Only half listening but Sky News just shared the contents of a leaked email from a Tory MP (can’t remember who) that I presume is one of the 20 or so being investigated, where he slates CCHQ for not offering them support even though it was HQ’s fault. Pretty harsh language used too.
Implies a centrally coordinated strategy rather than a series of individual cock-ups.
Karl McCartney I believe.
I suspect there will be a top-level independent enquiry into this matter that leaves no stone unturned and dishes out serious justice - possibly based around some finger-wagging.
The PM must be quaking in her Dalmation-skin boots.
I think your cynicism could well be misplaced in this instance. Frankly, if political interference were going to happen, I suspect it would have happened long ago. I am personally surprised that we’ve got this far. The social media set was discussing this before the local elections last year, with zero expectation that it’d become a headline, let alone potential prosecutions.
heard that corbyn is shitting it at prospect of By-Election. If Tory can get kicked out for fkn lawbreaking, and still trounce labour in By-Election, then ppl will be v.sarcasm at Him.
If one of these seats goes, there’s a good chance that many others may follow. I reckon May will be more concerned. There have already been calls from the likes of William Hague for her to contrive some way (most likely the repeal of the Fixed Term Parliament Act) of going to the country early to secure her mandate.
She’s managed to get most of her votes through Parliament so far because MPs are honouring the referendum result. She’s unlikely to get as much support on contentious domestic issues.
And just like that, the NI raise is scrapped.
This lady _is _for turning.
It seems that every recent budget has contained something that has been immediately abandoned due to general uproar. What do the cunts do all day? Sit around getting pissed and recording the dumbest ideas they can dribble onto paper?
The Treasury hate anomalies but they’re hopeless politically . The NI rise was good economics but awful politics. Spreadsheet Phil went native when he was in the foreign office & it looks like he’s doing the same in number 11
OK, I don’t get this, most of the opposition to the NI rise appears to have come from the Tory MPs who claim it is a breach of a manifesto “promise”!
I didn’t realise that manifesto “promises” were carved in stone and had to be adhered to, haven’t previous governments broken manifesto “promises” time and time again?
P.S. Note liberal use of Trump air-quotes…
Whilst everyone is foaming at the mouth about one aspect of the budget and with the subsequent furore about the U - turn - (govt listening to the people etc), no attention has been paid to all the toxic shite that is being slipped through in the rest of the budget.
What toxic shiete? Living within ou means
Exactly - you / we haven’t spotted it yet!!
Every budget has been the same. Announce 2 proposals or more on an area, one which will not raise much money but is controversial, and another the other way round, and then renege on the controversial one.
It means that, for instance, we still have to pay a lot more tax due to the dividends change. NI was fucking peanuts.
I know it doesn’t seem very clever, but it’s very sneaky.
I agree with a bit of your post, me ol’ mucker, but would stop short of thinking this a bit of genius political prestidigitation.
The budget now has a black hole in it, the chancellor has a black mark on him in terms of public perception, and will now surely invite more furious responses in future announcements, now that the country knows he’s for turning.
The cold harsh reality is that they chose the wrong policy, spent a week arguing for the policy, failing to recognise some very important distinctions between the employed and the self-employed when trying to equate them in justification of that policy.
Sneaky? Nah. They raised the heckles of a lot of core voters, and left people wondering what sort of miscalculations Spreadshit Phil will #ERROR up next.
He has not Excel’ed this week. Arf.
They can afford quite a few more of those style fuck ups (premeditated or otherwise) before Labour get their shit together - I wouldn’t be unduly worried if I were a Tory wanker.
Ahem, this is Tories in Trouble, not New Old Labour in trouble, thank you very much.
They could be in more trouble. On Channel4 news now.
At least 12 Conservative MPs are facing the possibility of criminal charges tonight – after they were referred to the CPS by police over their election expenses following a year long investigation by this programme. And there are more allegations that this scandal leads to the heart of Downing Street.
…
Channel 4 News has obtained new secret emails – which reveal how two more of Theresa May’s closest advisors were involved in the most controversial campaign of all – the party’s battle against Ukip leader Nigel Farage in South Thanet.
Stephen Parkinson, Theresa May’s Political Secretary and Chris Brannigan, Director of Government Relations at the Cabinet Office are named in a cache of secret emails about the Conservative campaign in South Thanet during the 2015 General Election.
Both men spent time as part of a “crack team” of senior Conservative campaigners sent down to the Kent constituency where the party was fighting a desperate battle to ensure Nigel Farage was denied a parliamentary seat.
Emails previously obtained by Channel 4 News suggest that the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Nick Timothy assisted on Mr. Mackinlay’s campaign
This is quite damming.
Mackinlay held Farage off by 2,812 votes and declared spending of £15,016, slightly below the limit of £16,000. Under election laws, any costs incurred to promote a candidate must be declared on local candidate spending returns. Receipts for national Conservative party spending show that £18,000 was spent on accommodation for party workers in the Royal Harbour hotel in Ramsgate, in South Thanet, and a Premier Inn in Margate, which is just outside it. A further £715 was spent on the Alpha hostel, used to accommodate a busload of activists who took part in a Stop Farage campaign.
12 forces so far. Still another 7 forces that requested extra time. Any news on them?
Normally, I’d say this sort of thing would get quashed pretty quickly, but I reckon most of the public service now has an axe to grind with the Conservatives. The coppers have been lumbered with these no-mark elected commissioners, had their funds cut. There are possibly those in the justice system also miffed at changes to legal aid, even if only as a principle.
This is ridiculous. Apparently, if Tory Central Office take the rap, the get fined £20k. If the individual MPs take the rap they face criminal charges and could go to jail. Tory central office isn’t budging…
no wonder the Tory MPs implicated are livid.