This is the way to Barnard Castle…>>>
Our SW Surrey MP gives the THREE lockdown rules Dominic Cummings broke.
The PM’s Special Advisor has been attacked by former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a letter to his constituents, which included us here at the Waverley Web!
In his letter to Waverley constituents, Mr Hunt laid out the three ways that Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules.
As if we needed him to tell us that Big Dom had ignored the key health messages that he wrote and we were told to obey!
Mr Hunt said that he was wrong in coming back into work when he had been with his wife who was ill; he should have stayed at home instead of driving to Durham; and should not have visited Barnard Castle.
The letter read: “These were clearly mistakes – both in terms of the guidance which was crystal clear, and in terms of the signal it would potentially give out to others as someone who was at the centre of government.”
Silly old Jeremy, didn’t he realise that Big Dom was forced to drive to Barnard Castle, because that’s where the locals go for an eye test because it’s Twinned with Specsavers?
Mr Hunt, who ran against Boris Johnson for the Conservative Party leadership in 2019, and is still smarting from his failure, also told us, it was more important to hold the government to account on “whether we really are going to follow global best practice and introduce Korean/German track and trace so we kill off a second wave of the virus and get the economy back on its feet”.
But he said he would not join other Tory MP’s in calling for the senior aides resignation or sacking.
No of course, he wouldn’t. After all if Boris gets the bums rush, who wants to slip seamlessly into his shoes… yep you guessed! Our Jeremy! But be quick because judging by Big Dom’s obvious importance to the Government you may have a race on your hands.
Apparently BD is so clever, infinitely more clever than most of the men in Government – so the pundits say. But if he’s that clever why didn’t he think up something more plausible than excusing his trip to the countryside rather than going to Specsavers? We suspect any 4-year-old could have come up with a better excuse than that.
Jeremy added: “As someone who has been at the centre of media storms with a young family, I know you do make mistakes in these situations.”
“I am also not convinced that politics gains much from the spectacle of scalp-hunting even though I recognise that accountability is central to our democracy and sometimes people do need to resign.”
You must have some serious marks in your a** Jeremy as you rock from side to side on that fence you so often sit on?
Here’s what his opponent at the last General Election told us.
Dear Editor,
One rule for them, another for us.
This week has been dominated by the revelations about Dominic Cummings but for me it breaks down into two very clear statements.
Did he break the rules? Yes. Has he been punished for that? No
I can really only apply my experience of the local context in Godalming and the wider Waverley where I am a councillor.
Large numbers of residents have emailed me (from all over the borough) over the course of this period asking ‘is it ok if…’ when it came to the lockdown rules.
Many did not exactly love the responses that sometimes, because of the guidelines – I had to give. Most of the time I didn’t love having to give that guidance either – especially considering the sacrifice this sometimes meant for these residents. But that was the guidance and it was very clear (particularly if you had symptoms) and I know people understood that. I also have family within Surrey that I could not visit.
I cannot praise those residents enough for following the guidance and in some cases under some pretty unpleasant circumstances. Some of them at least as serious as the issues allegedly faced by the PM’s senior advisor.
Our MP, Mr Hunt eventually took made a statement and again we can break that down into short statements.
Did Mr Hunt think Mr Cummings broke the very clear rules? Yes. Should there be any consequences? No (and move along, nothing to see here)
We can only conclude from his comments that it is clearly one rule for them, and another for the rest of us down here on the ground.
Reminding us all that his overwhelming desire to one day get the big chair himself means that the only side he is on is not yours, or mine but his own.
Cllr Paul Follows, Deputy Leader, Waverley Borough Council
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for South West Surrey (2019)
And here’s what the Hon Angie – MP for Guildford & Eastern Villages had to say, and is now Tweeting telling us all to … move on! Who is out of step with their constituents – Angie or Jezza?
Any friend of Boris is a friend of mine?
I am no apologist for DC but the hypocrisy of the media baying for his blood while door stepping his elderly parents makes me sick. Why aren’t they baying for the blood of Keir Starmer who between 2008 and 2013 was Director of Public Prosecutions and then in charge of the CPS and refused to investigate grooming gangs so as not to offend the Islamic population. Of the 2 “crimes” I know which one is the greater.
Rosaleen you have been gaslit again by the Conservatives regarding Keir Starmer. It just isn’t true: https://fullfact.org/online/keir-starmer-tweet-child-abuse/
I do not read Tory propaganda. Starmer was head of CPS the buck stops with him whether he was aware or not. If he was, shame on him if he was not, shame on him. I am sick of politicians of all colours denying responsibility for what happens in their departments. Last honorable resignation was Lord Carrington.
A lot of people come out badly from the Rotheram cases (see the Wiki entry on the Rotheram sex abuse scandal) but Keir Starmer isn’t one of them.
From The Birmingham Mail
“The former senior prosecutor Nazir Afzal, who was involved in bringing a number of cases, said the clip was being used to suggest Sir Keir did not take child sexual abuse seriously, when the opposite was true.
“As national lead, I can assure you that he and I put right the failings of a generation of those who should have safeguarded children. He inherited failure and left success,” he tweeted.”
Link here https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/nazir-afzal-condemns-nadine-dorries-18251896
Great balanced response Kathy – as always.
The WW is certainly not baying for Bid Dom’s blood. We are just an ordinary bunch of people who have sacrificed visiting dying friends, visiting elderly relatives, dealing with child-care difficulties, and who have all obeyed the rules we were told to live by.
As for Keir Starmer, we make no apologies for what he did when he was Director of the PPS. But as for being the greater crime. Perhaps we will have to wait and see when the true figures of people ignoring the lock-down becomes known, and the impact that will have on the final death toll.
Well here are a few more: Stephen Kinnock, travelled a few hundred miles to visit Mum & Dad, Vaughn Gethin, attended a picnic; Kevin Jones, birthday party; Tahir Ali attended a funeral with over 100 people. MSN haven’t called for their heads because they are all Labour luvvies.
Paul Follows needs to concentrate on his own performance within the executive at Waverley Borough Council. the lack of decision making and income generation investment strategy prior to Covid19 has left Waverley in a very perilous economic situation. Instead of this continued spate of self promotion he needs to ensure that members of the Executive attend meetings and get on with the job on how best to serve our hard pressed ratepaying residents.
I think you may have finally lost touch with reality totally Jim. Income generation from things like your Brightwells project? Or some of the other dubious decisions and half decisions we have ploughed through from your era?
And had we gone even further (or worse, compounded the silly decisions of the previous administration) we might be looking a bit worried like say, Spellthorne.
Executive and exec brief meetings are fully attended, albeit online at present. All the while we try to relieve the pressure created by the poor legacy of your administration and the overarching pressure created by your government, it’s austerity policies and pursuit of a suicidal Brexit.
Can I suggest you may wish to have a look at what we are doing?
Income generation strategy… really Jim! Look at Blightwells – would you hold that up as good example of income generation? What has left Waverley in a very perilous economic situation is quite simple. A Tory administration that made too many mistakes for us to list here… and a Tory Government that you yourself criticised often enough for years of local government cuts.
We took a shorthand note of Government Communities and Housing Minister Jenrick when he spoke of ensuring that not a borough, town district or parish council would be disadvantaged by the Coronavirus epidemic. Let’s wait and see if those hollow words become reality.
What you see as self-promotion others see as communication. For once the public are not kept in the dark and treated like mushrooms by an administration that threw a shovelled of manure over them every now and again and made is decisions in Committee Room 1 – behind closed doors.
As for our hard-pressed rate paying residents, who have been helped with numerous grants, free car parking; community stores, meals on wheels, rent/rates and every other type of help and support during this awful crisis – they are applauding Waverley Borough Council – of all political persuasions, who are working together for the common good.
Remember this Jim? https://wordpress.com/post/waverleyweb.org/83999
Those were the days when Waverley didn’t have a Local Plan – and refused to allow Dunsfold Park – now to become a Government-backed garden village. Pays to have a good memory.
Paul, perhaps you might like to tell everyone what investment income the Conservative led Waverley received in the 12 months up to the May 2019 election with a balanced budget., and what new investment income you and your colleagues on the Executive have managed to generate in the meantime. Just a reminder to all that need their memories jogged that there was a coalition administration which agreed the austerity measures following the Labour governments demise.
You might want to have a look at the revised estimates for *your* Brightwells investment (and that’s the before covid questions). The post covid period could be even more stark.
Overinflated income sources aside, it’s lucky for the Conservatives that lost opportunities and wasted assets such as land are not formally recorded against you either.
Then we get to unoccupied buildings in Farnham just sitting there…
And since 2015 that austerity has been rammed home to the max by full
Tory governments leading up to the economy kamikaze that is Brexit.
And that’s without looking at how your governments planning system continues to screw over pretty much everyone bar land owners and the already wealthy (and damn the pesky environment or total lack of infrastructure getting in the way).
Paul you obviously are trying to avoid answering the very straight forward question I asked and by trying to deflect a true analysis of your teams poor performance you do not only do yourself and colleagues a disservice but all the hard pressed residents you are elected to represent. I would also remind you that we live in a democracy and the Brexit vote was very clear even though many of us might not like the result!
Our final comment Jim. Why was the Conservative administration, including your good self – kicked out at the last election?
Because you didn’t listen to your residents – and they rewarded you for it. Even those of us who have voted Tory in local and national elections all our lives?
Even one of your Tory fold joined the Labour Party while in office! Remember Comrade Stefan Reynolds – who has now been brought in by the Standards Committee as an Elected parish councillor representative. What arrogance and what a joke.
I always support and listen to my residents. We lost our seats not because we didn’t listen but I think circumstances at that time were very different and since then the general election has proved to be an absolute disaster in voting terms for government opposition parties. I still have not received an answer for my very straight forward question to Paul and I will keep asking it as from what I hear via the grapevine the current Executive are letting our residents down big time!
Jim Edwards. As someone who helped kick out the last administration in WBC I can tell you that your denial of the real reasons for the landslide is telling. You can blame it on national issues ( the same issues that conversely got Boris elected ) but you are foolish to ignore the fact that your colleagues were removed because of their record and complacency.