Tag Archives: delay

Who’s paying Rishi Sunak to delay Net Zero policies?

2 Replies

This is fine: Rishi Sunak will burn down not only your house but your country and planet if he thinks he can get something out of it.

Rishi Sunak has hastily announced delays to headline Tory ‘Net Zero’ policies in what’s being called an attempt to create dividing lines between his government and opposition parties.

That indicates two things to This Writer, immediately:

Firstly, he has realised that Keir Starmer’s Labour really is a Substitute Tory Party now – and is afraid that, untarnished by 13 years of disastrous policies that have failed the people of the UK, that STP will seize power and start taking money from the donors who have been paying him.

Secondly, creating dividing lines between his govenrment and other parties is a pathetically weak excuse for scrapping policies designed to save us from climate meltdown. Is there an ulterior motive – connected with cash from fossil fuel or automotive firms?

The rationalisations simply don’t ring true. According to the BBC:

The government could not impose “unacceptable costs” linked to reducing emissions on British families, he said.

But what is the direct cost to the public of banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030? Why are electric vehicles assumed to be more expensive?

It’s not as if the national grid won’t be able to take the strain; we already have an assurance that it will:

Why is fossil fuel heating for off-gas-grid homes being extended by nine years, to 2035? Who complained – families who will have been planning to change their systems, or fossil fuel firms?

Why do poorer households require an exemption from the ban on the sale of new gas boilers in 2035? Won’t they just get something else and stretch out the payments to make them affordable as necessary? Isn’t that how such changes have always been managed in the past?

And why are landlords being let off a requirement to ensure all rental properties have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of grade C or higher, from 2025? That’s not helping poor people but rich landlords!

Raising the Boiler Upgrade Grant by 50 per cent to £7,500 to help households who want to replace their gas boilers appears to be the only sensible idea in the package.

Put it all together and the winners are the car companies, the fossil fuel firms and landlords – not the poor. Even if these corporate and business concerns aren’t actually handing over money to the Tories, one has to question what pressure they have exerted here.

Sunak himself went on the record to say democratic debate is required. But who did he ask to contribute to that debate before coming up with these decisions that will profit the polluters?

Remember: converting to renewable energy will be cheaper for the consumer. As Ash Sarkar points out in the clip immediately below (in spite of Andrea Jenkyns and her ignorance), fossil fuel supplies from abroad are subject to price shocks; home-produced energy won’t be:

The changes announced now – with more said to be on the way later in the autumn – mean uncertainty, not only for the public but for industry as well. Jamie Driscoll makes an excellent point about that:

Among the future announcements is said to be a refusal to tax air fares in order to discourage flying. Here’s why that is bad:

Still, what can you expect from an “ivory tower” Tory like Sunak who flies to the vast majority of his foreign engagement in a private jet that is 14 times more polluting than normal flights?

What’s really interesting is the implication that Sunak was pushed into delaying the ban on the sale of fossil fuel vehicles by Liz Truss – and the possibility that his fellow Tories are upset about it and may try to oust him because of it:

The headline on this article suggests that Sunak might be taking money somehow, in order to induce him to make these changes. The suggestion that his own MPs may try to push him out of Downing Street because of it makes this seem more likely.

I would sincerely like to be mistaken, for an obvious reason:

A bit of extra cash for one avaricious toad of a man is no justification for condemning a population to climate change hell.

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Heartbreak for Jacob Rees-Mogg as ‘retained EU law’ bill is delayed indefinitely

Jacob Rees-Mogg: he’s probably furious about this.

A proposed law to ditch thousands of regulations because they were imposed when the UK was part of the European Union has been delayed indefinitely.

The Retained EU Law Bill had already had its progress through the House of Lords paused indefinitely.

But there was an expectation that most of the laws that were copied into the UK statute book after Brexit would vanish at the end of the year.

Then, after it was revealed that the number of regulations affected runs into the thousands – 4,800 so far, allegedly – concerns were voiced that important legislation might be thrown away by accident.

And now it seems the cut-off point will be replaced with a list of 600 laws the government wants to ditch by the end of the year.

Some of us see it as the end of the plan to drop the axe on these laws – and are heaving collective sighs of relief:

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who introduced the Retained EU Law Bill to Parliament, may well be heartbroken.

When the Bill was paused in the Lords, people said they hoped it would spell the end of his hope to set the UK’s economy on fire (meaning, ruin it).

You see, if nobody knows the implications of cancelling these laws, it would make trade with EU countries impossible.

Rees-Mogg should have known that when he introduced the Bill, so it is logical to suggest that it’s what he wanted. Well, it seems increasingly unlikely that he will get his wish.

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EXCLUSIVE: Partygate inquiry report delayed due to new evidence

Partygate: here’s a shot of Boris Johnson at a Downing Street party that took place during Covid-19 lockdown. Did he mislead Parliament about them?

A report by MPs on whether Boris Johnson misled Parliament over the so-called ‘Partygate’ scandal has been delayed, not because it might interfere with the local elections, but because the inquiry received new evidence.

That is what the House of Commons’ Privileges Committee told This Writer today (May 2).

In response to a query prompted by a press report claiming that there were concerns that the committee’s final report might unduly influence voting in the local elections, a spokesperson stated:

Since taking oral evidence from Mr Johnson on 22 March the Committee has sought and received further written evidence.

The timing of publication of the Committee’s final report will be announced on its website in due course.

Is there time for media speculation on what the “further written evidence” was and how it might affect the outcome?

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Is the report on the Boris Johnson Partygate inquiry being withheld for political reasons?

Silenced: Boris Johnson may have said the wrong things about the so-called ‘Partygate’ affair but has the committee investigating it been silenced in a way that may affect the result of the local elections on May 4, 2023?

It’s being suggested that the House of Commons’ Privileges Committee is sitting on its verdict in the Boris Johnson ‘Partygate’ inquiry – for fear that it may affect the result of the local elections:

This seems unreasonable.

If the report is ready, should it not be published immediately? If it is being deliberately delayed, to prevent it from affecting the way people vote in the election, how would it reasonably be expected to do so? Thursday’s poll is a local election and the fate of Boris Johnson has no discernible impact on it.

In short, if the report is being delayed, is it not for political reasons that should not play a part in any decision-making?

Furthermore, people in Scotland and Wales have just as much of an interest in the verdict as those in England and Northern Ireland, and don’t have any elections that could be affected. Why should they have to wait?

This Site has contacted the Privileges Committee to request clarification and will bring you the response as soon as possible.

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Is the DWP deliberately disallowing PIP claims by losing or delaying forms?

The problem with fighting the government to protect the vulnerable is that the government can keep attacking relentlessly.

Years ago, I ran a successful campaign that showed that thousands of people had died because the Department for Work and Pensions had denied them sickness benefits for no apparent reason.

It raised awareness that DWP decisions could be wrong and could be challenged, and I hope it saved a few lives.

Now, it seems the DWP has been quietly running a new scam – denying claims for the disability benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP) by claiming to have lost the forms, or falsely recording that they have arrived after the deadline for returning them has passed:

Up to 42,000 claimants had their Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award stopped in 2021, an increase of almost 300% in just two years. 25,400 claims were disallowed in 2020. The figures were revealed by Tom Pursglove, DWP minister for disabled people, in response to a written parliamentary question.

The figures refer to people who allegedly failed to return their AR1 PIP review form but it is not known whether non-return includes forms that were returned late. It is also not clear how many people challenged the decision that they had failed to return their form on time.

Mr Pursglove’s response shows that the number of claims disallowed each year for non-return of the AR1 review form have increased steadily year on year since 2017, when there were 7,500 claims disallowed.

The DWP has come out with its usual flannel about helping millions of people every year – as though that is some kind of huge achievement and not its job.

It says only a small proportion of claimants are penalised for non-return of forms, as though 67,400 people in two years is a small number and not more people than live in entire towns the size of Taunton or Hereford.

I tend to agree with the website Benefits and Work, which has stated:

The number of claimants allegedly failing to return their forms seems to be far outstripping any rises in awards that had taken place at the time. We know that the DWP’s post handling and call management is dire and getting ever worse. It seems very possible that many disallowed claimants are returning their forms on time, but the DWP is either losing them or taking far too long before recording that they have been received.

“We have no way of knowing how many of the 42,000 claimants appealed or how many simply gave up in despair, even though they knew they had returned their form on time. Other claimants may have failed to return the review form because of the effects of a physical or mental health condition.”

The DWP reckons it ‘watermarks’ files on claimants with serious mental health or cognitive conditions who have difficulty communicating or engaging with the process as Additional Support (AS) – meaning they will be asked to attend a PIP assessment even if they fail to return their form.

And claimants who are identified or deemed as vulnerable – due to their circumstances, not just their condition – are watermarked ‘Additional Customer Support (ACS)’.

But I can’t help remember how Mrs Mike was ‘watermarked’ when she appealed against a decision to put her in the work-related activity group for Employment and Support Allowance. Her file was marked ‘Do Not Contact’, and we knew nothing about it until we were notified that her year on the benefit had expired and she was no longer entitled to it.

As is well-documented in previous articles on this site, I went through the roof and the government department backtracked rapidly. Mrs Mike is now in the support group, where she belongs.

So I have doubts about DWP ‘watermarking’ claims.

As far as lost or delayed forms are concerned, I recommend that anybody claiming benefits from the DWP make a copy of any forms they send, and post the forms using a system that requires a DWP representative to sign for them. This evidence can then be copied from the Royal Mail and used to show exactly when the DWP receives the forms.

Alternatively, if the DWP doesn’t receive the forms, claimants can get in touch, say their forms have been lost by the Royal Mail, and request a new set of forms and an extension to their deadline. The forms can then be duplicated, using the copies of the original that have already been made.

Does that seem fair? Does anybody with experience of the current system have any other ideas?

Source: DWP PIP warning with thousands of benefit claimants having payments stopped – Chronicle Live

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If Suella Braverman delayed acting on her confidentiality breach, is she in big trouble – or Rishi Sunak?

Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak: he thought the economy would be his biggest problem but instead, she is.

It’s looking bad for Suella Braverman – despite all the good words put in for her by Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove and whoever else.

The BBC has seen an email sent from Braverman’s personal account on the day she had to resign for sending confidential information to the wrong person from her personal account.

In this email, she appears to tell the recipient of that message to “delete and ignore” it.

Braverman has said, according to the BBC,

“As soon as I realised my mistake I rapidly reported this on official channels.”

But if she emailed someone else before reporting it, then this is not true. Indeed, the BBC reckons she delayed taking any official action for several hours.

Fellow Cabinet minister, the Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove, told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that asking the recipient to delete and ignore the email was “quite proper” and “standard practice”, and that it would be inappropriate to “rush to judgement”.

His words ring false.

It might be “proper” and “standard” to tell the wrong recipient of confidential information to delete and ignore it, but in a situation in which the sender has delayed alerting the authorities for more than four hours, This Writer (for one) thinks it is entirely appropriate to form a judgement.

It seems clear that an inquiry is now urgently required, and Braverman should be relieved of her duties as Home Secretary while it takes place.

But Sunak is unsafe whatever he does.

The circumstances may persuade her supporters in the far-right ERG (European Research Group) wing of the Conservative Party that it is impossible to keep Braverman – which might be something that Sunak would appreciate.

Let’s face it, the ERG members are all somewhat extreme, and losing their representative in the Cabinet makes Sunak’s government look more reasonable.

But it seems likely that someone deliberately handed the BBC the damning email, which suggests a plan to discredit Braverman and have her ejected from the Cabinet. That would upset the other ERG members and could destabilise Sunak’s government.

Whatever happens, ERG members – including Braverman – will want to know how the evidence against her came to light and will want revenge.

It seems clear that someone is storing up problems for Sunak to face in the future – no matter what he does.

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New Tory economic plan delayed by more than two weeks

Jeremy Hunt: there is no urgency at all about his plan to restore the UK economy to its former glory. [image from last week when he dismantled Liz Truss’s economic plan. How long will it be until someone else has to do the same to his own?]

You didn’t really think Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt were really going to make any announcement on the economy on October 31, did you?

I know the Tory leadership contest was said to be happening within a week so the statement could be made on Monday, but it seems clear now that this was just an excuse to rush Rishi Sunak into office without a proper election.

There doesn’t seem to have been an intention to bring any certainty to the lives of the UK’s more-than-68-million-strong population with any urgency at all.

What did you expect from Rishi Sunak – the MP who is richer than the King?

Jeremy Hunt has tried to sweeten the pill by saying the report, now to take place on November 17, will be a full Autumn Statement – a Budget. So he’s lazy. Rather than give an initial briefing on what the government will do – and getting on with it – then providing a full Budget, he’s combining the two and making us wait.

Pathetic.

Weak.

Treacherous.

In a statement to Parliament, Hunt said he has discussed his delay with the governor of the Bank of England, who “understands the reasons” for doing so. That’s not a declaration of support!

Hunt admitted there has been market turbulence, even in the last 24 hours: “The question is how you deal with that turbulence” and it is crucial to make sure decisions “stand the test of time”.

But a delay means market turbulence will continue. The BBC is reporting that the Pound is holding on to gains made in recent days, trading at $1.15 and a bit – just two cents up from when Liz Truss resigned last week.

Gosh. Catch me if I swoon.

It’s nothing. The Tories have deliberately – let’s not forget – presided over possibly the greatest devaluing of the UK economy in the history of our nation.

And now Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak have announced that they can’t be bothered to do anything about it for more than half a month.

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

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Tories in trouble as voters identify issues they’re ignoring as reasons to vote them out

Sunak and Truss: whoever wins the race to become prime minister will not be smiling when they have to deal with the issues that might force their government out of office – and they realise they have no answers.

Oh dear, oh dear: the Conservative Party is facing electoral collapse after people who voted Tory in 2019 identified the issues the next prime minister should tackle – and they’re mostly issues that party wants to ignore.

According to a Daily Express article, these include:

  • Inflation
  • The cost of living/energy bills
  • Delays in treatment by the National Health Service

Neither Liz Truss nor Rishi Sunak have shown much interest in any of these – having to be dragged into discussing the topics.

The only issue discussed by the voters the newspaper polled, in which the Conservatives have shown any interest, is immigration – a fake issue created by the Tory government as part of its ongoing “divide and rule” policy of presenting us all with an enemy to hate.

Sadly, they seem to have fooled a large number of people with it.

Whoever takes up the – some would say poisoned – chalice of the premiership in September, they will have to address these problems as a matter of urgency, or face the prospect of losing all the Parliamentary seats Boris Johnson won in 2019. That is a career-ending prospect.

Source: Furious Tory voters reveal key issues as party risks losing next general election

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Government is delaying Covid-19 inquiry, say bereaved families threatening court challenge

Satire? This image suggesting the Tories were lying about their Covid-19 strategy may be more accurate now than at the time it was made. Why is an inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic being delayed? Is evidence being altered or destroyed before it becomes illegal to do so?

Families who lost loved ones in the Covid-19 crisis are preparing a court challenge against the Tory government, which they fear is delaying an inquiry into its handling of the pandemic.

Boris Johnson appointed Baroness Hallett to chair the inquiry in December 2021, and has said it would begin in spring this year. But spring is over and no terms of reference have been published nor setting-up-date specified.

Under the 2005 Inquiries Act, an inquiry “must not begin considering evidence before the setting up date” and once an inquiry is under way it is an offence under the Act to destroy or tamper with evidence.

So the longer the setting up date is delayed, the more evidence it is possible for … someone… to alter or destroy.

That’s the concern of the group Covid-19 bereaved families for justice, who are planning a judicial review into the failure.

Elkan Abrahamson, head of major inquiries at Broudie Jackson Canter, who is representing the group, said taking legal action is the “last thing” families want but they may be left with no choice. He said: “In the vast majority of inquiries a setting-up date is given within days or weeks of the chair being appointed, so this delay of over six months is both unprecedented and totally inexplicable.

“The consequences are extremely serious, as it only becomes a criminal offence to destroy or tamper with evidence after the inquiry’s start date. By failing to give one, the Prime Minister is opening the door to key evidence being destroyed.”

Not only that, but a delay like this means it will take longer, and be more difficult, to learn lessons from the pandemic and the government’s failures in handling it.

Perhaps most to the point, though, is this: Boris Johnson has claimed that he needs to stay on as prime minister to “get on” with tackling the issues that matter most to people – but instead he is delaying a vital inquiry.

He can’t say it’s because he had to deal with the challenges to his own leadership because he has already told us he considers them to have been nothing more than a time-wasting sideshow; he should have been handling the issues that matter – not diverting time and energy to his own self-preservation.

All the government has been able to say is that the inquiry’s terms of reference will be published shortly. Nothing has been said about the setting-up date.

So, what’s really going on here? And do we need a judicial review to establish what’s really going on at the heart of our government?

Source: Bereaved ready to take Government to court over Covid inquiry delay

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Sunak makes you wait; if you were banking on Tory council tax rebate, you’re in trouble

Rishi Sunak: the cowboy Chancellor.

People who were told they’d receive a £150 council tax rebate in April have been betrayed by Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

He – and the Treasury – are now saying council taxpayers whose homes are in Bands A, B, C or D will receive the money from April.

In practical terms, people who pay by Direct Debit are first in the queue – but are not likely to get their cash until May or June.

Those who don’t – around a third of council taxpayers – may have to wait until September or later. They are being told to wait to be contacted by their councils to arrange payment – but that is expected to draw the process out even longer.

The Treasury is saying: “We’ve always been clear, including in our press notice and the leaflet which went out to millions of households, that the £150 council tax rebate to help with the cost of living would be paid ‘from’ April.”

This is a lie; the BBC has demonstrated that the wording of Treasury documentation changed between February and this month.

So those of us who were encouraged to believe a vital cash injection was on its way have been deceived by a Chancellor who is so rich personally that he has absolutely no concept of how important it is for people to receive government funding when the government originally promised it.

There is no justification for this. It’s irresponsible.

People are facing serious financial cash-flow difficulties because of conditions created by Sunak and by Tories before him – the largest number of tax rises in 40 years; Brexit-prompted price rises and inflation; energy price rises and so on.

They have ordered their household budgets in the belief that they would receive this council tax rebate at a particular time – and now that isn’t happening.

Unacceptable. Sunak is a cowboy, not a chancellor.

Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.

https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/

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