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Another week in Tory government cronyism - and one where the term "chumocracy" is becoming far too familiar. A thread on what& #39;s been happening.
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This isn& #39;t just a matter of waste or cronyism - it& #39;s a matter of public trust, and it has a huge impact on our public services. My piece this morning in @Independent lays out why this government has got to tackle this now. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/boris-johnson-cronyism-ppe-contracts-nao-b1759702.html">https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/bo...
The health secretary is the latest figure today to face questions over âchumocracyâ as it turns out he quietly gave his university friend a job. Answers are urgently needed here. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/matt-hancock-gave-key-covid-role-to-lobbyist-pal-tppg75t5c">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/m...
Over the summer @justinmadders and I wrote to the NAO calling for an investigation into the government& #39;s pandemic procurement. The report was published on Wednesday with disturbing findings about decision-making and waste. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/covid-contracts-fast-tracked-rules-nao-b1724458.html">https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p...
The PM had nothing but lame excuses and a lack of humility when @Keir_Starmer challenged him on these findings in #PMQs, including no answers on the fact that suppliers with political connections were ten times more likely to be awarded contracts. https://labourlist.org/2020/11/pmqs-starmer-highlights-conservative-cronyism-during-covid-crisis/">https://labourlist.org/2020/11/p...
There were also questions around a worrying lack of transparency on PPE contracts - made more concerning alongside these repeated patterns of cronyism. https://www.cityam.com/mps-demand-answers-from-rishi-sunak-on-ppe-procurement/">https://www.cityam.com/mps-deman...
Concerns are mounting so much that @GoodLawProject - who have done incredible work on this - claim Boris Johnson acted illegally over jobs for top staff https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/21/boris-johnson-acted-illegally-over-jobs-for-top-anti-covid-staff">https://www.theguardian.com/politics/...
There are huge questions to answer and urgent transparency needed. This "My Little Crony" map raises far too many links for the government to ignore.
https://sophieehill.shinyapps.io/my-little-crony/">https://sophieehill.shinyapps.io/my-little...
https://sophieehill.shinyapps.io/my-little-crony/">https://sophieehill.shinyapps.io/my-little...
We& #39;ve seen increasing numbers of experienced British businesses speaking out on this. Take Seren Plus, featured in Newsnight on Tuesday - asking why the govt overlooked them as an experienced NHS suppliers and went to Ayanda instead, who produced masks which couldn& #39;t be used.
We will continue to hold this Tory government to account. More scrutiny and transparency is urgently needed on this growing catalogue of cronyism.
