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Tory corruption & sleaze (lobbying, second jobs, dodgy contracts etc)

Dave***t said:
God bless Chope and his pig headed insistence on arcane parliamentary stuff like full votes and whatnot (I suspect that’s why he objected, rather than because he was trying to defend the indefensible - he might be awful, but he has form on these weird procedural issues).
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Newsnight’s Nick Watt (who appears to be a Tory) spun it more that Chope and fellow backbench loon Bill Cash (who was also involved) wanted to see Paterson have the chance to “clear his name”. Given Paterson’s corruption appears as transparent as it was indefensible I sincerely hope they have dug a huge hole for the party and that all opposition parties just go in for the kill. This level of blatant money-grasping corruption is simply unacceptable and needs to die by the brightest spotlight.
 
As soon as I heard an objection had been raised in parliament I said that'll be Christopher Chope and sure enough I heard an echo straight back! The man's a raving lunatic in addition to being extraordinarily unpleasant. But yes, the longer this stays in the news the better.
 
Both parties have their hands firmly in that particular till. Labour occasionally make some noise about the undeniable damage gambling does to the vulnerable in society, but not enough to police their own MP’s corruption. As ever hypocrisy rules.
 
paulfromcamden said:
In fairness The Graun has been reporting on dodgy links between the gambling industry and MPs (or should that be links between the gambling industry and dodgy MPs?) for years:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?as_...com&as_occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&tbs=
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They seem a lot less keen to turn over any rocks squatted on by their allies on the Labour right, including Tom Watson, Neil Coyle, Ian Austin, that slimy Woodcock guy whose first name escapes me.
 
To misquote Macaulay, 'We know no spectacle so ridiculous as the British press in one of its periodical fits of morality.'
 
Tony L said:
Newsnight’s Nick Watt (who appears to be a Tory) spun it more that Chope and fellow backbench loon Bill Cash (who was also involved) wanted to see Paterson have the chance to “clear his name”. Given Paterson’s corruption appears as transparent as it was indefensible I sincerely hope they have dug a huge hole for the party and that all opposition parties just go in for the kill. This level of blatant money-grasping corruption is simply unacceptable and needs to die by the brightest spotlight.
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The original aim was to get Paterson off the hook, to force the Standards Commissioner to resign and to politicise and weaken the process of vetting MPs' conduct. The result has been to force Paterson to resign, to make the Commissioner virtually un-sackable, and to ensure that the Government's plans to 'reform' the system are dead in the water. Trebles all round!
 
Seanm said:
They seem a lot less keen to turn over any rocks squatted on by their allies on the Labour right, including Tom Watson, Neil Coyle, Ian Austin, that slimy Woodcock guy whose first name escapes me.
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Lorn Walney to you mate:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...bling-are-two-very-different-things-xfnln0pck

Ex-Labour MP, promoted to the House of Lords for services to the Conservative Party. See also: John Mann and Ian Austin.

But yeah, loads of Labour MPs, and ex-Labour MPs, up to their necks in lobbying for the gambling industry.
 
Dogberry said:
MP Scott Benton calls for super casino for Blackpool.
(Free Ascot Wimbledon Euro tickets)
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/politics/blackpool-south-mp-scott-benton-accepted-almost-ps8000-in-free-wimbledon-royal-ascot-and-euro-2020-tickets-from-gambling-industry-3309176?amp
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They've been trying to turn Blackpool into the UK equivalent of Las Vegas for as long as I can remember. The town has been in steady, and pretty relentless, decline since the 1970s when the bucket & spade brigade discovered package holidays to the Spanish costas. It used to be fun in a brash, carefree way; now it's mostly a run down dump, not unlike Clacton/Jaywick. I suspect the Vegas thing is born as much out of desperation to energise the area again, as it is out of greed. The risk, of course, is that you place massive gambling opportunities in front of poor people with no viable escape routes beyond the 'big win'.
 
droodzilla said:
But yeah, loads of Labour MPs, and ex-Labour MPs, up to their necks in lobbying for the gambling industry.
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I don’t understand how the decent MPs in the Labour Party, and there are clearly a fair few, keep quiet on this. The link between poor mental health, desperation, low education and gambling is clear. These businesses exist to siphon money from the poorest and most vulnerable in society. They are entirely parasitic. Many Labour MPs have seats where these businesses fill up empty high streets and ruin lives. I can not grasp them tolerating others within their party feeding at this putrid trough. Why are they so spineless they don’t stand up?

FWIW I do struggle with the issue as I’m fundamentally anti-authoritarian. I’m not convinced I’d stand against gambling existing. I would however certainly never take their money for favour.

PS That isn’t an abstract boast. I have gambling ads blocked here which loses me at least a couple of £k a year. I just do not want that money, and I earn a heck of lot less than an MP!
 
Tony L said:
I don’t understand how the decent MPs in the Labour Party, and there are clearly a fair few, keep quiet on this. The link between poor mental health, desperation, low education and gambling is clear. These businesses exist to siphon money from the poorest and most vulnerable in society. They are entirely parasitic.
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That's pretty much exactly what Conservative MP Tracy Crouch said when she resigned in protest over the government dragging their heals on limiting the stakes on fixed odds betting terminals in 2017.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ch-on-why-she-resigned-as-minister-over-fobts
 
Known locally as StalyVegas, I believe. And it's inland, not coastal, so more like Vegas than Atlantic City in that regard, though the foothills of the Pennines east of Manchester are hardly the Nevada desert.
 
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