Politics Today

[Alistair20000]

As G2K pointed out above:

Priti Patel reaches £340,000 settlement with ex-Home Office chief Philip Rutnam

More public money gone up in smoke.

Another lady in public life in the U.K. has squandered 50% more that than Indo.

 

[IndoMike]

Another lady in public life in the U.K. has squandered 50% more that than Indo.

Your missus?

 

[Alistair20000]

Your missus?

Nice one Mike.

High maintenance but not in public life

 

[IndoMike]

Nice one Mike.

High maintenance but not in public life

Yes. Women do tend to run up high maintenance costs. Why can't they just use soap and wear old sweaters and jeans like we do?

 

[IndoMike]

The "No Shame" Tory Govt.

The Guardian has calculated that 39 of the 45 new recipients of towns fund handouts announced in Rishi Sunak’s budget have Conservative MPs. Meanwhile, areas represented by five cabinet ministers including Sunak himself were placed in tier 1 for the levelling up fund, giving them access to taxpayer funding to help them apply for the £4bn pot.

“It does really look like the Tories are trying to use taxpayers’ money to shore up their own votes locally, rather than tackle the deeply ingrained inequalities that exist in our country as a result of what they’ve done with 10 years of austerity,” said Steve Reed. “They are spending money to their own political advantage.”

 

[Alistair20000]

Don't Tory MP's now represent some of the poorer, deprived towns wheres Labour MP's represent some of the posher, trendy middle class cities ?

Just musing like

 

[IndoMike]

Don't Tory MP's now represent some of the poorer, deprived towns wheres Labour MP's represent some of the posher, trendy middle class cities ?

Just musing like

The Times

However, 32 towns on the list fall outside the 300 worst-off in England according to rankings from the Office for National Statistics.

Analysis by The Times reveals the extent to which money has been directed towards wealthier areas that are marginal Conservative-held or target seats.

 

[RedPaul]

On the 'levelling up' pot, clearly not a good look. Much greater transparency is needed as to how the areas were chosen. Lots of places have MP's from both parties and also the old adage of rich area = Tory, poor = Labour no longer follows by rote.

A lot of Labour seats in London and they can't exactly spent levelling up cash in Hampstead and Islington.

On the face of it though it stinks, none more so than "Castle Jenrick" in Newark that has has a bung, sorry, a grant

 

[tavyred]

On the 'levelling up' pot, clearly not a good look. Much greater transparency is needed as to how the areas were chosen. Lots of places have MP's from both parties and also the old adage of rich area = Tory, poor = Labour no longer follows by rote.

A lot of Labour seats in London and they can't exactly spent levelling up cash in Hampstead and Islington.

On the face of it though it stinks, none more so than "Castle Jenrick" in Newark that has has a bung, sorry, a grant

I think we need to harken back to the comments of Liz Truss a couple months back, where she suggested that inner city areas and certain towns have tended to be the recipient of large amounts of Government assistance simply because they might be home to communities that have long established powerful advocates and already have existing pathways to extra funding.
It is no secret (and actual policy) that this Government is seeking to equalise funding for the forgotten white working class areas of England and looking at the areas in the Guardian link that are benefiting, that seems to be what is happening here with this extra funding.
Seeing how there is no suggestion I think that money is being diverted away from anywhere else, what is the problem here?
Don’t ordinary white folks need help too?

 

[RedPaul]

I think we need to harken back to the comments of Liz Truss a couple months back, where she suggested that inner city areas and certain towns have tended to be the recipient of large amounts of Government assistance simply because they might be home to communities that have long established powerful advocates and already have existing pathways to extra funding.
It is no secret (and actual policy) that this Government is seeking to equalise funding for the forgotten white working class areas of England and looking at the areas in the Guardian link that are benefiting, that seems to be what is happening here with this extra funding.
Seeing how there is no suggestion I think that money is being diverted away from anywhere else, what is the problem here?
Don’t ordinary white folks need help too?

Agree which is why if they said that investment is going to be targeted at areas that meet a set of criteria, and the info was published, then some of the heat could be taken out of it. You can then argue about the criteria chosen but not that they havent been correctly applied.

Its the obfuscation about all these things that causes the problem and gives grist to the mill that there is something "dodgy" going on.