. Promise we’ll meet up though. X.”

This matters because he was in charge of increasing the role of women in politics. Looking to have an affair with a female political activist would be a clear abuse of privilege and position. This is not a private matter, there was no option but to resign. It’s not about the sex – it is about the abuse of public office. Yes, a media entrapment sting, though considering the set up, one a minister should remember his brief and most certainly not let his briefs down.

http://homoeconomicusnet.wordpress.com/2014/09/27/the-short-comings-of-brooks-newmark-mp/

It seems to me, a senior politician should arguably have a better developed political sense, and should be aware of the possibility of just such a 'sting' - even if his morals lead him to want to do something reprehensible he might get caught at, you'd think his common sense would dictate a bit more caution - just another example of the poor quality of the modern political animal, especially in the Conservative party - devoid of principle, morals and common sense of self preservation

I just hope his wife leaves him and takes him for every penny she can legally get in alimony, the Thatcher gov't was no different sex scandals and stabbing one another in the back kept us all in sleaze in the papers.

I hope when this corrupt Tory government is kicked out that the crooks running it end up in the dock at the Old Bailey. Maybe Cameron could share a cell with his mate Andy Coulson?  

Fresh inquiry will examine public funding of defunct charity with links to PM

From an article by Oliver Wright:-

The National Audit Office said it would examine whether “systemic problems” had affected the way grants were given to the Big Society Network by the cabinet office and the Big Lottery Fund. The Network, which was launched by Cameron in 2010, was given at least £2.5 million of National Lottery funding and public-sector grants, despite having no record of charitable activity. Its charitable arm, the Society Network Foundation, has now been wound up, having used much of the money on projects that came nowhere near achieving their promised objectives.

The inquiry is likely to look at links between the charity and senior figures in Downing Street and the Conservative Party, and to find out whether pressure was brought to bear to ensure the Network received public funding. One of the trustees of the charity was close to Cameron’s former advisor Steve Hilton and another was a significant Conservative donor.

Lisa Nandy, shadow minister for civil society, said: “We are still in the dark about how millions of pounds of public money were squandered by an organisation with no track record but strong links to the Conservative Party”.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/fresh-inquiry-will-examine-public-funding-of-defunct-charity-with-links-to-pm-9802932.html