Cronyism and corruption are the tools in trade of the Tories!
GOOD LAW PROJECT
Michael Gove broke the law by giving a contract to a communications agency run by long time associates of him and Dominic Cummings, the High Court has decided.
The Court found that the decision to award the £560,000 contract to Public First was tainted by “apparent bias” and was unlawful. The Court found that Gove’s:“
failure to consider any other research agency… would lead a fair minded and informed observer to conclude that there was a real possibility, or a real danger, that the decision maker was biased” (paragraph 168).Michael Gove had claimed that the work was such that only Public First could carry it out. However, the High Court rejected that version of events. The simple truth, it held, was that the Cabinet Office didn’t even consider whether anyone else should have the contract.
The decision vindicates Good Law Project’s long-running characterisation of pandemic procurement as “institutionalised cronyism”
Emails released in the case also showed that both Michael Gove and Number 10 were keen that Public First (and Hanbury) should win no-tender polling contracts. Good Law Project’s judicial review of the decision to award a contract to Hanbury will be heard on 26 July.
The decision is the second in our long slate of crowdfunded procurement judicial reviews – and we have succeeded in both. Two Cabinet Ministers – Michael Gove and Matt Hancock – have now been found to have broken the law.Following the first decision, Good Law Project wrote to Matt Hancock making proposals to improve procurement and get better value for money for taxpayers. We offered, if that invitation was accepted, to drop our further procurement challenges to save public money.
Mr Hancock did not respond. Since that letter, huge further sums in public money have been wasted in fruitless defence of unlawful conduct.Good Law Project repeats its invitation to the Government to learn lessons – and to stop wasting more public money staving off political embarrassment.
Good Law Project is grateful to its legal team of Jason Coppel QC and Patrick Halliday of 11KBW Chambers, instructed by Rook Irwin Sweeney. And of course to the tens of thousands of people whose financial contributions make litigation like this possible.We are the arrow but you draw the bow.
Thank you,
Jo Maugham Director of Good Law Project
Marx believed that in a capitalist system the wealthy exploited the poor. Yes – I agree with that.
Marx believed that people should be equal. He wanted to do away with class, racism, sexism and poverty. Yes – I like that.
Marx envisaged a society that was fair and where everyone worked for the common good. Yes – I like that too.
Marx wanted to do away with religion. Well I regard religion as a superstition that does more harm than good but I don’t think I’d ban it.
Marx wanted production to be owned by the state so everyone worked, everyone received free education, healthcare. That all profits went to the people. I like that too. I don’t like the wealthy creaming off a large share of the profits for themselves. I want more equality and fairness. I think the state can produce better services, more cheaply.
To define Marxism in simple terms, it’s a political and economic theory where a society has no classes. Every person within the society works for a common good, and class struggle is theoretically gone.
Marxism sees capitalism as contradictory and exploitative in its focus on the individual and claims that class struggle will ultimately overthrow the capitalist society and create a Communist Society, where production is focused on the collective good.
The problems that arise with Marxism are difficult to resolve:
It tends to remove incentive and so people become lazy and the economy suffers. I certainly wouldn’t want that. There must be a way of incentivizing without creating gross inequality.
It tends to get taken over by a new elite who create a totalitarian control (rather defeating the initial aims) resulting in tyranny. That is a nightmare. Surely there is a way of creating a system where that does not happen?
Well, at the final count, I’m a socialist, not a Marxist. I believe in a fairer society but not a communist society.
What do you think?
The sun is shining and it’s very hot!! It’s been a great day so far!! I put the finishing touches to my new Sci-fi novel – The Pornography Wars and sent it in to be published last night! The digital version is already out on Amazon.
For a mere £2.50 (the price of a cup of coffee) you could download my new book – immerse yourself in it and complete reading it by tomorrow, put up a glowing review and feedback to me!! That’d make me very happy!!
The Pornography Wars eBook: Forsythe, Ron: Amazon.co.uk: Books
The paperback version will be out shortly. I’ll keep you updated!!
I’ve been working on the book for many months so it feels pretty good to have completed the project. It will feel even better once I have the book in my hands!
It’s been a day for kicking back and lazing – too hot to do much. I’ve had two books on the go for weeks and finally sat and finished both of them! That means I’m starting two more. I always have a couple on the go at the same time. I received the new Ishiguro book – Clara and the Sun – for my birthday so that picked itself! I’m looking forward to it – one of my favourite authors!! Not sure about the other!
I’m going for my daily walk soon – when it’s cooled down a bit. This will be 438 consecutive 10,000 steps plus. I’m averaging 15,500 steps a day! Even if I say it myself that’s pretty good!!
Meanwhile, out in Coronaland we have further intrigue.
There is some speculation that this Covid-19 might actually have started in a Chinese Wuhan lab. Biden is looking into it. Who would have believed that? If it is the case it will be the only Trump conspiracy theory to have any credence!! I hope it doesn’t fuel up the idiotic fringe. What with a report on UFOs coming out next week the flat-earthers, god botherers and antivaxxers will be having a field day!
I hope their are aliens out there! We need someone with intelligence to save us from ourselves!!
Here in the UK we might be in big trouble. The virus numbers are surging. They have jumped from 2000 to 6000 in the last four days. It is the start of a new third wave.
It seems that the vast majority of the new cases are among the unvaccinated. Many of these will be young and should not get the illness too badly. But hospital entries are rising, deaths are rising and the threat to the unvaccinated vulnerable group is increasing daily.
It seems that the effectiveness of the vaccine against the Indian variant is compromised. We could be in for a bumpy ride.
What on earth induced our clown to keep the flights coming in from India without checks?? The man is a complete imbecile!!
He is desperately clinging on to the lifting of all lockdown conditions on the 21st. I can’t see it myself. That’s purely a political decision. The science says that we’re on the brink of another major spike of hospital entries, severe illness and deaths!! Too many are unvaccinated. If the Indian variant overcome the vaccine we’re in real trouble!!
Come on Dido!! Time to actually do something for our £37 billion.
In education Johnson is promising to help all our kids catch up after the dire situation they’ve been in for a year and a quarter due to his mismanagement. He’s offering each one of them 25p, a mars bar and a sprout. That ought to do it!
It seems that so far we have 400,000 people suffering from long covid. If you survive you are not out of the woods. Your internal organ damage might be severe and permanent. They don’t know.
So, my advice – go and get vaccinated as soon as you can!! Watch out for UFOs and if you find one plead with them to save us from this dunce of a Prime Minister!! They might be our only hope!!
I’m so tough
I’m so tough.
I’m so strong.
Always right
Never wrong.
I beat Covid.
I build walls.
I speak tough.
I’ve got balls.
I don’t use masks.
I don’t space.
Mess with me.
I’m in your face.
I am rude.
I’m uncouth.
Had it easy
Since my youth.
I don’t do tax.
Don’t do rules.
Treat people.
Like they’re fools.
I do tweets.
I brag a lot.
Taunt and bully.
I’m so hot.
Opher – 7.10.2020
It is so interesting to look at the phenomenon of Trump – an over-privileged man who is worshipped by the poor.
Never have we had anyone so unsuited to high office. He lacks all the diplomatic skills. He doesn’t believe experts or science. He has aligned himself to an extreme right-wing and sets out to deliver for them.
He seems to lack all empathy and is cynical.
When confronted he attacks. When unloved he is petulant.
He likes to appear tough. He has a swagger.
He perpetuates myths and conspiracy. He lies and puts out fake news. He has undermined the entire fabric of society and works the seam of that division for his own advantage.
The myth of his acumen as a business-man is based on lies. He has been failing continuously, bailed out by his father. He has avoided paying tax through many illegal loopholes. He has very dubious business relationships with Russia. He owes billions.
What a strange phenomenon.
The Biosphere.
Protecting the biosphere
Must be the key priority.
Living on this planet
With sustainability.
More hedges, more ponds,
More streams, more trees.
More swifts and swallows,
More hedgehogs please.
The time bomb of climate change
Is kicking us.
It’s time for us to change
And board
The environment bus.
Protecting the biosphere
Must be the key priority.
Living on this planet
With sustainability.
Opher – 30.9.2020
The sun was shining today. That always makes you feel a bit better. What with Corona virus, Boris Johnson and Trump, with Brexit looming, I think I need a boost. My faith in humanity has been sorely tested!
My thigh strain is still nagging a bit so I limped around for a walk. My eye is playing up and I’ve got an appointment with the optometrist. Falling apart I guess.
So I went home, did some more work on the Harper book and played some Jack Elliott.
Out in Coronaland the circus continues with chief buffoon absent as usual.
We have students locked down in their rooms in halls of residence, we have 8000 pupils and 350 teachers all sent home from school isolating in Liverpool.
Completely unpredictable.
We have a third of the country in lockdown.
Completely unpredictable.
We have police having trouble breaking up large gatherings.
Completely unpredictable.
We have Trump and QAnon spreading hoax news and conspiracy.
Completely unpredictable.
We have a Track and Trace system that can’t even be tracked and traced.
Completely unpredictable.
We have Operation Moonshot, world-beating everything and over-ready everything else – all a bunch of off the cuff garbage and lies.
Completely unpredictable.
We are in the midst of a second wave.
Completely unpredictable.
We are being led by a bunch of extreme right-wing incompetent Tory, overprivileged twats.
Completely predictable!!!!!
Our new cases are soaring. Our death rate is going up. This is what you get when you put the loonies in charge!!!
5692 new cases and 17 deaths – Thanks Johnson.
In the USA – 3486 new cases and 267 deaths – meaning that Bolsonaro is moving ahead with 335 deaths!
The world is being run by a bunch of imbeciles!!! They can’t predict anything and haven’t a clue what to do about it.
Stay safe everyone.
