The Cabinet Office has finally admitted that they have spent more than £365,000 on social media influencers. The department has consistently refused to answer FOIs and written questions on the matter…
In a written response to Tory MP Mike Wood, Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds said:
“Spend on influencer costs (exclusive of agency fees) since July 2024 to the date of this PQ is £365,331. This figure is reflective of currency conversion rates at the time of the request.”
That is the total spend since July 2024 via advertising and communications firms OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited. No doubt that figure will only continue to go up. Nick helpfully adds that “some data has been withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities”. Meanwhile Starmer’s ‘New Media Unit’ has an eye-watering £13.2 million budget to propagandise the activity of the government. Might take a little more than a few TikToks to save Starmer…
Green councillor Anne Cross, for Heathfield and Mayfield on East Sussex County Council, boasted at a recent meeting:
“My grandchildren and I painted some cards – Valentine’s Cards – at the weekend which we are going to be presenting to the men in the camp in Crowborough as a welcome.”
So continues the tragicomic farce of the Green Party (led locally by deputy party leader Rachel Millward) attempting to deal with intense local anger at the installation of hundreds of male asylum seekers at a local training camp site. The satire books will have to be rewritten – if you own a satire book take it out and throw it in the bin…
Mauritius has a troubled history when it comes to the annals of global corruption. It’s always been odd that former DPP Keir Starmer, ‘Mr Rules’, has prioritised doing a deal with the current government there…
Now the Mauritius Financial Crimes Commission has announced multiple arrests in a wide-ranging “citizenship fraud and money laundering investigation” that threatens to engulf the Mauritian elite. The case is relevant to the UK as the alleged victims are British. The Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office and Financial Crimes Commission have been decisive with their previous enforcement efforts. The authorities in Mauritius are now investigating – it is unclear what the UK Government response will be…
Two families have dominated Mauritius politics since the country’s independence: the Jugnauths and the Ramgoolams. As the Times of India noted: “The country has long been accused of facilitating tax evasion, but has made efforts to tackle money-laundering and terrorism-financing, earning its removal from the EU’s ‘grey list’ of high-risk countries in 2022.” The fear in Port Louis has always been the risk of going back onto the grey list…
Recent scandals in the country include a wire-tapping case in which the calls of senior officials and politicians were leaked online. Last year, ex-PM Jugnauth was arrested in a money-laundering investigation. He denied the charges through his lawyer and was bailed. Jugnauth was the key figure who oversaw the relations with Starmer on Chagos, and signed the bilateral deal with the UK…
Meanwhile, the British government continues to maintain that there is ‘nothing to see here’ and has repeatedly defended Mauritius in Parliament and in the media. Poised to unravel…
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Dan Tomlinson was mocked by MPs at the Treasury Committee this morning for suggesting only outlier businesses would be hit by Labour’s business rate hike. Tomlinson claimed to Meg Hillier:
“We know that there are only 1% of retail, hospitality and leisure properties who are seeing their bill go up by more than 100% this year. So, the one that you’re referring to your shop in your constituency, he’s a relative outlier, because only 1% of businesses are seeing their bills go up by more than 100% this year if they’re not increasing from zero.”
Tomlinson went on to claim that Labour would pursue a ‘High Streets Strategy’ and look at “big picture long-term changes.” Asked what the timeline was for that, he said: “We are, uhm ehm, we will… I’m expecting [before the budget]”…
Hillier added: “One bakery in my patch I went to visit the other week, they’re taking two to three days to raise the same amount as they did a year ago. So this is the challenge.” At which point Siobhain McDonagh chimed in: “I’m not going across the road and telling Kevin that he’s an outlier”…
Hillier again: “I think, Minister, you’re going to get invitations from members of this committee to visit our constituency in high streets so we look forward to greeting you.” He’ll probably be getting a few four-letter reviews of the government’s performance….
Here we go again. Whoever gets it better not value job security…
Guido looks forward to doing this yet again in a couple of months. Candidates who miss out on the gig this time shouldn’t be too upset…
Speaking about Morgan McSweeney’s resignation, skills minister Jacqui Smith told Times Radio:
“It’s clearly not ideal but I do understand why Morgan, as he explained, decided to resign at this point. But the important thing as you say is how we both tackle what this Epstein and Mandelson scandal has identified and also how we make sure, as the prime minister is absolutely determined to, that we continue the change that the country needs and that’s what I’m focusing on this morning.”