Friday, July 15, 2022
Missing in action
When Boris Johnson announced that there wuld be no new government initiatives in the downtime between his decapitation and the day he leaves to make a fortune on the US lecture circuit, nobody envisaged that he actually meant the whole cabinet would be going on holiday or, at the very least, go missing in action.
Is it the case that cabinet ministers can only focus on one thing at a time, and that at this moment, that is the Tory leadership contest? Because for many MPs that appears to be the case.
Is it the case that cabinet ministers can only focus on one thing at a time, and that at this moment, that is the Tory leadership contest? Because for many MPs that appears to be the case.
The Guardian reports that signs that Boris Johnson’s government could be effectively grinding to a halt are increasing after another senior minister pulled out of a parliamentary scrutiny session and key proposals to reform gambling laws were postponed again.
They say that a day after Priti Patel, the home secretary, withdrew from a scheduled appearance before a Commons committee, Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, said he could not attend a meeting of the cross-party joint committee on human rights next Wednesday, as planned:
Raab was due to have been quizzed by the committee of MPs and peers about his so-far vague proposals for a British bill of rights, which would seek to reduce the role of the European court of human rights in overseeing British cases.
Joanna Cherry, the Scottish National party MP who chairs the committee, wrote to Raab, who is also the deputy prime minister, saying members were “extremely disappointed” at his decision.
“Whilst we understand that there are pressures that come with holding the dual roles of lord chancellor and deputy prime minister, accountability to parliament should take priority,” she wrote.
“This date has been in our diaries and yours for some time. It is not clear why, at such short notice, other matters should take priority.”
Patel, the home secretary, had been scheduled to update MPs on the Commons home affairs committee on Wednesday morning about policies including progress on deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda. But late on Tuesday, Patel said she could not attend because of “recent changes in government”, without apparent elaboration.
Also on Wednesday, it emerged that the long-running online safety bill had been dropped amid confusion during the continuing Conservative leadership race.
While ministers insisted this was because of a lack of parliamentary time due to Labour’s wish for a vote of confidence in the government on Monday, it has been pushed to the autumn over concerns whoever succeeds Johnson in September might have different views on the bill.
It has now emerged that proposals to reform gambling laws have been postponed for a fourth time, after Johnson’s advisers concluded they could not be published until a new leader is in place.
The government really has given up governing.
They say that a day after Priti Patel, the home secretary, withdrew from a scheduled appearance before a Commons committee, Dominic Raab, the justice secretary, said he could not attend a meeting of the cross-party joint committee on human rights next Wednesday, as planned:
Raab was due to have been quizzed by the committee of MPs and peers about his so-far vague proposals for a British bill of rights, which would seek to reduce the role of the European court of human rights in overseeing British cases.
Joanna Cherry, the Scottish National party MP who chairs the committee, wrote to Raab, who is also the deputy prime minister, saying members were “extremely disappointed” at his decision.
“Whilst we understand that there are pressures that come with holding the dual roles of lord chancellor and deputy prime minister, accountability to parliament should take priority,” she wrote.
“This date has been in our diaries and yours for some time. It is not clear why, at such short notice, other matters should take priority.”
Patel, the home secretary, had been scheduled to update MPs on the Commons home affairs committee on Wednesday morning about policies including progress on deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda. But late on Tuesday, Patel said she could not attend because of “recent changes in government”, without apparent elaboration.
Also on Wednesday, it emerged that the long-running online safety bill had been dropped amid confusion during the continuing Conservative leadership race.
While ministers insisted this was because of a lack of parliamentary time due to Labour’s wish for a vote of confidence in the government on Monday, it has been pushed to the autumn over concerns whoever succeeds Johnson in September might have different views on the bill.
It has now emerged that proposals to reform gambling laws have been postponed for a fourth time, after Johnson’s advisers concluded they could not be published until a new leader is in place.
The government really has given up governing.
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Given up governing ? That has been the state of affairs for a long time. This most recent regime has existed on a diet of pronouncements but done nothing to ensure delivery or attainment of any declared objectives. They have stood by and allowed the country to be raided by corporate chancers who have exploited markets to their maximum advantage.
Energy bills, motor fuels, food, consumer products are just the visible tip of a bloody big iceberg and these evil clots have stood idly by until now. Government spending and Corporate grant grabbing on an industrial scale for projects of dubious value have diverted funds that could have been applied to really improve people's lives where it matters. Even now any remedies are just features of the promises made by contenders for Boris' old job. No guarantees that any of them will be delivered. Time to terminate their contracts and start afresh.
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Energy bills, motor fuels, food, consumer products are just the visible tip of a bloody big iceberg and these evil clots have stood idly by until now. Government spending and Corporate grant grabbing on an industrial scale for projects of dubious value have diverted funds that could have been applied to really improve people's lives where it matters. Even now any remedies are just features of the promises made by contenders for Boris' old job. No guarantees that any of them will be delivered. Time to terminate their contracts and start afresh.
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