Current Affairs

[Stephen]

The amount of cr*p going on in the world and all everyone can complain about is a bit of decorating money the PM and his partner spent. As has already been said, providing the tax payer hasn’t paid for it I don’t really care.

[Frank Manning]

Unfortunately that is so true John.

The governing class generally don’t care and the average voter also doesn’t care that they don’t care.

With an ineffective opposition there is little that can be done.

Come the next election, probably Johnson will have moved on and many who are currently complaining will once again vote Tory.
I’m personally amazed how many Tory voters can’t stand Johnson but will continue to support the party.

I think you are right. The thing is Barney, the 1970s are still in the memory of many people, and Corbin is a relic of that. A left leaning pseudo Marxist cabal who keep rising to the top of the Labour party, which frightens those of the electorate who prefer the status quo. Corbin and Brexit got Johnson his big majority. He could lose his popularity if his flippant slack style becomes tedious, and the Tories move him aside. Kier Starmer is a sharp cookie, but he has got a mammoth task to shake off the legacy of Corbin and his Marxist leftie union chums.

[Manoverboard]

.... This is not a matter of party politics.

I believe that it is and that the allegations of wrong doing are fake news ... just saying

I suppose that it is a matter of party politics - Namely Conservative party politics. It looks like these leaks may be coming from someone in the Tory party or someone close to the Tory party. If so, Johnson and the leakers can't both be telling the truth. so one of them must be lying.

Internal or external, it's all the same to me.

' Somebody said ' is clap trap and could, for example, be the evening cleaning lady. Let them man up and declare their hand so that a grown up discussion can take place.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I think Starmer has been a huge disappointment. Barney is right that democracy requires a credible and electable opposition to hold the government to account. Corbyn wasn't it. When Starmer was chosen he said he wouldn't just oppose for opposition's sake and I thought he might be. But that is exactly what he has done. He hasn't offered a single glimmer of an alternative future. And he has no charisma.

[Manoverboard]

Would you be bothered if Starmer took an undeclared bung?

Johnsons lackies would be apoplectic and screaming at the top of their voices

Clearly you both accept that Starmer is likely to take a bung ... just saying

[Gill W]

Boris will just continue to be Boris, and wait for the media to get bored or another headline taker comes along.
Did he accept a bung, quite possibly, are the majority of the electorate really bothered, I think not.

Would you be bothered if Starmer took an undeclared bung?

Probably not, but since he has as much chance of becoming PM as I do, then I doubt he will warrant anyone seeking to offer him one.

As you never miss an opportunity to have a little dig at Starmer, I have to say that I find it difficult to believe that you’d manage to contain your self if he did anything wrong/ illegal /unethical!

[Gill W]

The problem is that he appears to have had a donation / loan from a donor, and didn’t declare it, as required under electoral law.

Evidence?

The donor didn’t do this out of the kindness of his heart - he wanted an advantage of some sort, and, at the worst, a secret donation could be described as corruption - a secret payment to a politician to gain favour.

Again you know this without evidence?

Johnson says he’s now repaid the ‘loan’

Has he ? Can't find that on the BBC which says A No 10 spokesman has refused to say whether Mr Johnson initially received a loan to cover the costs.

Please don't confuse rumour with evidence

I’m not. I’ve said that evidence should be released to stop the speculation.

[oldbluefox]

Personally I'm not one bit interested. So far it strikes me as playground tittle-tattle but no concrete evidence to back it up. There are far more important issues to worry about.

Interesting that nobody believed a word Cummings said when he drove up to Barnard Castle but suddenly his word is gospel.

[Manoverboard]

Why is that if Boris gets a loan from somewhere other than a two bit leaky squeaky Building Society then it's a case of corruption ?

[Onelife]

Once you acknowledge the fact that all Governments are corrupt the easier it is to accept it...keep smiling!

[Gill W]

Why is that if Boris gets a loan from somewhere other than a two bit leaky squeaky Building Society then it's a case of corruption ?

It may be corruption if he doesn't disclose the loan as required by the Ministerial Code, or tries to hide the original source of the funds, or accepted the funds so that the donor could gain advantage.

[Gill W]

Personally I'm not one bit interested. So far it strikes me as playground tittle-tattle but no concrete evidence to back it up. There are far more important issues to worry about.

Interesting that nobody believed a word Cummings said when he drove up to Barnard Castle but suddenly his word is gospel.

Well I wasn't going to mention Barnard Castle again, as I had promised not to, but as you've brought it up I think it is now acceptable for me to talk about it.

In my view, the Barnard Castle Eye Test Story, was, and still is, a tissue of lies and half truths carefully constructed to fit the information that had been revealed.

What I don't get, is why the MPs bent over backwards to support this story and now they are trying to discredit Cummings. (e.g Therese Coffey interview yesterday) If he's a wrong 'un, they showed very poor judgement in believing him last year and being so vocal in their belief!

It's not even clear if Cummings leaked the refurb expenses story - but the story is out there now. Johnson has the power to end all the speculation by providing the audit trail for the money. If not - it continues to look like he's got something to hide

[Manoverboard]

Why is that if Boris gets a loan from somewhere other than a two bit leaky squeaky Building Society then it's a case of corruption ?

It may be corruption if he doesn't disclose the loan as required by the Ministerial Code, or tries to hide the original source of the funds, or accepted the funds so that the donor could gain advantage.

If it's a personal loan from a Bank like wot the Queen uses then why is there a need to declare it ?

ps ... a formal investigation is to be launched

[Gill W]

Would you be bothered if Starmer took an undeclared bung?

Johnsons lackies would be apoplectic and screaming at the top of their voices

I know, They be on about it from now until judgement day!!

What I don't get is the laissez-faire attitude to financial transparency and basic honesty.

I can't make up my mind if it's seen as ok for Johnson to be above the rules because he's 'Boris', or whether the free pass applies to this government or the whole Conservative Party. Or if corruption is nothing to be worried about in any setting, eg the judiciary, the police or local government.

As I was trusted to handle other peoples money, I have high personal standards when it comes to finance, so the whole 'corruption doesn't matter' attitude that has been displayed baffles me.

[screwy]

The Beeb should come out say, ‘ we got the texts from X ‘ and let X defend it. As a tax payer funded organisation they shouldn’t be able to hide behind not giving away their sources, they must be accountable to the Govt and public.

[Gill W]

Why is that if Boris gets a loan from somewhere other than a two bit leaky squeaky Building Society then it's a case of corruption ?

It may be corruption if he doesn't disclose the loan as required by the Ministerial Code, or tries to hide the original source of the funds, or accepted the funds so that the donor could gain advantage.

If it's a personal loan from a Bank like wot the Queen uses then why is there a need to declare it ?

ps ... a formal investigation is to be launched

Sorry, perhaps I didn't make myself clear.

You were talking about getting a loan from somewhere other than a bank, so I was responding to that point.

Edited to add - an independent investigation will be a good thing

[barney]

So, it’s announced that the Electoral Commission will investigate Flatgate.
Let’s leave them to it and allow our elected members to get on with important things.

[Mervyn and Trish]

A splendid example of due diligence.


"EU vaccine row implodes: Leaked documents expose fatal flaws in AstraZeneca deal.

According to the analysis of the contract, the agreement did not include provisions to illustrate the consequences if the drugmaker failed to deliver on time. Due to the poor provisions in the contract with the EU, Deloitte urged Belgium to sign a quality agreement with AstraZeneca in order to detail the consequences if the delivery of vaccines were not met.

The advice from Deloitte stated: "We assume that there are good reasons to expect that the foreseen delivery schedule will be respected.

"However, the advance purchasing agreement does not provide for sanctions when the delivery dates and quantities are not respected."

While the UK's own contract included strict clauses within the deal, Deloitte found Brussels had not given itself or member states the ability to hit back at AstraZeneca."

[Onelife]

The Beeb should come out say, ‘ we got the texts from X ‘ and let X defend it. As a tax payer funded organisation they shouldn’t be able to hide behind not giving away their sources, they must be accountable to the Govt and public.

[Mervyn and Trish]

So, it’s announced that the Electoral Commission will investigate Flatgate.
Let’s leave them to it and allow our elected members to get on with important things.

Quite so. It's hard to see how any loan constitutes corruption. What benefit would Boris gain from it other than looking at some overpriced wallpaper for a couple of years? He's hardly going to hand out peerages for that.

Anyway he's home free now. Sir Ed "I demand a resignation" Davey is on the case. Does he have another line or another policy? I'm still awaiting his apology for slandering Cressida d**k.

[Mervyn and Trish]

The Beeb should come out say, ‘ we got the texts from X ‘ and let X defend it. As a tax payer funded organisation they shouldn’t be able to hide behind not giving away their sources, they must be accountable to the Govt and public.

Sorry to disagree with you both. Defending their sources is a fundamental part of a free press. The BBC are no different from any other news organisation in that respect.

[Manoverboard]

Anyway he's home free now. Sir Ed "I demand a resignation" Davey is on the case. Does he have another line or another policy? I'm still awaiting his apology for slandering Cressida d**k.

Their ' Key Policy ' of an extra penny on Income Tax has obviously passed you by

[Manoverboard]

The Euro Parliament has overwhelming ratified the EU / UK Trade Deal

For the record it was 660 to 5 in favour with 32 abstentions.

[barney]

The Euro Parliament has overwhelming ratified the EU / UK Trade Deal

For the record it was 660 to 5 in favour with 32 abstentions.

Hopefully now, five years in June after the democratic result, both sides of the argument can put this to bed.
It’s now well and truly consigned to history.
Another five years and most will have forgotten we were ever members.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Anyway he's home free now. Sir Ed "I demand a resignation" Davey is on the case. Does he have another line or another policy? I'm still awaiting his apology for slandering Cressida d**k.

Their ' Key Policy ' of an extra penny on Income Tax has obviously passed you by

I thought it was to remain in the EU?

However I'm sure you're right. That would be why I didn't vote for them.