Imagine a cross between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the interview episode of The Apprentice. That's what you get from the hearings of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. The inquiry's website carries a livestream during the day and also has a complete archive of recordings of all the hearings to date. It's well worth exploring. I won't pick out any names, but I doubt you'll come away impressed with the quality of Post Office personnel at any grade. To whet your appetite, I've chosen part of this afternoon's evidence from Angela van den Bogerd, former People Services Director at ...
Who would have thought that Scottish voters could face two national elections this year – and the first one for the Scottish Parliament before the too-long awaited Westminster poll? If First Minister Humza Yousaf is forced to resign in the next few days, if the SNP can't agree on a successor, if the Parliament can't agree on a new First Minister within 28 days, then Scottish voters could be going to the polls on 4th July. The SNP has been sharing power with the Scottish Greens for the past two and a half years with Green Co-Conveners Patrick Harvie and ...
Embed from Getty ImagesMark Menzies has resigned from the Conservative Party but is to remain as a member of the House of Commons until the general election. This is what generally happens when an MP gets into hot water, but it has long seemed to me that it gets things the wrong way round. It's being a member of the Commons that requires a degree of probity, not belonging to a political party. I suppose if your behaviour while a party member is bad enough you will be slung out in disgust or from fear you will become a liability, ...
Polling from Survation/Best for Britain may indicate changes to come in the editorial lines of Conservative supporting newspapers.
Oxford University Liberal Democrats graduate and worst prime minister ever, Liz Truss, raised eyebrows last week by describing the government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill as "unconservative". This is rather odd, because the Conservative instinct has always been to ban the things they don't like. They didn't like the idea that children might find out that gay people exist, so they banned teachers from talking about them. They didn't like that people in Scotland might be able to self-identify as trans, so they banned the Scottish government from allowing it. And, most pertinent to what I am writing about now, they ...
The Guardian reports that the Tories have pushed through a duty on the water regulator to prioritise growth, which experts have said will incentivise water companies to value their bottom lines over reducing sewage pollution. They add that campaigners fear this move will weaken Ofwat's ability to crack down on water companies as it may force the regulator to consider a company's financial situation and the impact on its growth if the firm is heavily fined for polluting: The Liberal Democrats forced a vote in parliament on Wednesday on the government's new "growth duty" for Ofwat, which requires the regulator ...
Michael's ward surgeries take place today and every Thursday during school term time. They are as follows : Thursdays at 5.45pm prompt - West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC and Victoria Park Primary Schools) Thursdays at 6.30pm prompt - Harris Academy reception area All welcome - no appointment necessary!
