Oldjohnw wrote: ↑12 May 2021, 8:46am
The only election fraud in recent times was that committed by Cummings’ vote leave campaign.
We are now moving to a place where government cannot be challenged, protest will be severely curtailed and many voters will be excluded from voting. And some people express surprise that some of us are anti-this government!
Worrying times that's for sure.
It's not incomprehensible to see the UK being a Dictatorship in the not too distant future.
Most worrying aspect is people see him as doing nothing seriously wrong. Do the BBC ever report any misdeeds or the likes of, nine open investigations into Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conduct – more than double the number of voter fraud convictions in 2019.'
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life
My colleague Peter Walker has more on the £535 country court judgment against Boris Johnson. (See 10.49am.)
Edit: More complete report:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/12/boris-johnson-faces-court-judgment-over-535-unpaid-debt wrote:Boris Johnson faces court judgment over £535 unpaid debt
Boris Johnson has had a county court judgment issued against him for a debt that has not been repaid, official records show, placing the prime minister at risk of not only a bad credit rating but potential enforcement action by bailiffs arriving at Downing Street.
The official register of county court judgments for England and Wales shows that Johnson had a judgment against him in October last year over an unpaid debt of £535. The register does not give details of to whom the debt is owed.
The judgment, issued on 26 October, is for the online county court, whereby people owed a debt can seek recompense through a web-based form, rather than having to attend court. It is listed as an “unsatisfied record”, meaning it had still not been paid.
...
County court judgments are a late point in a process of seeking redress for a debt, indicating the prime minister would most likely have been contacted via post several times earlier, asking him to repay the debt.
Unless a debt incurring a county court judgment is paid within 30 days, it is placed on someone’s credit record for six years, making it much more difficult to get loans or mortgages. A creditor can also apply to the county court for a bailiff to collect the debt.
The news will increase scrutiny of how Johnson was able to afford to pay for a refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, which reportedly cost up to £200,000, for which he is believed to have paid partly via a loan. The Electoral Commission has begun an inquiry into how the work was funded, saying there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect multiple offences may have been committed.
What does this say about our PM? He's so bad at managing money he can't pay; he does not regard court judgements as applying to important people like him; he does not regard personal obligations as relevant to him; etc., etc. Are there any "good" interpretations of the message this sends? (and I'm afraid "what people want is our 100% focus on Covid ..." does not provide any sort of excuse)
I knew a bloke like him, in that he was well-off, well-educated and v. busy - he just didn't have the right sort of brain for doing such mundane things as paying bills !! He ran a business from our shared flat and I was the poor sap who answered the loud knock on the door when customs & excise recover team arrived. I'm hear to tell you that these boys do not mess about... cheque for large VAT payment was found in a crumpled stamped addressed envelope on the sitting room floor, said flat-mate having overlooked the minor (to him) and trivial detail of actually posting it!
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
Oldjohnw wrote: ↑12 May 2021, 8:46am
The only election fraud in recent times was that committed by Cummings’ vote leave campaign.
We are now moving to a place where government cannot be challenged, protest will be severely curtailed and many voters will be excluded from voting. And some people express surprise that some of us are anti-this government!
Of course the government can be challenged - fanciful to think otherwise - and the last big challenge was at the elections. How did that go?
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Oldjohnw wrote: ↑12 May 2021, 8:46am
The only election fraud in recent times was that committed by Cummings’ vote leave campaign.
We are now moving to a place where government cannot be challenged, protest will be severely curtailed and many voters will be excluded from voting. And some people express surprise that some of us are anti-this government!
Of course the government can be challenged - fanciful to think otherwise - and the last big challenge was at the elections. How did that go?
Did you not read the post? The government is trying to close down one of the most important means of challenging governments: judicial review. And as far elections ago they want to bring in FPTP for mayors and voter ID for general elections which could disenfranchise up to 2m people, as well as changing boundaries 8n their favour. So no, elections are only part of challenging government. And Johnson wants even to control when they are called.
The number of eligible voters who will need a new identification card is estimated at around 3.5M. And that issue will depend on the efficiency of local authorities.
And Johnson literally has form on unlawfully trying to suspend Parliament.
Accountability isn’t just about not agreeing with policies: yes that is what elections are for and that is what the normal debate and cut and thrust of parliament is about.
But sometimes interpretation of law can be disputed. This has always happened and in the past government has welcomed JR so that this can be established.
But now and then a government overreaches and they have to be stopped. The current government has a serious track record of ignoring the law. Johnson has made no secret of his desire to bring judges under his political control ever since they wrapped his knuckles over the prorogue of parliament (and May’s attempt to sidestep Parliament).
Stitch up elections as well and we are truly bu**ered.
Just our luck when the opposes at its weakest . Thankfully, I imagine a number of Troy MPs will object to this control but will it be enough?