What jumped out at me was the sub line "Fears that resumption of alcohol sales, restricted due to Covid, will incentivise return to Commons", so democracy and running the country aren't an incentive but a cheap bar is? Wonder if Mogg is behind it, he wants as many MPs jeering as possible so no-one can hear Starmer & Blackford humiliating Johnson at PMQs.

Talking of Matt Hancock and his mates:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/...pital-to-leave

This is the hospital whose senior management threatened clinical staff (having to provide finger prints and hand writing samples with a presumption of guilt for refusal, that class of totally legal and ethical thing) after someone blew the whistle on some dodgy happenings, and the boss just happens to be A Mate of Matt's.

And now the 2 directors, who will have been heftily involved considering their roles, jack it in just before the report into the shenanigans is due to be published.

I have encountered folk over the years who wonder why I have such a negative view of NHS management: here is one of my answers, as this is merely a slightly more extreme example of what I know happens all over the country.

I think I've met about thirty UK MPs over the years and for about half of them, yes it would be. They were a bunch of lazy, self-entitled idiots.

I met one today, but I think she is in the non-drinking half (though the rest may apply, based on what a colleague of mine said about working with her).
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...aecac42c_z.jpg
P1580600 by zooterkin, on Flickr

Do you think the anti-corruption tsar, John Penrose will consult his wife Dido harding on whether she thinks that Matt Hancock should be a shareholder of an NHS supplier?

We've just watched the first televised episode of this season of HIGNFY. Ian Hislop despairingly asked at one point, of our country in general and the proposed sleaze enquiries especially, "What have we become?"

Despair seems in order, especially given your recent post about the hefty lead the Tories have in the opinion polls.

We’ve just received our London Assembly Election leaflets. The UKIP page says, “VOTE GAMMONS FOR LONDON MAYOR”.

You realise Hislop was quoting verbatim a speech given by Superintendent Hastings (played by Adrian Dunbar, who was hosting) in the most recent episode of Line of Duty?

The character is talking about corruption in the police force but it's clear from the way Dunbar delivered the lines that it was meant to be taken as a much wider ranging comment. I certainly took it as such at the time.

What a silly hat.

The wife of a British wrestling champion who has won gold medals for the country has hit out at the UK’s “cruel” immigration rules after his wife was refused a visa.

Muhammad Mokaev, 20, a professional fighter who has won gold medals for Britain, said he was “surprised” when the Home Office declined to issue a visitor’s visa to his wife, Khava Eldarbekova, in February this year.

Home Office refused the visa in February, saying they hadn’t provided enough evidence that she had sufficient ties to Russia, her home country, or Bahrain, where she currently lives, and that the department was “not satisfied” that she would leave the UK.

The couple applied for a second time with additional evidence, and it was refused again.
This time, the Home Office said Ms Eldarbekova had £4,884 in her bank account for which she did not “explain the source” and which they said therefore could have “been inflated for the purposes of obtaining an entry clearance”.

“There was exactly the same amount of money in her bank account the first time but they didn’t include it in that refusal, only the second time it was an issue. Why didn’t they include it the first time?”

Human rights lawyer Shoaib Khansaid the decision to refuse Ms Eldarbekova’s visa was “absolutely disgusting, cruel and nasty”.

He added: “The immigration rules are awful and Priti Patel’s Home Office enforces them in an even worse way. Solidarity with Muhammad and the thousands of perfectly decent, law-abiding families needlessly separated by the Tories.”

The Home Office has been approached for comment.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-b1832831.html

Boris is opposed to exclusivism and unregulated capitalism by billionaires in football if it seems unpopular, but his government is committed to exclusivism and unregulated capitalism by billionaires elsewhere in the economy.

None of his “mates” own football teams.

It is at least the second time that was taken into public ownership and then returned to the private sector.

The UK privatisation model doesn't work for railways at least

I can just about see why he's butting in to football's business, but it's harder to see how central government can influence the business.

And for the utilities, water, telecoms, gas and electricity it's a pretty mixed bag IMO.

On one hand telecoms has been comparatively successful with costs being lower and service much better but whether that's a function of privatisation or whether it just reflects technological changes is a good point for debate. Openreach has a monopoly on providing the infrastructure and is doing a horrible job.

The other utilities are far more expensive in real terms than they were when under public ownership and there was far more spare capacity than there is now. Water quality standards are higher but it's in the water companies' financial interest to do this. Customers have paid for the improvements many times over because better quality water results in higher charges being able to be levied.

They can't, but there's local elections coming up

This.

Again it is not about anything bar getting the headlines and therefore the right “perception” out there.

And whilst in terms of policy that is good for the country it is a terrible way to run a government there is no doubt that it works to build support for the Tories.

Listening to a waffle from a Tory on the Today programme, can't say one thing the government can do.

More sleaze and incompetence:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56667960

Boris Johnson is going to set about dismantling the trade barriers he campaigned for and imposed in the Irish Sea

Radical new climate change commitments will set the UK on course to cut carbon emissions by 78% by 2035, Boris Johnson will announce this week.

Hitting the targets would require more electric cars, low-carbon heating, renewable electricity and, for many, cutting down on meat and dairy.

For the first time, climate law will be extended to cover international aviation and shipping.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56807520

The PM is meeting officials from football governing bodies the FA and the Premier League, as well as fans' representatives, later to discuss the proposed European Super League.

Boris Johnson described the new league, which includes six leading English clubs, as "ludicrous".

the prime minister said he was "horrified" at the implications for clubs across the country.

"It is your game - and you can rest assured that I'm going to do everything I can to give this ludicrous plan a straight red."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56810962

FOOTBALL!!! FOOTBALL!!!

I realise that this is just an attempt to get more positive headlines but given the government's usual level of competence, any attempt to intervene will likely result in another 6 Premier League clubs splitting away and forming a European Super 'B' League :rolleyes:

Funny way of spelling “Brexit”.

Man who proposed a floating airport and tunnels under the Irish sea dares use the word "ludicrous"

The first lockdown ended in June. How can we still have needed PPE so urgently as to award a vast £100m+ PPE contract without any competition in July?

FOOTY! RED CARDS!! LOVE THE GAME !!!

Welsh Conservatives continue to support "Voodoo Economics".

They're going to increase expenditure - on such things as the M4 relief road - and reduce income tax. The £177 million shortfall in tax take will be made up by "more people paying into the pot".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-56801454

I think from Wales' perspective, our biggest immediate issue is the loss of billions of pounds of EU investment and less access to EU markets for Welsh produce, products and services. :mad:

"Damn, the football story is falling apart we need something to distract people from the lobbing and nepotism row"

"Why don't we scrap the £2m briefing room we haven't used yet"

"Genius"

Yup

Downing Street has scrapped plans to launch White House-style press conferences.

The prime minister's media chief Allegra Stratton - who had been due to front the briefings - has confirmed the move to the BBC.

Ms Stratton is to become spokeswoman for the COP26 climate summit instead.

The government was criticised for spending £2.6m on new facilities to host the briefings, which will now be used by the PM and officials.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56818750

£2.6m seems like quite a bit for a room with a few dozen chairs and a podium (which is what our Presidents manage to make do with).

What, exactly, makes this one so pricey?

lots of hitec av gear, it was fitted out as a full media centre etc apparently

Espionage is expensive, especially when you're paying for the other side's.

More "sleaze".

Boris Johnson assures Brexit supporter James Dyson that tax issues will be "fixed" if Dyson agrees to produce ventilators.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56819137

Of course the ventilators were never forthcoming - I wonder if the tax breaks were. ;)

The owner of the Daily Mail newspaper and MailOnline website is suing Google over allegations the search engine manipulates search results.

Associated Newspapers accuses Google of having too much control over online advertising and of downgrading links to its stories, favouring other outlets.

Associated Newspapers' concerns stem from its assessment that its coverage of the Royal Family in 2021 has been downplayed in search results.

For example, it claims that British users searching for broadcaster Piers Morgan's comments on the Duchess of Sussex following an interview with Oprah Winfrey were more likely to see articles about Morgan produced by smaller, regional outlets.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56828173

Sold in at a mark-up ranging from 450% to ~3,000%.....

Scurrilous accusation - they went with the cheapest cost their mates gave them!

Remember, next time you are in trouble at work, instead of resigning just say you “I acted with honesty and integrity” .

18 months after receiving the Russia Report, the government still hasn’t implemented any of its recommendations

In that time, the Tories have taken more than £1m in donations from Russia-linked sources