Rishi Sunak, Chancellor, warned of hard times ahead. This week showed UK in dire economic straits, with the economy shrinking by 20.4 between April and June, that is contracting by one fifth.
Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor, and Munira Mirza, Director of No10’s Policy Unit, are moving to 70 Whitehall, aka The Cabinet Office and the fiefdom of Michael Gove– the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office after the Prime Minister. Gove and Cummings are already a team and Mirza is highly respected by Boris Johnson.
The Cabinet Office (TCO) and the Treasury are essentially responsible for everything. TCO supports the Prime Minister and implements policy- political and constitutional reform, TCO supports Security- Intelligence organisations, and co-ordinates the government’s response to crises; TCO is responsible for creating an exceptional Civil Service and aims to create a more united democracy. The idea is culture change and to make delivery of the government’s agenda seamless and swift; Johnson’s A Team installed at TCO brings Cummings’ vision of Bret Victor’s “Seeing Rooms” one step closer. A “seeing room” is a high tech, highly efficient, real time reporting and predictive system, that uses meta-data, knowledge and research in various complex combinations, Cummings has recommended in detail “seeing room” techniques on his blog. Cummings detractors see this move akin to a mini-coup as it looks like Cummings will be running both No10 and Whitehall.
The Cabinet Office has eleven ministers, three of which are peers, this seems a new departure for the administration of policy, usually ministries have one peer but recently at least three ministries have two Tory peers and the Foreign Office has three. This is notable because of the conversation about peers’ patronage, loyalty and democracy, as House of Lords members are unelected and unaccountable to citizens and to the House of Commons. Traditionally each ministry has had a minister of state, a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) and a peer at the same junior PPS level, for departmental representation in the House of Lords. With a majority of 80 folks are thinking there should be enough MP’s without having to appoint extra peers.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor, warned of hard times ahead, this week showed UK in dire economic straits, with the economy shrinking by 20.4 between April and June, that is contracting by one fifth. Sunak’s #eatoutohelpout scheme has lured folks back into restaurants/pubs, with 11million meals discounted. Sunak has alluded to job losses at the end of the furlough scheme (allegedly in October), but has reassuringly said nobody will be left without hope or opportunity.
Edward Argar, Health Minister responsible for the failing Test and Trace system that is cutting 6,000 people at the end of this month, has yet to explain how Serco deserved this contract, Serco was Agar‘s previous employer. Meanwhile at airports, just as quarantine from Europe resumes, it has been reported that social distancing etiquette is not enforced in immigration queues.
In a further example of chaos exams results were standardised, leaving many A and AS level students with grades lower than their earlier mock exams. After a rebellion from schools, parents and students the Education Minister U-turned and has allowed an appeal for those with lesser grades.
Johnson and the Conservative Party are advertising for a spokesperson to conduct White House style press briefings, the successful applicant will “represent the government and the PM to an audience of millions on a daily basis, across the main broadcast channels and social media, and have the chance to influence and shape public opinion.”
Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has criticised the government and Boris Johnson for making announcements to the press and public outside Downing Street, Sir Lindsay would prefer major announcements to be made in Parliament when it is sitting. After recess Sir Lindsay says he is expecting statements to be made in the House of Commons and not timing statements to fit with headlines and deadlines.
As the UK deaths continue to rise and become the worst in Europe, the cumulative Covid-19 death toll was reduced by 5,000 after people who had probably not died of Coronavirus were removed. With anxieties about a second wave what will people remember about the lockdown? Will people remember the NHS was protected and saved lives, and the furlough scheme saved livelihoods, or will they remember the lockdown that trashed the economy introducing the worst recession in UK history?