British Politics

Mate, you are seriously not piling in on somebody who has done a typo, are you?

 

Same this year QM. He must want to say you are all fired, FO....... and have a right go at who selects these candidates

 

Grooming gang that systematically raped a 14-year-old girl and 'robbed her of her childhood' in West Yorkshire is jailed

Guess the race, before you click the link

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ematically-raped-14-year-old-girl-jailed.html

 

You would have thought that they would be screened on application but obviously not. The best way to stop this would be to ridicule the valuation immediately and get rid of them in double quick time. Some of these wildly optimistic projections show a complete lack of financial and market awareness

 

Morally inferior?

 

why should the UK take notice of an EU proposal?

 

The ultra-rich Tory donors with access to Boris Johnson’s top team

In return for a £250,000 donation to the Conservatives, multimillionaires are being ushered into the heart of government as part of a secret ‘advisory board’

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Gabriel Pogrund
,
Henry Zeffman

Saturday February 19 2022, 6.00pm, The Sunday Times

Shortly before Christmas, a photograph taken in the Downing Street garden emerged that was felt by many to epitomise a prevailing attitude at the heart of government. Taken on May 15, 2020, it showed Boris Johnson, his fiancée Carrie Symonds and groups of his top staff enjoying wine and cheese at the height of lockdown.

It can now be revealed that another previously unreported event was taking place on the same day inside No 10, one which perhaps offers a starker illustration of the way power works.

At 3pm, Johnson’s longest-standing adviser and confidant Lord Udny-Lister sat down to open the latest virtual meeting of the “advisory board”: a secret group of ultra-wealthy Conservative Party donors.


After their large donations, members of the advisory board had been granted privileged access to the prime minister, ministers and advisers at the top of government.

On that day, with Britain deep in the pandemic, Lister, Johnson’s chief strategic adviser, spent an hour on Microsoft Teams, answering questions and addressing the concerns of donors

According to a source, board members — whose investments spanned property, construction and big tobacco — were alarmed by the effect of Covid-19 on their businesses.

A number of those present requested swift action, including the relaxation of measures designed to stop transmission.

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Clockwise from top left: Lubov Chernukhin, Lord Bamford, Peter Dubens, Edward Eisler, Robert Walters, Ravi Kailas, Mohamed Amersi and Javid Marandi
Lister — whose salary was publicly funded, albeit secretly topped up by a Tory donor — was all ears, according to a witness. “It was implied that what we said would go straight up to the PM,” they said. “It was a two-way street. They gave us information on what was going on. We gave our advice.”

He was joined by Ben Elliot, 46, Prince Charles’s nephew and a prolific fundraiser who serves as Tory party chairman.



Last night, Lister, 72, became the first senior Tory to acknowledge the existence of the board, saying he attended it “when asked” and as the “PM[’s] adviser.”

Until now, almost nothing had been publicly known about the body, the existence of which has never been formally admitted by the party.

The fact that the board is a Conservative, rather than government, body means its activities fall outside the remit of transparency laws. Members are allegedly told not to record or take notes of meetings, or discuss the group publicly. The party had refused to say who its members were, what its purpose was, or how often it gathered.

Now, a leak of several thousand documents answers those questions.

They reveal that before, during and after the pandemic, more than a dozen people were routinely invited to advisory board meetings. Of these, at least four are billionaires and six have appeared on The Sunday Times Rich List. In total, the combined wealth of the board members, their companies and their families exceeds £30 billion. They have donated £22 million to the Conservatives, including £9.9 million under Johnson.

Many have enjoyed rolling access to the prime minister, ministers, and advisers within No 10.

More than just access
It could be questioned why the existence of such a group is a problem. Ministers point to polling showing that the public do not wish to fund political parties through their taxes, meaning that private, public-spirited individuals must do so instead. It is argued, these people are owed basic acknowledgment of their philanthropy.

However, the new evidence suggests these individuals have been offered more than just access.

They have been granted the contact details of ministers and advisers and some have used them to lobby the government directly on Covid-19 strategy and procurement.

In some cases they have also received help and advice applying for public appointments. Some have received lucrative public contracts approved by ministers and honours signed off by Johnson, 57, while they were members of the board.

Those appointed to the advisory board and invited to its meetings during the pandemic were:

Lawrence Jones, 53, an internet entrepreneur currently facing trial for rape and sexual assault. Jones, whose net worth is £700 million, was repeatedly invited to meetings even after it was known he had been interviewed by police in connection with the allegations, which he denies.

Lubov Chernukhin, 50, a former banker who is the wife of President Putin’s former deputy finance minister Vladimir Chernukhin, and is said to have lobbied against higher tax for the ultra-rich. Their wealth, much of it held offshore, has been estimated to be in excess of £366 million.

Lord Spencer of Alresford, 66, a financier worth £1.2 billion who has given more than £2.4 million to the Conservatives, including £1.2 million under Johnson. In 2020 Johnson gave him a peerage, four years after an honours committee had blocked one over his firm’s alleged role in the Libor scandal.

Philip Bouverat, 64, who attended on behalf of Lord Bamford, the chairman of JCB, the manufacturing giant, whose net worth is £4.5 billion and who has donated £5.2 million to the Tories, including £2.7 million under Johnson.

Jamie Reuben, the 34-year-old co-owner of Newcastle United Football Club and scion of the Reuben family, whose net worth is £21.5 billion. He has personally donated £816,000 to the Tories, the vast majority of it under Johnson.

Sir Tony Gallagher, 70, a property tycoon worth £1.1 billion who has given £2.8 million to the Tories, including £1.2 million under Johnson, who gave him a knighthood in 2020.

Javad Marandi, 54, a businessman who made his money from multiple sectors including tobacco, retail and property and now owns brands such as the Conran Shop. He was awarded an OBE for philanthropy in 2019.

Leo Noé, 68, a property tycoon worth £606 million who has given £1 million to the party.

John Gore, 60, a billionaire theatre investor who has given £4 million.

Ravi Kailas, 55, an Indian energy investor whose company is domiciled in Jersey.

Mohamed Amersi, 61, a telecoms dealmaker, Edward Eisler, 52, a venture capitalist, and Peter Dubens, 55, an entrepreneur and investor.

Robert Walters, 67, a recruitment tycoon, who has donated £392,400, including £200,000 under Johnson.

Transform Tory finances
The story of how these individuals came to be appointed begins months before Covid-19, during the early days of Johnson’s premiership.

On July 24, 2019, the day he went into No 10, Johnson appointed two people he wanted to transform the Conservative Party’s finances, which had severely suffered towards the end of Theresa May’s time in office.

One was Elliot, whom Johnson made Tory party chairman. He had made a career at the intersection of royalty, politics and business as chairman of Quintessentially, a “lifestyle management” business for the ultra-wealthy.

Quintessentially told clients it could get them anything money could buy — a private jet at short notice; a personal performance from a pop star; a booking at a Michelin-star restaurant — as well as things it couldn’t.

That meant access to Elliot’s golden address book, and the possibility of meetings with the Prince of Wales, whose wife the Duchess of Cornwall is Elliot’s aunt.

By bringing Elliot into the party fold, Johnson effectively secured access to his wealthy clients.

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Clockwise from top left: Michael Spencer, Leo Noé, Jamie Reuben, Lawrence Jones, Sir Tony Gallagher and John Gore
The other appointment was Sir Ehud Sheleg, 66, an Israeli-born art dealer and a donor. Johnson asked him to stay on as treasurer, a role he took up in 2018. According to emails from within the treasurer’s department of Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), it was Sheleg’s idea to set up the advisory board. A Tory source insisted it was actually the brainchild of Sir Mick Davis, the party’s former chief executive.

Under May, donors, especially wealthy Eurosceptics, had felt sidelined, their proposals ignored at the top of government. Now it was time to bring them back into the fold.

By forming the advisory board, the Conservative Party was creating a space where those donors who had contributed vast sums of cash would frequently and formally be brought into contact with ministers and advisers.

The Tories had long had similar forums already, such as the Leader’s Group, which offers scheduled drinks receptions and meetings with the entire cabinet from Johnson down for a donation of £50,000.

According to a leaked email in February 2019, Brandon Lewis, the party chairman at the time, responded to a member of the group who sent advice on Brexit: “Thanks for sending this through — I will make sure it’s fed in properly.”

£250,000 to join the board
However, the new board would be different. Firstly, these would be elite donors: most would have to pay £250,000 to be considered for entry.

Secondly, they would be asked for their ideas — or, as one donor put it, “thought leadership” — on the party and the government’s policy and political direction as a whole. They would also get privileged insight into what was happening in CCHQ, Downing Street and Whitehall.

Finally, members of the board would meet at party headquarters and be treated as members of a formal organisation, rather than merely attend champagne receptions and mix briefly with ministers. They would be given presentations by the likes of Ben Gascoigne, Johnson’s political secretary and later deputy chief of staff, and Isaac Levido, the Australian strategist hired to mastermind the 2019 general election campaign.

When donors were asked to join the board, the chairman’s pitch was simple. One summarised it as: “You are going to give us the money, and the advice, we need to stay in power.” Another source characterised it as “about making sure the Tories continue being in power, whatever we need to do — how to raise more money, how to get the message spread, how to ensure policies get designed that are business-friendly”.

Another attendee described it as a far more transactional arrangement, saying the “special guests” were there to “sing for their supper”.

It was a strategy which soon bore fruit. In the three months before the December 2019 general election, when the Conservatives won their biggest majority since 1987, Elliot raised a record-breaking war chest of £37.4 million, 63 per cent of the total raised by all political parties.

After the election, advisory board meetings continued. They were scheduled to take place roughly every two months, with many invited to exclusive drinks parties and gatherings in between.

Yet without the glue of an election to win, the purpose of the meetings became more amorphous. According to sources, some donors started to use meetings to lobby for their own personal or business interests.

No record of meetings
The pandemic accelerated this shift, with a number of donors using meetings to argue for an end to Covid-19 restrictions during the first wave.

Others suggested financial aid and support for their sectors, or even their specific companies.

None of the meetings appears to have been minuted or attended by civil servants, so there is unlikely to be any record of the advice or lobbying which took place. Unlike meetings of the Leader’s Group — details of which the Tories have published — even the existence of the advisory board had not been disclosed until a Financial Times report last year. Not a single document, nor details of a single one of its meetings, have emerged since. Moreover, Johnson and Elliot ended the practice of regularly publishing a public register of meetings with the party’s biggest donors shortly after the 2019 election.

Perhaps the greatest benefit conferred upon advisory board members is the apparent licence it gave them to approach individuals at the top of government in a personal capacity.

When one donor approached Matt Hancock during the first wave of Covid-19 with an idea about testing supplies, they introduced themselves via email as a member of the board. The then health secretary responded by looping in Lord O’Shaughnessy, his adviser, on Gmail and asking him to take forward the proposal.

According to a source, Chernukhin, one of the leading female donors in British history, made her views on tax policy especially clear.

She is alleged to have repeatedly lobbied ministers against raising the tax burden on high net-worth individuals, and is even said to have handed ministers research from Ernst and Young, the multinational professional services firm, on the importance of the ultra-rich for the overall economy.

Another said to have regularly unburdened themselves is Bouverat of JCB, whose precise role on the board, according to a member, was complicated: it was unclear whether he represented Bamford, the Bamford family or JCB.

Bouverat was also one of those invited by the party’s business relations team to an “invite-only and off the record” webinar with Rishi Sunak hours after the chancellor delivered his budget last year. Organised by the Conservative Party and Bloomberg, the financial data and media company, a few dozen individuals were asked to come, several of whom belonged to the advisory board.

Amersi, the telecommunications dealmaker, received support from Elliot in applying to become chairman of the National Lottery Community Fund, a non-department body responsible for allocating billions of lottery funds. Last week he stated that the party’s conduct constituted “access capitalism”.

Dinner with Gove or Raab
The full extent of such access may never be known: Lister communicated with at least one donor using his Btinternet email address. Hancock forwarded one donor to his adviser’s Gmail account. Cabinet Office guidance states explicitly that “it is expected that government business should be recorded on a government record system”.

Even allies of Elliot accept he has adopted a high-risk “can-do” approach towards elite donors and their requests. His own emails bear this out. Shortly after Johnson became prime minister, a member wrote to him saying they would spend £10,000 for a table at a forthcoming fundraiser if, and only if, their table included Michael Gove or Dominic Raab, then the foreign secretary.

Elliot’s response was immediate agreement.

Tonight Lister said: “I attended the advisory board when asked.” He said he could not specifically recall the May meeting, adding: “I attended as the PM adviser and speaking to the party was something I did and with parliamentarians. I was in Downing Street nearly every day throughout the pandemic.”

Noé, Reuben, Walters, Kailas, Gore and Gallagher did not respond to requests for comment. Jones, Chernukhin, Dubens, Eisler, Bouverard, Amersi, the Bamford family, JCB and Spencer declined to comment. A source close to Marandi said that despite having been invited several times, he only attended one meeting.

Anneliese Dodds, the Labour Party chairman, said: “These revelations raise serious national security questions about the cash for access culture that Boris Johnson has created at the heart of government.

“The prime minister appointed Ben Elliot as co-chair of the Conservative Party, he sanctioned the creation of a secret club of super-rich donors that gets privileged access to ministers, and he has chosen time and again to turn a blind eye to unacceptable conflicts of interest. This is on him.

“Boris Johnson must explain what donors with links to Putin’s Russia got in return for their six-figure annual membership fee and clarify whether these meetings had any impact on government policy at the height of the pandemic.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “We can confirm that, on occasion, senior Conservative politicians, just like senior Labour and Liberal Democrat politicians, do in fact attempt to raise funds for the party they represent.”

Corrupt, bent, twisted Tories do what corrupt, bent, twisted Tories do - launder taxpayer money in crony contracts to feather their own nest. It's because they're crazed and corrupt. And bent.

 

Clearly the EU want Britain back in because Britain was a large net contributor. Is there not an opportunity to say we will come back in on our terms (ie we pay our contribution but we control our borders, free "qualified" movement, make our own laws and strike trade deals with who we like). Britain would get the benefits of Brexit and of being in the Single market in return for a fee. The EU would also win because they get more money in. Effectively forcing the EU to reform the terms of membership which, would in fact eliminate the likelihood of other exits

I have always thought that the EU should be a club which has benefits of membership in return for a fee, but not to be ruled. So yes, you cherry pick but what you pick determines the membership fee. Currency should not be a condition of membership. Some countries are crippled by not being able to devalue when it would benefit their economy. I think I could suffer personally from that last statement as it could make the Euro stronger. The stronger the pound is against the Euro, the better off I am. France returning to the Franc could be good news but can't see that happening

 

**** me, it's 3:25 here. I'm off to bed

 

Crazed leftie doesnt recognise American English

 

EU wont agree
UK will be at mercy of EU rule changes
Better for UK to stay out of EU

 

QPR v Hull City:
Half of QPR players didn't take the knee
All of Hull City players didnt take the knee
First choice keeper, Baxter, was out injured
Second choice keeper, Ingram, was seriously injured early in second half and had to be taken to hospital
Third choice keeper, Cartwright, 19 years old, came on as sub for his league debut and played well. He didnt have a chance with QPRs equaliser
Good turnout by the away fans. We filled the away end.

 

EXCLUSIVE: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a SECRET... then - just minutes after the story broke - his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...arry-tried-legal-fight-bodyguards-secret.html

"It led to inaccurate reports across the media, such as the BBC headline: 'Prince Harry in legal fight to pay for UK police protection.'

As documents lodged at the High Court last week show, no such offer to pay was made in the Prince's initial 'pre-action' letters to the Home Office, suggesting he expected British taxpayers to cover it."

Typical crazed lying leftie