As the country struggles with near double-digit inflation and crippling strikes, one group of taxpayer-funded workers are doing very nicely for themselves. At a meeting of the West Midlands Combined Authority Board:
“It was agreed that the Monitoring Officer should write to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities to request that the West Midlands Combined Authority Order 2016 be further amended to allow the payment of allowances to all members and co-opted members of the WMCA.”
To cut through the jargon: they’re asking the government for a taxpayer-funded blank cheque…
This wasn’t the only cash-grab made by the council, they also “agreed all allowances should be index-linked and increased annually as proposed”. With inflation at its current rate, that will mean thousands of pounds are dished out in near 10% pay rises. Even nurses are being denied the same privilege.
To be fair, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has committed to turn down his £16,000 bonus. Let’s not give him too much credit, he is a multimillionaire…
While most of London has to dip into their own pockets to beat the tube strikes today, the civil servants over in DCMS can rest easy: the taxpayer will cover their cab fares for them, just as they do for MPs. On the house…
According to DCMS Minister Julia Lopez, from January to October this year, civil servants spent a whopping £23,014.25 on cab fares, with Ministers spending £1,659.10. By comparison, just £4,455.59 was spent on taxi cabs last year, and £6,601.40 the year before. A near £20,000 increase over the previous two years…
As SW1 and the media spin themselves into an immigration-fuelled frenzy, there is at least one inevitable outcome – lefty activists making performative protests.
Guido’s attention was drawn to one stunt, whereby protesters affixed a sign to a government building in Manston. They dubbed it the “Centre of Cruelty for Refugees”. The government building in question: a car park attendant’s office…
The protest, organised by Freedom from Torture, was essentially paid for by British taxpayers.
For funding, it counts the Ministry of Justice, The National Lottery Community Fund, Manchester and Newcastle City Councils and the Scottish Government Equalities and Social Cohesion Fund amongst its benefactors. With their funding, the group is really putting the public into publicity stunt.
This isn’t Freedom from Torture’s first example of questionably political activism, the group also boasts of a “campaign win” in making sure “no plane ever takes off to Rwanda”. They also, of course, count Jeremy Corbyn as a “long time supporter”.
Whether it contravenes government guidance will be a matter of argument. As a charity, it is entitled to a generous range of tax breaks. But with that comes obligations:
…political campaigning, or political activity … must be undertaken by a charity only in the context of supporting the delivery of its charitable purposes. Unlike other forms of campaigning, it must not be the continuing and sole activity of the charity.
Leaving that to the lawyers, the obvious question remains: why is the government funding groups that frustrate its own agenda?
As the Treasury prepares to raid your pockets over the next year, just bear in mind how quickly they’re willing to splash the cash when looking after themselves. New government transparency documents show HMT spent £4,578.38 on two luxury Venetian hotel stops in July 2021 – one four star and one five star – between the 6th-8th July. Il conto, per favore…
The four star stop, Hotel Bonvecchiati, describes itself as “one of Venice’s oldest” hotels, with “elegant surroundings that are continually updated in line with the latest tendencies”, even allowing guests to arrive via gondola directly from the canal. Hopefully the mandarin that approved this unwarranted cash splash will be here today, gondola tomorrow…
As if that wasn’t luxurious enough for the Treasury, they also enjoyed a stay at the 5 star Hotel Danieli, which consists of three palaces and “dominates the Venetian lagoon with a spectacular view of the Grand Canal and islands.” The perfect spot to relax in that scorching July heat…
The transparency document doesn’t reveal who was lucky enough to enjoy these resorts, although the dates do align quite nicely with one senior minister’s trip to the city…
Dishy Rishi has once again come to the rescue of one of Britain’s endangered cultural institutions: this time saving The Torture Garden – the hugely popular S&M sex club – with an emergency grant from the Arts Council Covid Recovery fund. A pleasure doing business, Guido is sure.
The Torture Garden, which describes itself as “the world’s largest monthly fetish club“, announced it had received approval for its Arts Council grant this week, meaning it will now have the cash to offer over 200 ‘freelancers’ work over the rest of the year, and get back to thrashing each other once restrictions are lifted in June. Guido’s checked the club’s rules and its dress code stipulates no casual clothes are allowed, which will come as a blow to their new hoodie-loving benefactor…
Last week, the Mirror revealed No. 10 now hires three official photographers – Andrew Parsons, Simon Dawson and Pippa Fowles. Today the public got to see the fruit of their taxpayer-funded labours: a four-part photoshoot of Boris’s dog Dilyn frolicking in the Downing Street garden snow. According to 2015 figures, this photographer could be earning up to £38,214…
Not to be outdone, Larry the No. 10 cat also got the luxury treatment yesterday, posing under a portrait of another elderly fat-cat who likewise lives a life of luxury at the public’s expense.
As much as Guido is a sucker for a cat picture on the internet, Parsons is on the part-time equivalent of £100,000 and most recent hire Simon Dawson rakes in £60,635. It seems Downing Street’s concern for frugal use of public funds has gone to the dogs, three official photographers are not a sign of efficient Conservative government with careful stewardship of public money.
UPDATE: Asked at Lobby why Boris’s photographers are taking pet pics, Allegra Stratton said “These photographers document the work for the government as well as the work inside No. 10”. When pressed on how Dilyn playing in the snow constitutes “work inside No. 10″ Stratton doubled down: “They document, the work of not just the Prime Minister, but the whole of the cabinet.” Big promotion for Dilyn if true…
