The House of Commons standards committee has recommended redacting the Register of Interests of Members’ Staff, which lists who MPs have on the payroll and to whom they are granting permanent access to the parliamentary estate via a pass.
After staff unions complained about “safety” the committee has recommended “redacting the names of all MPs’ staff and replacing them with their job titles, as well as removing from the register anyone who has no financial interests to declare.” Rendering it useless…
GMB has claimed credit:
Starmer promised a “transparency revolution” when he entered government. Pointless…
The Tory whips have instructed that defectors Jenrick, Rosindell, and Kruger leave their parliamentary offices. Moving boxes were shoved into their offices overnight…
The Reform MPs have been moved into smaller shoeboxes in parliament. Some of the offices – e.g. Jenrick’s – were pretty far away from the Shadow Cabinet section in the Norman Shaw building…
Tory whips have done this all at once. Kruger changed colours back in October last year. No love lost here…
It’s scrooge season in Parliament as a tactical union strike causes the speaker to cancel the much-looked forward to New Year’s Eve festivities on the terrace. The best place to see the fireworks on the night…
A message has gone out from parliamentary authorities:
“The PCS union have announced a further day of strike action on New Year’s Eve, Wednesday 31 December.
With industrial action going ahead, the decision has been taken to cancel the Commons Terrace New Year’s Eve event.
We appreciate that this will be disappointing news to those of you who have purchased tickets for the event. All ticketholders will receive a full refund. Payments made via a card will be refunded automatically. Those who paid by BACS will be contacted by the events team. The safety and security of all members of the parliamentary community, as well as visitors to the estate, always remains our absolute priority.
Despite the cancellation of the celebration, robust contingency plans are being implemented to minimise any wider impacts on 31 December.”
The party is a booze-up well-enjoyed by MPs and staffers alike. Cancelling it 12 days before the event is not very Christmassy. Starmer’s Britain – so many strikes can’t even see fireworks in Parliament…
Parlamentary security staff are striking again. Going again after last week…
PCS, the Civil Service Union, said over 300 members will walk out for 24 hours from 7 a.m. this Wednesday. Alongside an overime ban and a work-to-rule system until Friday…
The repeated strikes are over pay and conditions. Ironically there are fewer staff in Parliament this week thanks to a simultaneous London Tube strike…
It’s only been raining for two days. Parliament has already burst its banks…
The doomed roof in newly-built (relatively) Portcullis House has failed to hold back a tide of leaks. Water is pouring onto MPs’, Lords’, and staffers’ bacon and eggs…
The mostly glass roof in PCH has netting underneath it because it was judged to be at risk of smashing and falling onto parliamentarians below. A source on the ground says water is “bouncing off the tables… poor old Lord Coaker was rudely interrupted eating his fry up and made a quick exit.” Add that to the list of things to fix on the estate. Should only cost a few million…
The ugly new security fence slapped up outside the House of Lords has triggered fury from all corners. As Guido revealed, industry insiders say the planning process was “highly irregular.” Tory peer Michael Dobbs has blasted the towering metal eyesore as “dangerous,” warning it “cuts off sightlines” to potential attackers…
Naturally, Guido’s FOI Unit swung into action to discover just how much taxpayers were fleeced for this monstrosity. The House of Lords confirmed they do hold the figures – but are refusing to disclose them on so-called prevention of crime and national security grounds:
“However, we consider that information relating to the cost of the fence, including a breakdown as requested, is exempt under sections 31(1)(a) (prevention and detection of crime) and 24(1) (safeguarding national security) of the FOIA, as disclosure of this information would provide significant detail of security measures on the Parliamentary Estate.”
Guido’s not asking for the blueprints – just the bill. This comes after the farce of the Lords’ £9.6 million broken door. What exactly are they hiding?
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”
