Latest news with #Partygate
Spectator
6 days ago
- Politics
- Spectator
Poll: Speccie is decision-makers' favoured read
Like Forrest Gump, The Spectator has an amusing habit of turning up at the right moments in history. Boris during Partygate? There was a copy of our mag in one of the No. 10 snaps. The latest season of Industry? There was a fake front cover proudly on display. And now it seems that this august institution is turning up on the right peoples' desks in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond… A new report out by Portland Communications polls what 529 decision-makers from the public and private sectors are reading every day. It reports that: Although our panel skewed to the left politically, one interesting finding is how much more influential the right-wing Spectator is compared to the left-wing New Statesman. We found that 27 per cent of decision makers read the Spectator, compared to just 19 per cent who said they read the New Statesman. Despite a Labour government, the NS has a narrower audience. Not a bad result, even if Mr S says so himself. Still, both the Staggers and the Speccie finish behind the Economist, which is preferred by 58 per cent of respondents as the most popular news and current affairs magazine for decision makers. Watch out Bagehot: Steerpike is coming for you…
The Independent
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
John Major urges misconduct crackdown, warning of falling political standards
Former prime minister Sir John Major has lambasted politicians for increasingly breaking rules they should follow and putting 'political interest before public virtue', as he warned of slipping standards in public life. Sir John led the Conservative government between 1990 and 1997, which was mired in accusations of 'sleaze' following a series of parliamentary scandals. In response, he set out the Nolan Principles, a code of conduct which all politicians and officials must abide by, and the Committee on Standards in Public Life to advise the prime minister on ethical standards. A majority of those in public life still follow the principles, he said, but the minority who do not should face consequences. 'Too often, there are none,' Sir John said, speaking at the Institute for Government think tank's one-day conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the Nolan Principles. Pointing to the Partygate scandal which rocked Boris Johnson's government, as well as scandals facing the police, the Church of England, and public services such as the Post Office, Sir John warned of slipping public standards, and insisted 'a re-set is essential'. He added: 'Today, scepticism does not fairly describe the public mood: a more accurate description would be a mixture of cynicism and disillusion that stretches across most of our public institutions ‒ the Church, Parliament, police, public service and press among them. That is not healthy in our public life. 'The Committee on Standards in Public Life has reported that social and political trends have coarsened standards. That is true, but put too gently. 'Standards have been undermined by being ignored, by being broken, by public figures who put personal or political interest before public virtue.' Many of the watchdogs put in place to prevent abuses of power are unable enforce their edicts, Sir John suggested. 'It has been our past practice to offer guidance on good conduct – and trust it will be delivered. That was the Nolan approach. 'But experience has taught us that no rules can deal with individuals prepared to ignore them and, sometimes, sanctions are required,' he said. He welcomed moves to bolster oversight of ministers with an independent adviser on ministerial standards, and the parliamentary commissioner for standards to oversee MPs. But Sir John said the Advisory Committee on Public Appointments (Acoba) stood in 'stark contrast'. The watchdog, which gives politicians, their advisers and chief civil servants advice on whether or not jobs they take up after leaving public life are appropriate, should be 'put on a statutory basis, and given deterrent powers', he said. He also called for a thinning of the number of special advisers who act on behalf of ministers, and warned that House of Lords appointments in recent years had not passed the 'smell test'. 'There should be no free pass to becoming a legislator,' Sir John said, saying the upper chamber should not contain legislators unable or unwilling to take part in scrutinising law changes. The former prime minister also suggested reports American businessman Elon Musk had planned to give a multimillion-pound donation to Nigel Farage's Reform UK political party would have left it a 'wholly-owned subsidiary of foreign money', as he criticised the dangers of political donations. 'We need to refresh protections, and close off this pipeline before it becomes a serious political problem,' he added. Sir John closed his speech by warning that Britain's 'widely envied reputation for being free of corruption and bad practice' was at risk. He added: 'I regret the slow erosion of that reputation – which we would once have thought indestructible. It is time for us to reverse this trend before the damage becomes beyond salvage.'
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
John Major urges misconduct crackdown, warning of falling political standards
Former prime minister Sir John Major has lambasted politicians for increasingly breaking rules they should follow and putting 'political interest before public virtue', as he warned of slipping standards in public life. Sir John led the Conservative government between 1990 and 1997, which was mired in accusations of 'sleaze' following a series of parliamentary scandals. In response, he set out the Nolan Principles, a code of conduct which all politicians and officials must abide by, and the Committee on Standards in Public Life to advise the prime minister on ethical standards. A majority of those in public life still follow the principles, he said, but the minority who do not should face consequences. 'Too often, there are none,' Sir John said. Pointing to the Partygate scandal which rocked Boris Johnson's government, as well as scandals facing the police, the Church of England, and public services such as the Post Office, Sir John warned of slipping public standards, and insisted 'a re-set is essential'. He added: 'Today, scepticism does not fairly describe the public mood: a more accurate description would be a mixture of cynicism and disillusion that stretches across most of our public institutions ‒ the Church, Parliament, police, public service and press among them. That is not healthy in our public life. 'The Committee on Standards in Public Life has reported that social and political trends have coarsened standards. That is true, but put too gently. 'Standards have been undermined by being ignored, by being broken, by public figures who put personal or political interest before public virtue.' Many of the watchdogs put in place to prevent abuses of power are unable enforce their edicts, Sir John suggested. 'It has been our past practice to offer guidance on good conduct – and trust it will be delivered. That was the Nolan approach. 'But experience has taught us that no rules can deal with individuals prepared to ignore them and, sometimes, sanctions are required,' he said. He welcomed moves to bolster oversight of ministers with an independent adviser on ministerial standards, and the parliamentary commissioner for standards to oversee MPs. But Sir John said the Advisory Committee on Public Appointments (Acoba) stood in 'stark contrast'. The watchdog, which gives politicians, their advisers and chief civil servants advice on whether or not jobs they take up after leaving public life are appropriate, should be 'put on a statutory basis, and given deterrent powers', he said. He also called for a thinning of the number of special advisers who act on behalf of ministers, and warned that House of Lords appointments in recent years had not passed the 'smell test'. 'There should be no free pass to becoming a legislator,' Sir John said, saying the upper chamber should not contain legislators unable or unwilling to take part in scrutinising law changes. The former prime minister also suggested reports American businessman Elon Musk had planned to give a multimillion-pound donation to Nigel Farage's Reform UK political party would have left it a 'wholly-owned subsidiary of foreign money', as he criticised the dangers of political donations. 'We need to refresh protections, and close off this pipeline before it becomes a serious political problem,' he added. Sir John closed his speech by warning that Britain's 'widely envied reputation for being free of corruption and bad practice' was at risk. He added: 'I regret the slow erosion of that reputation – which we would once have thought indestructible. It is time for us to reverse this trend before the damage becomes beyond salvage.'
Rhyl Journal
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Rhyl Journal
Olympic rower and former cabinet secretary made peers
The pair, along with former national security adviser Tim Barrow and former John Lewis chairwoman Sharon White, will join the House of Lords as non-aligned crossbench peers. Baroness Grainger, now chairwoman of the British Olympic Association (BOA), is Britain's most decorated female rower. In addition to winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics, she won four silver medals – in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2016 – and six world championship titles. Baroness Grainger then spent eight years as chairwoman of UK Sport before leaving the post this year and taking up the leadership of the BOA. Lord Case became cabinet secretary in September 2020, having previously served as private secretary to the Duke of Cambridge. He stepped down at the end of 2024, having led the Civil Service during the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the funeral of Elizabeth II. But his tenure was not without controversy, as he was forced to recuse himself from leading an investigation into the 'Partygate' scandal following allegations his office had held a Christmas event during lockdown. Lord Case was not one of those fined over the scandal. Lord Barrow played a key role in Brexit negotiations as the UK's representative to the EU between 2017 and 2021, before becoming national security adviser under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. He had been lined up by Mr Sunak to take over as ambassador to the US, but the change of government last year led to Sir Keir Starmer appointing Lord Peter Mandelson instead. Baroness White was the first black person and second woman to become a permanent secretary at the Treasury, before serving as CEO of Ofcom between 2015 and 2019. She then chaired John Lewis between 2020 and 2024.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Would it do the Tories any favours to bring back Boris Johnson?
Having endured their worst general election performance ever, followed by a similar humiliation in the local elections and plumbing fresh lows in the opinion polls, how long will it be before the Tories turn to their most self-destructive habit – blind panic? Given the general paucity of talent in what remains of the parliamentary party, there are even a few murmurs, again, about bringing back Boris Johnson. That must count as desperation, and the old rascal could easily make things worse for them... Why bring back Boris? Aside from the desperate panic, many Tories still hold fond memories of his undoubted electoral prowess, albeit that it lies firmly in the past. A full listing would have to include his improbable election as mayor of London in 2008, and subsequent re-election; the 2016 Brexit referendum; and the 2019 general election, which yielded the best parliamentary result since 1987 and the highest Tory vote share since 1979. So there are warm feelings about the glory days, and a probably vain hope that he and he alone can magically recreate that campaigning success. The strange resurrection of Donald Trump in the United States has also stimulated thoughts of a Johnson return. If he can do it, why not Boris? Why not Boris? Well, there's also the indelible memory of Partygate, assorted sleaze stories, chaos, Dominic Cummings, wallpapergate, broken promises on levelling up, the collapse of his government beneath him, the unlawful prorogation of parliament, misleading the late Queen, and being found to have lied to the House of Commons, for which he was sanctioned. It's also true that by the time his position was becoming untenable in 2022, Johnson was losing local elections and parliamentary by-elections, and his poll ratings were slipping badly. If he couldn't win elections, he was of no further use and had to go. His most grievous disservice to the nation was in making sure that Liz Truss rather than Rishi Sunak succeeded him – she was calculated to make him look good by comparison. Could be elected leader immediately? No. He's not an MP, so not eligible. Could be become an MP? The classic method, used by Johnson twice before, is to find a safe Tory seat to fight at the next general election. Or somehow exploit or engineer such an opportunity sooner, in a by-election. The trouble is, there is no longer any such thing as a safe Tory seat that is impervious to challenge by Reform UK, even with the charismatic Johnson standing. If he did get elected, there's also the unfinished business of the three-month suspension imposed on him in the last parliament. Expert opinion varies on whether Johnson's first act as a newly elected MP would be to go away again for three months. Would he transform the party's fortunes? Not if the polls are anything to go by. A recent opinion poll did show that Johnson was the only candidate out of himself, Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick who as leader might beat Nigel Farage and Reform, but only by a small margin (26 per cent to 23 per cent). Whether it would be worth the upheaval is highly debatable. There are possibly better options – James Cleverly, for example. Johnson is also closely associated with Brexit and his 'oven-ready deal', and that project isn't as popular as it was. Definitely a wasting asset. Meanwhile, ex-Labour voters, notably in the red-wall seats gained so spectacularly in 2019, still feel betrayed about the failure of levelling up, while pro-Europe moderates in the former blue wall who defected to the Liberal Democrats loathe him. Would the Tories want Johnson? In the party, Johnson has collected many enemies, all too willing to tell the world why this untrustworthy, unreliable, cynical and compromised individual would be entirely unsuited to being premier, and even less cut out for the hard slog of being leader of the opposition. He's always been trouble, and only his ability to win elections overcame the severe doubts about his character. These remain, but it's fair to add that the membership, even as he was being deposed, still loved him – though the MPs might prevent him from getting as far as a members' poll. Less remarked upon than his supposed campaigning skills are the policy positions that are now deeply disliked among the Tory grassroots, such as net zero; his fiscal incontinence; and the level of legal migration under his famous post-Brexit 'Australian-style points-based system', which reached a record high. Uncharitably, it's been called the 'Boris wave' by his enemies. In a scrap for the right-wing vote with Farage, these would count as weak points. Could it happen? If Johnson were brought back, it would be the end of the Conservative Party. Keir Starmer often got the better of him back in the day, and would do so again, while Farage is a formidable rival. The Tory party is so weak now that it would take more than a Johnson revival to rescue it. Indeed, the very reason why the party did so calamitously in the 2024 general election was its overall record in government – including the many disappointments, scandals and failures during the Johnson administration. In other words, Johnson is part of the problem and not part of the answer. They need a fresher start, and a rethink on Brexit. The next Tory leader may not even be in parliament yet.
