Plots and intrigue kicked into gear almost as soon as the King left Parliament yesterday when the APPG for the Chagos Islands was taken over in a coup by Tory MPs. The APPG was previously controlled by supporters of the FCDO’s apparent plan to give the islands away to Mauritius. The government started negotiations with Mauritius in November last year…
30 Tory MPs flooded into the AGM last night under direction of secret plans and voted Labour chairman Mike Kane out. The new chairman is Tory MP Henry Smith, whose Crawley constituency contains the highest number of Chagossians in the UK, some of whom have launched a legal challenge to stop the negotiations and keep the islands British. 2,000 of them were kicked out in 1968 to build an American military base…
The successful coup’s organisers say giving the islands away will cut crucial access to the Indian and Pacific Oceans and give China undue influence in the region. They’re warning the rest of British overseas territories could go the same way if British interests and self-determination aren’t considered. Daniel Kawczynski MP tells Guido: “We will not allow them to trash self-determination, overwise it puts at risk places like Gibraltar and others as well“. New chairman Henry Smith says now “Parliament is watching” and the Foreign Office should make proper reference to MPs. The battle over the fate of the islands is heating up…
Following Guido’s report on the mass resignations at Daniel Kawczynski’s re-selection meeting last week, the Conservative Democratic Organisation – the new grassroots pressure group launched by Lord Cruddas and backed by Priti Patel – has waded in to attack the offending members of Shrewsbury and Atcham Conservative Association… and even opened fire on CCHQ:
“The Conservative Democratic Organisation is concerned about reports from Shrewsbury and Atcham Conservative Association carried by the website Guido Fawkes. We note the premature resignation of David Roberts as Chairman of the Association and have read his letter with some distress.
The role of CCHQ is to observe and guide local associations. It is local associations which are the bedrock of the party. We are particularly concerned that party members were shouted at and talked over. Members have demonstrated an extreme degree of tolerance in recent times. They are entitled to be treated with respect and basic courtesy.
We note with some delight that none of the concerning activity was attributed to Daniel Kawczynski and congratulate him on his re-selection. It is the treatment of loyal members and the question marks surrounding commitment to democracy that we as an organisation hope to improve within our party.”
The Chairman, Treasurer, and one other officer resigned last week after the meeting descended into chaos. Guido hears at least one more officer is expected to go soon too…
Guido hears a re-selection meeting at Daniel Kawczynski’s local association – Shrewsbury and Atcham (SACA) – descended into farce last night, with the Chairman, the Treasurer, and another executive officer all resigning their posts. According to sources, there was a “strong attempt” to move to de-select Kawczynski, though it ultimately failed.
Guido’s got a hold of the outgoing Chairman David Roberts’ resignation letter, sent today to members, and he doesn’t exactly mince his words. He says the behaviour of one participant left him “utterly horrified”, adding “Shouting down members and not letting people with an alternative view speak is not democracy and not at all how I had planned that the meeting would be handled.”
He also claims “SACA has been held together with elastic bands and blue tac for the last few years“, and the Tories are “meant to be a party of inclusion so to see the division that last night’s meeting has caused leaves me with a huge sense of failure”. Happy families…
Read David Roberts’ full letter below:
Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski appears to be taking some well-needed time to reflect on his working practices: the unpaid internship advert for his parliamentary office was withdrawn before the closing date. He is, however, still looking for a full-time caseworker on a salary “in-line with IPSA pay scales”.
This isn’t the first new job opportunity Kawczynski has offered recently. Guido understands he’s churned through 7 staff in the last 22 months, including two interns apparently choosing to leave their employment (if you can can really call free work “employment”) early: one resigned last summer, another on the 4th January, with Kawczynski putting out an ad for their unpaid replacement the same day. No doubt the lucky candidate to join Kawczynski’s team can expect to help him craft his second bullying apology…
The Commons Standards Committee has recommended a day’s suspension (excluding sitting Fridays) for Daniel Kawczynski. The move comes after he was hauled over the coals by the Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme for bullying and harassment and told to give an apology to the house. Kawczynski managed to undermine his apology, however, by giving an interview beforehand. During the interview with his local BBC radio branch, Kawczynski had identified both the name of the committee the complainant had worked on, and their job titles. “Mr Kawczynski had begun the interview by saying “I was on the [redacted: select committee identified]”, and had used the job titles of the complainants nine times during the interview.”
As a result of the interview, the Commissioner found:
Referred to the Standards Committee, they have found the Shrewsbury MP should be “suspended from the service of the House for one sitting day” and specify it shouldn’t be a sitting Friday. He’ll also have to make another apology to the house; BBC Radio Shropshire, prepare your interviewer…
Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski, who recently made headlines for billing taxpayers over £22,000 for his own Polish lessons, is now on the hunt for a new parliamentary intern. While budding politicos have another 11 days to apply, be warned: Kawczynski has no intention of paying. The job listing reveals that, for a 3-month contract, the successful applicant should only expect Kawczynski to cover their travel and food expenses. He won’t pay for his Polish lessons, so not much of a surprise to see he won’t pay his staff either…
Kawczynski looks even worse as fellow Tory MP Chris Loder is also advertising for an intern, with an almost identical list of responsibilities. Unlike his Shrewsbury colleague, however, he’s offering £18-20,000 per annum pro-rata. Loder’s application deadline is one day after Kawczynski’s, so candidates will have a little more time to refine their applications…
