What interests Owl is that the Tory Nottingham PCC, Caroline Henry, is also the wife of a local Tory MP. Keeping it in the family!

Josh Payne www.independent.co.uk 

A Tory police and crime commissioner who pledged to crack down on speeding has been caught breaking the 30mph limit five times within a 12-week period.

The PCC for Nottinghamshire Police, Caroline Henry, admitted the offences, including two committed on consecutive days, at a previous hearing in February at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court.

Magistrates were told Henry, who is the wife of Broxtowe MP Darren Henry, had written a letter to the court saying she was “very sorry, embarrassed and ashamed”.

Her defence solicitor Noel Philo said the letter was written on “advice I did not give”.

The 52-year-old, who was elected to the post in May 2021, was caught speeding in a blue Mercedes and a silver Lexus with a personalised number plate in 30mph zones at four locations in Nottingham in March, May and June last year.

Court documents relating to the charges she has admitted show Henry was caught speeding twice near a primary school in Daybrook, Nottingham, as well as roads in Chilwell, Beeston and the city’s A610.

Speed cameras clocked the PCC’s speed as high as 40mph in a 30mph zone, with other excess speeds recorded at 35mph and 38mph.

The offences took place on 17 and 18 March, 2 and 27 May, and 8 June last year.

On her official PCC website, Henry listed ensuring an “effective and efficient” police response to speeding as one of her priorities.

She campaigned for election using the slogan “Make Notts Safe” and promised to “reduce crime with action, not words”.

The case was adjourned until 19 July where Henry is expected to argue that two of the five offences were due to “emergencies”, with one being when she was “very concerned for one of her children”.

Henry did not respond to questions over whether she would resign from her position.

In a written statement issued after the hearing, Henry said: “For technical legal reasons, the court has constituted that they cannot deal with the case today. I cannot comment on the ongoing case. I will be explaining the context of this matter in due course.”

Clarity sought after number of splits and sackings leaves council divided

Ollie Heptinstall www.devonlive.com

A series of political splits and sackings at Mid Devon District Council has led to calls for clarity about three newly formed groups and the future of the authority’s leader. Since 2019, the council has been run by independent-led coalitions – firstly with the Liberal Democrats and then the Conservatives – after the election resulted in no overall control.

Leader Bob Deed (Cadbury ward, New Independent) has been in charge throughout but his independent group recently split following a disagreement, with most members later joining forces as the Non Aligned Group (NAG). As for Cllr Deed, he and two other colleagues formed the New Independents. The delicate balance of the council meant the Tories could have taken exactly half of the 42 seats at the recent Cullompton South by-election, meaning its then-leader Bob Evans (Lower Culm, Ungrouped), who was also deputy leader of council, may have been able to challenge Cllr Deed for the top job. However, the Liberal Democrats won the by-election, and the state of the parties has been further muddied by Cllr Evans being replaced as leader of the Conservatives and sacked as deputy leader of the council.

Cllr Deed was accused of “political manoeuvrings” by Cllr Evans for the decision, as reported by DevonLive, but he claimed it was down to a “matter of trust.” Councillor Clive Eginton (Taw Vale, Conservative) won a vote to replace Cllr Evans as top Tory, while Councillor Stuart Penny (Yeo, Conservative) has taken on his cabinet member job for housing and property services. To make matters even more complicated, Cllr Evans has since resigned from the Conservative group and now sits as the council’s only ungrouped member.

Hoping to clarify the state of the parties at Wednesday’s full meeting of the council, Councillor Frank Letch (Lib Dem, Lawrence) said: I’m sure if the public looked at down table of allocations we have the three obvious parties, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Greens. Now we have New Independents, Non-Aligned Group and Independent No Group with one member.

“I’m presuming that the leader isn’t the one member of the independent No Group, because if he is we would all feel very sad for him. I remember in 2019, and I’m sure he does, that he was elected as an independent. So is he now the New Independent, because if he is, surely he is the old independent because he’s still there and he hasn’t gained anybody?

“I think the public really do need to know what these three groups mean because at the end of the day, some of these people would have been elected under one banner, like I was. If I changed to another group, I would stand down and I would put myself forward to be re-elected as a No Group, Independent, Non-aligned or whatever.

“Can we just find out if the leader has any plans to join these people together to find some way of getting the New Independents, the Non-Aligned groups plus the Independent No Group, number one, if they could get together to form a more cohesive entity.”

Cllr Deed replied: “In terms of the number of groups within this council, it isn’t unusual. And even within some councils you have two groups of the same party because there is a difference among members and so on.”

But he acknowledged Cllr Letch’s “very good point” adding: “I take your point, which is a very good point and maybe, because I think my column in the Gazette comes up next week or the week after, that’s something that I will address in the Gazette in terms of the different parties and what they mean.

“I don’t know how we slipped into the group that I’m now in, which is the New Independents. We should have just stayed as New Independents and the NAG should have got on with their nagging.”

The leader was asked by Councillor Graeme Barnell (Non Aligned Group, Newbrooke): “We’ve seen three replaced over the last year and this seems unrelated to performance in post because he congratulates all of them on their performance on his sacking of them. Can he please tell us how these sackings are related to the needs of the people of Mid Devon?

While he would not go into the reasons, Cllr Deed said: ” As you would expect Cllr Barnell, I’m not going to respond on the reasons for the removal of – some would like to say sacking – the removal from cabinet of certain members.

“In each case I felt it was justified, and therefore I took the action that I did. As you know, under the constitution I have the facility to hire and fire, but I do take the view generally as a leader that I should try to maintain a cabinet, which is, the best minds available to undertake the various cabinet posts. If for some reason individual members are finding it uncomfortable to maintain the job of a cabinet member within the cabinet, then there have been from time to time changes.

“Relating to the press this week, I would congratulate Councilor Luke Taylor (Bradninch, Lib Dems) because at least we have one mathematician within the council. He has managed to make sure that I’m reminded that I have removed seven cabinet members in the last three years.

“I hope that that number will not increase, but who knows? Somebody once said a week is a long time in politics. I have no intention at this time of changing any cabinet members, and I trust that we will go through to the elections in May 2023 and we will have a very good story to say in a year’s time.”

A former Conservative councillor has called on voters to back Labour in tomorrow’s local elections.

Sophia Sleigh www.huffingtonpost.co.uk 

The dramatic intervention by Barry Macleod-Cullinane, who served as deputy leader of Harrow Council when the Tories were last in power there, said the prime minister was “destroying” his party.

In a letter, he called on residents to vote Labour to “send Boris Johnson a message”.

Macleod-Cullinane said: “We now know that Boris Johnson broke the law and has lied repeatedly to Parliament and to us.

“He’s taking us for fools – and we can’t let him get away with it. A vote for Boris Johnson’s Conservatives on Thursday 5th May will be a vote for his chaotic leadership. We deserve better. That’s why I’ll be voting Labour on Thursday 5th May.”

Other former Conservative councillors are telling voters to back the Liberal Democrats in tomorrow’s elections.

Meanwhile, HuffPost UK can reveal that Conservative associations have shunned visits from cabinet ministers as campaigners warn that brand Boris is “shattered”.

Candidates have also put disclaimers on their leaflets pleading with the public not to “punish” them for “mistakes made in Westminster”.

Staff in Conservative campaign headquarters [CCHQ] are braced for the fallout, with one survey even putting the Tories on track to lose nearly 550 seats amid the backlash over partygate and the government’s response to the cost of living crisis.

HuffPost UK has spoken to Tory candidates who say they have been reluctant to allow government ministers to visit their wards due to “toxic” Westminster politics.

Sources said a number of London associations did not want any CCHQ involvement in their local campaigns.

“I know associations have turned down cabinet member visits,” one Tory campaigner said.

After Conservative chairman Oliver Dowden recently visited Wales, a council candidate said: “A lot of people didn’t want him coming here because they have been told everything needs to be local.”

In Elmbridge, Surrey, a former Conservative councillor wrote to residents urging them to vote for the Lib Dems in two key wards.

Councillor Alan Kopitko wrote: “You only have to look nationally with the lies that Boris and his followers have portrayed denying parties that they engaged in during lockdown echoing themselves whilst the Covid infection was spreading, and people were dying. This is detrimental to our democracy, whatever your political affiliations.”

Tory candidates have been marketing themselves as “Local Conservatives” with hundreds listed under the label on the ballot paper for the first time. They have also been leaving the prime minister off their leaflets.

Others have been more blatant in their bid to distance themselves from the national party, with Hartlepool candidates writing on their pamphlets: “This Thursday, please don’t punish local Conservatives for the mistakes made in Westminster, we are local and proud of where we live, and like you, we want the best for Hartlepool.”

Senior Tory MPs including ministers and deputy prime minister Dominic Raab have also recently adopted green branding for their constituency material.

A Tory campaigning in London said: “Things aren’t great really for the Conservative Party. Partygate is still coming up, it’s really shattered trust in the government and Boris.

“People are now linking it to other things, for example the government doesn’t understand the cost of living because they are so out of touch. That comes up quite a lot.

“The Boris brand is completely shattered, a lot of people are saying things like ‘I don’t trust him, I thought he’d be different, I thought he’d be on our side, I thought he’d be funny’.

“None of that exists any more. There’s still a lot of anger. Ukraine is coming up a little bit, cost of living is probably the main thing and that personal trust in the government is coming up a lot.”

However, seasoned observers are less worried because they say the last time the elections were held the Conservatives did badly and Labour did well so the results might therefore mask the true level of discontent.

They hope by the time the next general election comes round that the government has improved its position and standing.

It is also quite usual that non-governing parties do well at local elections and some Tories on the doorsteps say that national issues are not being raised at all.

One Red Wall Tory MP said partygate had proved “a bit of an issue” on the doorstep but that only around 10 per cent of Tories were bringing it up.

They added: “I’m not detecting people going back to Labour in any numbers at all, it will all come down to turnout in terms of what result we get this week.”

Another Red Wall Conservative MP on the campaign trail remained fiercely optimistic, saying: “It’s all to play for in last couple of days, we’re very close to winning in a few traditionally Labour areas.”

Some of the main areas to watch include Tory flagship councils Wandsworth and Westminster, as well as Barnet, Southampton, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Thurrock.

The results could fuel speculation over Johnson’s leadership, with some MPs already seeing the election as a referendum on the prime minister.

HuffPost UK has heard that staff working for some leadership hopefuls have been trying to “tap-up” MPs for support for weeks.

One MP has also admitted they are a campaign manager-in-waiting for one hopeful.

Some MPs think any leadership challenge must take place in a “window of opportunity” soon after Thursday’s results are announced or Johnson will likely be taking them into the next general election.

However, it all depends on whether enough letters of no confidence have been submitted to chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady.

One senior backbencher is said to be in “full-on manoeuvres” as MPs across the party say they have been approached by his staff.

The Conservative Party has been contacted for comment.

Tory candidates in Thursday’s local elections are styling themselves “local Conservatives”, and in some cases urging voters not to punish them for “mistakes made in Westminster”, as they prepare to count the cost of Partygate at the polls.

Heather Stewart www.theguardian.com 

The Conservatives are braced for losses in Thursday’s elections, in which every seat in Scotland, Wales and London will be contested, as well as many other English councils.

Leaflets delivered in Hartlepool say: “This Thursday, please don’t punish local Conservatives for the mistakes made in Westminster. We are local, and proud of where we live.”

In many parts of the country, including Birmingham, St Albans, and in the Esher and Walton constituency of the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, Tories are listed as “local Conservative”, even on the ballot paper.

Leaflets delivered in Hartlepool say: ‘Please don’t punish local Conservatives for the mistakes made in Westminster.’ Photograph: undefined/Twitter

A leaflet for Keith Rowe, in Birmingham Northfield, carries a picture of the label “local Conservative” as it will appear on the ballot paper, and the claim: “This is a straight fight between Keith and an unknown Labour candidate.”

In Newcastle-under-Lyme, Conservative leaflets stress, “this election is about local issues, not national issues”.

Boris Johnson’s picture rarely appears on the scores of local election leaflets from across the country seen by the Guardian. Some MPs, particularly in the south of England, have warned that Partygate is coming up frequently in doorstep conversations – as well as the cost of living crisis.

The Liberal Democrats have accused Boris Johnson of failing to campaign in “blue wall” areas such as Surrey, where they believe recent revelations about the prime minister’s lockdown breaches are particularly damaging.

Conservative MPs will be watching closely to see whether council seats change hands in their local patch, potentially pointing the way to Labour or the Liberal Democrats challenging them in a future general election.

Labour hopes to come second in Scotland, and to make progress in councils covering swing seats in England and Wales they would need to win to unseat the Conservatives at Westminster.

Some Tory MPs say that the aftermath of the poll could prove dangerous for Johnson if the Conservatives have a bad night and he is then blamed for the loss of hundreds of seats.

Labour and the Lib Dems are playing down the likelihood of a large number of councils changing hands – but the main parties’ share of the vote will be scrutinised for signs that Johnson has become an electoral liability.

The deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, said: “It speaks volumes that Boris Johnson’s own Conservative candidates are ashamed to be associated with him and trying to pull the wool over voters’ eyes.

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“With no answers to the cost of living crisis, Tory candidates are trying to hide from their own government’s record. A vote for Labour on Thursday is a vote to send the Conservatives a message they can’t ignore. Britain deserves better.”

The Metropolitan police are continuing their investigation into Partygate. Johnson has received one fixed-penalty notice for breaching lockdown rules by attending a birthday party.

The prime minister has told allies he does not expect to receive further fines, but it is widely believed at Westminster that more may come. The Met has said it will not update the public further until after the local elections.

Dear Owl

East Devon faces westwards to Exeter for much of its vitality, so we need to take an interest in what happens there. So, for those who have the chance to vote tomorrow…[Thursday, correspondence received yesterday]

… you would have to have returned today from at least a decade long holiday on Mars to make the catastrophic mistake of voting for the Conservative party on May 5th. There is no earthly reason for doing so, and almost endless very good reasons not to. The normal caveat that these are local not national elections doesn’t hold water because the current regime has taken local power back to Westminster in an unprecedented fashion, leaving all local authorities with budgets now well below the basic minimum clearly needed to meet their responsibilities and suffering the dead weight of egregious privatisation. We should note that the PMs claim that Labour led local authorities are badly managed is just more bunkum – the earliest budget defaulter was Tory run Northamptonshire – and many more Tory run authorities, just as those where other parties are in control, are suffering from chronic underfunding.

Let’s just re-read the list posted by Owl on 30th May (Southwest suffers from profound inequality) on a few of the pleasures of living in the southwest … 

* Low earnings and poor pay are common in many parts of the region with four of Devon’s eight districts among the UK’s top 25 low wage “hotspots”

* Poor mental health outcomes for both children and adults

* Teacher recruitment, retention and training are challenges for isolated schools

* Schools have on average lower levels of funding than elsewhere

* The area has long travel times to pursue further education or work which has been linked to higher drop out rates

* Fewer professional jobs are available in most areas, which has contributed to a youth exodus

Not exactly Shangri-La is it?…

This ‘local’ election is a national poll and is a chance to make some important changes. We have a shambolic, seedy, shameless government lurching to the unpleasant and downright dangerous end of the right wing in politics. An urgent rebalancing is required, and the chance to start that happens tomorrow. Vote for whoever you like, but for God’s sake (just ask Justin Welby…) don’t vote Tory.

(And I didn’t even mention partygate, Rwanda, porn in the commons, misogyny etc., etc., etc.)

Regards

Worzelist

Boris Johnson ended his 1,791-day hiatus from Good Morning Britain with a car-crash interview with Susanna Reid over the cost-of-living crisis, the Partygate scandal and honesty in politics.

The Hound reaction.life (Extract)

The Prime Minister – who turned up 15 minutes late to the hotly-anticipated interview – did not seem prepared for the ITV presenter’s ruthless questioning and constant interjections.

In one calamitous moment, Johnson was asked about Elsie, a 77-year-old pensioner who has been forced to ride around on buses all day to keep warm so she does not have to pay for heating back home.

Watch the 3 min interview here.

Civil servants described the government’s Covid testing programme as “unlegit” and “no way to do business” in emails revealed in a high court challenge to the awarding of up to £85m in contracts for antibody tests.

Haroon Siddique www.theguardian.com 

The campaigning organisation Good Law Project (GLP) is challenging the health and social care secretary, claiming the contracts with Abingdon Health, a medium-sized UK firm, were unlawful because they were not advertised nor open to competition, and the correct procurement process was bypassed.

The antibody tests developed by Abingdon later failed to pass regulatory tests and the vast majority expired without being used.

At the beginning of the hearing in central London, the GLP released details of emails obtained as a result of its legal challenge, including one in which David Williams, then the second permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), expressed concern at “how unlegit the entire testing strand is”.

In another email, concerned specifically with Abingdon, Steve Oldfield, the chief commercial officer at the DHSC, asked Williams to “have a quiet word with [Lord] Bethell and explain to him that we could make this all a lot more legit if we just took two days to do a public call-to-arms to ‘flush out’ any other companies who might be able to play a role in this space, and remove the criticism that we haven’t given everyone a fair chance”.

Bethell, then a health minister, is said by the GLP to have “made a number of interventions to assist [Abingdon]”, including championing the company – unlawfully, according to the GLP – on the basis of it being British. Bethell’s WhatsApp messages relating to government business have been unavailable for disclosure in the case because they were deleted when he replaced his mobile phone.

The GLP said there were concerns highlighted over the way contracts were being awarded in relation to Abingdon but also more generally, with one email by a civil servant stating: “[This is] no way to do business but we are in exceptional times.”

Additionally, the documents show an unnamed external consultant for the health and social care secretary saying of the arrangements with Abingdon: “Beyond the individual risks by themselves is there a point of mentioning that in conjunction with each other it becomes a monster of a story: first, we selected the RTC [rapid test consortium, which included Abingdon] without competition, then we might have a biased validation leading to a favoured product, we help them financially by funding upfront purchases without sufficient due diligence (ie, no contract in place) and with that commit to buying the test kits without anchoring any pricing principles. That’s big.”

After Public Health England found the tests were not accurate enough for mass antibody testing they were still accepted by the DHSC, with the government saying they were suitable for use in surveillance studies, although emails also showed concerns were raised about Abingdon going bust and “extensive reputational/political damage”.

Concern was subsequently expressed that it “will look like we’ve bought a load of worthless devices”.

A DHSC spokesperson said: “Our engagement with Abingdon Health was led by officials – not ministers or MPs.”

The case is expected to last three days.

New homes have a dwindling amount of green space because property developers claim they cannot afford to build parks, research has found.

Helena Horton www.theguardian.com 

Analysis from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) looked at data from the Office for National Statistics, data on the average age of local housing stock from Datadaptive and national survey data on public perceptions of local green space from the government agency Natural England.

It found that compared with the mid-20th century, the amount of green space near new developments in England and Wales has declined since 2000.

For example, in neighbourhoods where most of the housing was built between 1930 and 1939, the median size of a neighbourhood’s nearest park was about 61,500 sq metres. The equivalent figure for developments dominated by post-2000 housing is 36,200 sq metres – a 40% decline. And between 2013 and 2021 the proportion of parks deemed to be in “good condition” slipped from 60% to just over 40%.

Dr Alex Chapman, a senior researcher at the NEF, said property developers had the upper hand in negotiations with councils over green space provision.

He told the Guardian: “The broader planning arrangements around new developments mean developers can cite financial viability as a factor. If the council says it needs to build a huge park alongside the development the developer will say that it’s not financially viable.

“Sometimes the council can challenge this, but because of the pressure to build new houses from central government, the appeal will fail. The council won’t want to take part in a drawn out legal pursuit because they know they are on the back foot.”

Chapman pointed out that many large housing developers have a profit margin of about 15%, so there is room to invest in the property they build to make it better for those who live in and around it. Instead, this profit goes to shareholders.

“The golden age of building large parks near to homes was also the golden age of council housebuilding and I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” he said.

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Not only are new parks not being created, existing parks lack legal protection, so are being built on by developers.

Chapman said: “Some of these developments being picked up by us are infill – some of these developments are being built on what would have been someone’s green space. This could be because the parks do not have legal status or protection, so they can be built on.”

One in three people in England do not have nature near their home, with little or no green space at all in some of the most disadvantaged areas.

Visiting nature has proved to be important to wellbeing and health but access to it is decreasing. Analysis by the NEF found the decline in new green space provision after 2000 can now be associated with at least 9m fewer trips to green space a year, and those living in developments built after 2000 were about 5% less likely to visit green space once a week after other key variables (deprivation, age and dog ownership) were accounted for.

The NEF is supporting a petition calling for a legal right to nature.

Misfortune seems to visit those who do!

Simon Jupp with Robert Jenrick in December 2019 and Neil Parish in June 2021.

Time for a pint with Boris?

Two prominent Torbay councillors – one of them the wife of Torbay’s Tory MP – have been blasted by an independent investigator after a “chaotic” council meeting. Cllr David Thomas, the leader of the Tory group on Torbay Council, was found to have breached the council’s code of conduct while fellow Conservative Cllr Hazel Foster, the wife of Torbay MP and Government Minister Kevin Foster, was said to have bullied a council official.

Guy Henderson www.devonlive.com 

Reports at the time said the meeting had echoes of the “Jackie Weaver” incident at Handforth Parish Council in Cheshire that went viral last year. The investigation report, which has been published on the council’s own website, will be considered by the council’s standards hearing sub-committee next week.

Cllr Foster told the Herald Express she would be making a statement to her hearing next Tuesday and declined to comment further. Cllr Thomas will go before the sub-committee on Friday May 13.

The investigation followed a meeting of the council’s housing crisis review panel last September, a meeting chaired by Cllr Foster, which Devon Live reported at the time had “descended into disarray”. Members engaged in a fierce hour-long debate over who could or could not be a member of the panel, with the political make-up of the panel the main issue, and at one point a council clerk became “visibly distressed”.

One councillor said the clerk had been “upset and crying”. Six councillors complained – five Liberal Democrats and one Independent – as well as the council’s director of place Kevin Mowat, sparking the investigation.

According to the report Cllr Foster, who was elected to the council in May 2019, was found to have breached Torbay’s own code of conduct five times during the meeting, on matters including not treating others with respect; bullying or harrassing a person and attempting to use her position improperly. The report says she also breached the code’s rulings on bringing her office or the council itself into disrepute.

The investigator said there was insufficient evidence to rule on two other possible breaches of the code. The meeting on September 27 was streamed online, and a copy of the recording was used in the investigation.

The report says: “Throughout the meeting, Cllr Foster appeared focused on and determined to take a vote on membership of the panel. The meeting was at times heated and this is what led to the complaints against Cllr Foster.”

It later says: “Throughout the meeting there are several examples where Cllr Foster appeared to dismiss the opinion of others and at times refused to allow others to speak. The clerk was clearly very distressed and yet no attempt was made by Cllr Foster to rectify the situation or even show any concern or empathy.

“In addition to this, Cllr Foster appeared to ignore the comments made by other officers and other councillors who did not agree with the process being suggested by her. The fact six councillors and an officer of the council all complained shows the strength of concern over the disrespect shown by Cllr Foster.

“I consider that Cllr Foster has not treated officers or fellow members with respect.” When interviewed for the investigation, Cllr Foster said she felt she was herself being bullied by officers.

Among the complaints was a claim Cllr Foster had used her position to give an advantage to the Conservative group, which had been a breach of the code. The report also says Cllr Foster had brought her own office and the council into disrepute.

It states: “There was a clear lack of concern for the officers in attendance, with the clerk being visibly upset and a senior officer being ignored and told he could not speak.” Cllr Thomas faced nine complaints around his conduct at the same meeting, and was found to have breached the code twice, in attempting to use his position improperly to secure an advantage or disadvantage, and bringing his office or the council into disrepute.

The investigator notes: “I am of the opinion Councillor Thomas acted in a blunt, straight-talking manner, as is clearly his way. This approach might be difficult to accept at times (and he might wish to consider how his approach comes across to others) though this of itself would not breach the code.

“People are familiar with his style and there is nothing in any of his individual remarks during the meeting that I would regard as crossing the line between plain speaking and being disrespectful.” It will now be up to the sub-committee at its meetings next week to decide if Cllrs Foster and Thomas have in fact breached the code of conduct.

Neal Lawson is director of the cross-party campaign organisation Compass. www.theguardian.com

Faced with the ongoing Partygate scandal, a porn-watching MP and a potential rout at Thursday’s local elections, the Conservative party chairman, Oliver Dowden, has gone on the attack. A front-page Mail on Sunday splash accused Keir Starmer and Ed Davey of making a pact to give each other a free run in seats at this week’s polls. The Tories fear a progressive alliance, and Labour and the Liberal Democrats seem to fear saying openly that they want one. What’s going on here, and what could it mean for the next general election?

From Dowden’s point of view, on one level this is straight distraction: make a loud noise and hope people look at your opponents, not you. But he is also on to something. In February the Financial Times ran a well briefed story that Starmer and Davey had an informal pact to avoid competing with each other in certain seats: they stand candidates, but make minimal effort in the campaign. It worked for the Lib Dems in the Chesham and Amersham and North Shropshire byelections, and for Labour in Batley and Spen. Not spending money you don’t have, in seats you can’t win, makes obvious sense.

But Dowden is alleging something deeper. His research department has found a dip in the number of Labour and Lib Dem candidates standing this May. Some of this is by accident, as local parties don’t have the money or even the candidates to stand in many places. But it’s also happening by design. Finding they have values and policies in common, not just an enemy, Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens are cooperating on a local level, whether their leaders like it or not. But this breaks party rules, and so has to be done under the radar.

Of course, in crying foul, Dowden is in danger of hypocrisy – the Tories are well aware of the benefits of electoral pacts. On Thursday, Ukip and Reform UK, the successor to the Brexit party, are standing only a quarter of the candidates they did in 2018, thereby consolidating the regressive vote. And at the 2019 general election there was a clear pact between the Conservatives and the Brexit party, the latter’s candidates standing aside because of shared values and the imperative not to split their vote. It helped deliver a big majority for the Conservatives. Dowden rightly fears the gains progressive parties could make if they replicate such deals.

How should Labour and Lib Dem leaders react to Dowden’s accusations? Davey and Starmer have both already insisted there is “no pact”. But whatever they say, while the polls show a hung parliament is likely at the next general election, and unless and until Labour secures a consistent 20-point poll lead, these accusations of secret pacts and a “coalition of chaos” will continue.

And the ace in Dowden’s pack isn’t Davey but Nicola Sturgeon, whose SNP MP bloc is likely to be decisive in any hung parliament. Labour can try to deny this obvious truth and look evasive, or it can make a virtue of the electoral and intellectual strength of cross-party alliances. Who, after all, wouldn’t want Caroline Lucas the Green MP in their dream cabinet? Upcoming byelections in Tiverton and Honiton and Wakefield will make it obvious once again that there is some sort of deal. Starmer and Davey must own the new politics or mire us forever in the old.

On the same note, they should stand up for the morality of standing aside to let a better-placed progressive win. Dowden’s argument is that “backroom deals” deny voter choice. This must be confronted. The reality is that the first-past-the-post voting system means 71% of votes are wasted to the benefit of the Tories. Remember, it takes only 38,000 votes to elect each Tory MP but 50,000 for Labour, 250,000 for the Lib Dems and 850,000 for the Greens. First past the post underpins our tribal, adversarial, winner-takes-all politics. The big fraud is an electoral system that shuts out millions of voices, to the Tories’ delight, and locks in a nasty and arrogant political behaviour. By standing aside once and gaining office, progressives could pass legislation for proportional representation so that votes match seats – and usher in a new democracy.

Twenty-five years ago this week, the nation celebrated a Labour landslide, won in part because of cooperation with the Lib Dems. Later this week in local elections across the land there are seats that Labour or the Lib Dems can’t win but the Tories can lose. The same is true of the next general election. Dowden knows this and fears a pincer movement where progressives focus on all the things that unite them, not the few things that divide.

While leaders dither, activists are building a new politics from below. Compass, the organisation I direct, is campaigning for a Labour rule change to allow local parties the right not to stand a candidate where they can’t win. And Labour for a New Democracy is pushing for Labour to back proportional representation. Think of fans invading a pitch, or events such as the fall of the Berlin Wall: if a few people defy the officials, they get carted off, but if everyone does it, the people can’t be stopped.

Whether it’s progressive primaries to select candidates, citizens’ assemblies or a commitment to proportional representation, politics is in desperate and obvious need of renewal. A dysfunctional democracy is incapable of even decent behaviour, let alone solving huge challenges such as the climate crisis. But to get there, progressives are going to have to work together. They have a choice: win as one or lose apart. The stakes have never been higher.

• Erection of a two-storey detached garage to include a first floor level music studio. Symonds Down House Woodbury Lane Axminster Devon EX13 5TLRef. No: 22/0875/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1, Scots pine : removal of tree and replacement. The tree is stood away from a small group of pines and has suffered major limb loss three times which has left the tree very heavily crown lifted. These limb failures have opened the crown up to external forces (from the wind) that it is not a custom to. This often leads to further limb failures which is exactly what has been happening over the last couple of years. Plant replacement pine closer to the cohesive group to assist with its establishment Pinegrove Lower Broad Oak Road West Hill Ottery St Mary EX11 1XQRef. No: 22/0885/TRE | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey side extension 2 Kings Road Honiton Devon EX14 1HLRef. No: 22/0877/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Conversion of roofspace to habitable use to include a front dormer, 4 x front rooflights and alterations to fenestration. 9A Brookside Sidmouth EX10 9UNRef. No: 22/0872/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Addition of a first floor with habitable roofspace with the addition of 2 x front and 1 x rear dormer and alterations to fenestration. 5 Tidwell Close Budleigh Salterton Devon EX9 6SHRef. No: 22/0880/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• T1791, Oak: Crown raise to comply with Highways Act 1980. Maximum diameter of cuts 50mm T1793, OaK : Cut back southern crown aspect by 2.5m, cutting back branches approximately to vertical line off northern extent of small Yew near house. Maximum diameter of cuts 75mm T1795, Horse Chestnut : Fell Various : Crown lift any low branches overhanging driveway to provide 4m clearance. Maximum diameter of cuts 50mm Reason for Works: T1791 – Oak : To comply with Highways Act 1980. T1793 – Oak : Dominance over property T1795 – Horse Chestnut : Safety Various : Provide vehicular clearance over driveway Knowles Coly Road Colyton EX24 6PURef. No: 22/0878/TRE | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed conservatory to the side of the property. Havencliffe Lane To Havencliff House Axmouth Devon EX12 4ABRef. No: 22/0868/LBC | Validated: Wed 20 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey side/front extension and garage conversion to habitable use. 75 Newlands Road Sidmouth Devon EX10 9NNRef. No: 22/0871/FUL | Validated: Fri 22 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Tree 02, Monterey cypress – located in the garden of 43 Fore Street, Seaton, EX12 2AD (see attached plan for the location of the tree). The proposal is to fell the tree. The tree is structurally defective with an included main union at 2m. A reduction in the height and width of the crown will lead to the tree’s death / decline. This species is not suitable for crown reduction at this age. The only reasonable option is to fell the tree. Brockwell 43 Fore Street Seaton EX12 2ADRef. No: 22/0853/TCA | Validated: Wed 20 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Reserved Matters application with details of access, layout, scale, appearance, and landscaping for the construction of a hotel (Class C1), with ancillary flexible workspace/café/ conference facilities on the ground floor and associated access, parking, landscaping, and infrastructure, including additional information and details to satisfy conditions 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 17, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 on outline planning permission ref: 09/1107/MOUT in so far as they relate to the proposed hotel Land Adjacent Babbage Way Exeter Science Park Clyst HonitonRef. No: 22/0856/MRES | Validated: Tue 19 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Single storey first floor extension with alteration to fenestration and removal of outbuilding. Clematis Cottage Road From Luppitt Common To Dolish Farmhouse Luppitt Devon EX14 4RTRef. No: 22/0854/FUL | Validated: Tue 19 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Part two storey, part single storey side extension, alterations to fenestration, cladding and associated works. Longreach Lower Broad Oak Road West Hill Devon EX11 1UFRef. No: 22/0847/FUL | Validated: Tue 19 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed replacement two-storey rear extension. 24 Lyndhurst Road Exmouth EX8 3DTRef. No: 22/0859/FUL | Validated: Tue 19 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Demolition of storage building and erection of two holiday cottages Lakeview Manor Lane To Fishponds House Dunkeswell Devon EX14 4SHRef. No: 22/0848/FUL | Validated: Fri 22 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Retrospective planning permission for the formation of a raised platform with balustrade in a private household garden. 45 Raleigh Road Ottery St Mary Devon EX11 1TGRef. No: 22/0846/FUL | Validated: Fri 22 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Certificate of Lawful Development for the erection of a two storey 4-bed detached dwelling and detached triple garage to front.Minors Venn Ottery Ottery St Mary EX11 1RYRef. No: 22/0844/CPL | Validated: Fri 22 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of telecoms cabin and erection of surrounding fence compound. Axe Valley Academy Chard Street Axminster Devon EX13 5EARef. No: 22/0851/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Outline application with some matters reserved (access) for the erection of a single dwelling with associated development and demolition of outbuilding and glasshouse. Southtown House Sowden Lane Exmouth Devon EX8 5ADRef. No: 22/0850/OUT | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Addition of first floor and associated ancillary accommodation over part of existing ground floor of property. Westbrook Cottage Higher Metcombe Ottery St Mary EX11 1SRRef. No: 22/0834/GPAA | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of storage building Land East Of Little Ash Cottages Fenny BridgesRef. No: 22/0843/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Erection of a two storey 3-bed detached dwelling with associated parking and amenity space and vehicular access. 57 Woodbury Park Axminster EX13 5QYRef. No: 22/0838/FUL | Validated: Wed 20 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Side first floor extension above existing garage to provide accommodation, construction of new car port to side of garage, replacement of existing side conservatory, alterations to vehicle access and driveway to construct new posts and new gates. Oaklea Ham Axminster EX13 7HLRef. No: 22/0820/FUL | Validated: Tue 19 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Installation of various non illuminated signage Tangelo Sidmouth Road Aylesbeare EX5 2JJRef. No: 22/0821/ADV | Validated: Fri 22 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use, conversion and extension of former military buildings to form 5no. dwellings. Erection of 5no. detached double garages and landscaping. Gotleigh Farm Smeatharpe Honiton EX14 9RFRef. No: 22/0811/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of use from touring caravan pitches to the siting of static caravans for holiday accommodation. Hook Farm Camping And Caravan Site Gore Lane Uplyme Devon DT7 3UURef. No: 22/0782/FUL | Validated: Fri 22 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Reprofiling of existing rear lawned garden. Repair of existing perimeter bank and infilling with hedging plants. Mortimer House Cliff Road Sidmouth Devon EX10 8JNRef. No: 22/0784/FUL | Validated: Mon 18 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Single storey rear/side extension to include a garage with loft space. Creation of new vehicular access to public highway. Moorings South Street Colyton EX24 6ERRef. No: 22/0777/FUL | Validated: Wed 20 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Change of Use from redundant paddock to garden 7A Seafield Avenue Exmouth EX8 3NJRef. No: 22/0751/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Construction of single storey detached annexe Millbrook Farmhouse Chard Road Axminster Devon EX13 5EGRef. No: 22/0663/FUL | Validated: Tue 19 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Proposed construction of 2-bed first floor level apartment over existing single storey flat roof 52 – 58 High Street Sidmouth EX10 8LJRef. No: 22/0595/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

• Installation of shed forward of principle elevation. 1 Mountbatten Close Exmouth EX8 4DJRef. No: 22/0317/FUL | Validated: Thu 21 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision
• Replace 1no. window on rear first floor (south east) elevation April Cottage 4 Rivulet Terrace Sidbury Sidmouth EX10 0RTRef. No: 21/3162/LBC | Validated: Wed 20 Apr 2022 | Status: Awaiting decision

Labour has accused ministers of a potential cover-up over a PPE contract with a company linked to Tory peer Michelle Mone, after the health department refused to release documents connected to the deal, citing commercial sensitivities.

Peter Walker www.theguardian.com 

The row comes days after the National Crime Agency (NCA) searched Mone’s home as part of a potential fraud investigation into the company, PPE Medpro, which won more than £200m in government contracts without public tender.

Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, wrote to the government in January to seek the release of correspondence and records connected to the deal, as happened over a testing contract won by another company, Randox, after lobbying by the then Tory MP Owen Paterson.

In the letter, Rayner noted that Medpro won the two contracts via a “VIP lane” for politically connected companies after Mone contacted two ministers in May 2020 to say she could source PPE.

“I would ask now that the government takes the same approach as it has to the contract with Randox, which was a similar matter of controversy, and commits now to place all correspondence and records relating to the award in the library of the house [of Commons] for parliamentary scrutiny,” Rayner wrote.

In a reply sent last week, the junior health minister Edward Argar defended the efforts made to buy medical protective supplies at the start of the Covid pandemic, saying the alternative was “not securing the PPE that was desperately needed; clearly not an option”.

“All offers underwent rigorous financial, commercial, legal and policy assessments,” Argar said, adding that decisions were made by officials, with no evidence ministers were involved, and that “due diligence checks were appropriate given the circumstances”.

He added: “However, we are unable to provide correspondence and records relating to the award of the PPE Medpro contract as these remain commercially sensitive, given the department is currently engaged in a mediation process concerning the products it received from PPE Medpro Ltd, which involves confidentiality undertakings.”

The 25m medical gowns supplied by the company were never used after officials rejected them after an inspection, with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) seeking to recover money from PPE Medpro through mediation. PPE Medpro has maintained that it complied with the terms of its gowns contract and is entitled to keep the money it was paid.

In a statement, Rayner said the government’s refusal to release the documents “reeks of a cover-up”.

She said: “The fact that Medpro is in mediation for providing useless PPE is no excuse for failing to be transparent with the public – in fact it only strengthens the need for clarity about how this eye-watering waste was allowed to happen.

“The government have shown complete disregard for working people by wasting taxpayers’ money on dodgy contracts.”

On Wednesday, the NCA searched several properties associated with Medpro in the Isle of Man and London, including the Isle of Man office building where PPE Medpro is registered and the mansion where Lady Mone lives with her husband, the business magnate Douglas Barrowman.

Responding to previous stories, Mone’s lawyers have said any suggestion of an association or collusion between the Tory peer and PPE Medpro would be “inaccurate” and that she was not involved in the business. “Baroness Mone is neither an investor, director or shareholder in any way associated with PPE Medpro. She has never had any role or function in PPE Medpro, nor in the process by which contracts were awarded to PPE Medpro.”

Mone’s lawyers have said that after she undertook the “simple, solitary and brief step” of referring PPE Medpro to the government she did nothing further in respect of the company.

The Isle of Man constabulary confirmed that search warrants were executed at four addresses on the island on Wednesday “in support of an ongoing NCA investigation”. There were no arrests.

The DHSC referred any queries on Medpro to the NCA.

Tory local election candidate reveals voters are ripping down posters and BURNING them amid fears disillusioned Blue Wall areas could ‘flip’ to the Lib Dems and Labour

• Tory election candidate reveals her posters are being ripped down and burned
• She describes how some in Somerset don’t want to vote Tory due to the PM
• There are fears the Conservatives could lose ‘Blue Wall’ areas on Thursday 

www.dailymail.co.uk (Extract, similar story in the Telegraph)

A Conservative local election candidate has revealed her posters are being ripped down and burned as she described how some voters are citing Boris Johnson as a reason for not backing the Tories ahead of this week’s poll.

Dawn Denton, a Tory candidate for Somerset County Council, also claimed she would not be attending a hustings event in Frome because she doesn’t think ‘nasty’ locals will give her a fair hearing.

Government proposals to sell off housing association properties have been branded “hare-brained” as experts warn they will worsen the shortage of homes for more than a million Britons on waiting lists for affordable accommodation.

Andrew Woodcock www.independent.co.uk

Boris Johnson reportedly wants to grant up to 2.5 million housing association tenants in England the right to purchase their homes at a massive discount, echoing Margaret Thatcher’s popular “right to buy” policy of the 1980s which saw a huge proportion of the nation’s stock of council homes sold.

But Labour branded the plan “desperate”, pointing out that it repeats a policy from David Cameron’s 2015 Conservative Party manifesto which failed to deliver.

And the chief executive of homelessness charity Shelter said the “hare-brained idea” was “the opposite of what the country needs”.

“There could not be a worse time to sell off what remains of our last truly affordable social homes,” said Polly Neate.

“The living cost crisis means more people are on the brink of homelessness than homeownership – nearly 34,000 households in England became homeless between October and December last year, more than 8,000 of them were families with children.”

Ms Neate said the original Right to Buy scheme tore “a massive hole” in England’s stock of social housing, as less than 5 per cent of the homes sold were ever replaced with new affordable homes to rent.

“These half-baked plans have been tried before and they’ve failed,” she said. “Over 1 million households are stuck on social housing waiting lists in England, and with every bill skyrocketing, the government should be building more social homes so we have more not less.”

Details of the scheme were floated just days ahead of local elections in which the Tories are thought to be heading for a drubbing – and during the period of “purdah” when government departments are banned from policy announcements that may impact voting.

An unnamed government source said Mr Johnson was keen to find ways of helping the “generation rent” of under-forties who have been priced out of the housing market.

Conservatives have long viewed homeownership as a key sell for the party, and Tory strategists are concerned at the prospect of a generation growing up without any stake in the housing market.

“The prime minister has got very excited about this,” the source told the Daily Telegraph. “It could be hugely significant. In many ways, it is a direct replica of the great Maggie idea of ‘buy your own council flat’. It is ‘buy your own housing association flat’.”

But shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said it is “desperate stuff from a tired government, repackaging a plan from 2015”. She added: “Millions of families in the private rented sector with low savings and facing sky-high costs and rising bills need far more ambitious plans to help them buy their own home. These proposals would worsen the shortage of affordable homes.”

And the chief executive of the Demos think tank, Polly Mackenzie, said the proposals would disadvantage some groups of younger voters the Tories need to attract.

“Right to Buy offers huge financial benefits to those who qualify for social housing while providing nothing for those – often young professionals – who pay much higher rents in less secure private tenancies,” she said. “Half of tenants are in the social sector and half in the private … I cannot fathom the politics – let alone the justice – of helping one group with a subsidy of up to £100,000, while offering the others only a tiddly Help to Buy ISA and equity loans that have to be repaid.

She added: “Those who got by on their own, and never had to fall back on state housing, get the worst deal. Extending Right to Buy is a really good way to p*** off young renters, a group the Conservatives really need to stop letting down.”

“Instead of copying and pasting from old manifestos, Boris Johnson should be helping families on the brink,” Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine said. “Instead of talking up policies of the past, Boris Johnson should be slashing taxes right now and ensuring every pensioner can afford to heat their home.”

A government spokesperson defended the proposals. “We want everyone to be given the chance to own a home of their own, and we keep all options to increase homeownership under review,” they said. “Recent statistics show that the annual number of first-time buyers is at a two-year high, helped by our Help to Buy scheme for first-time buyers and Mortgage Guarantee scheme to expand the availability of low-deposit mortgages.”

Some months ago, a meeting was fixed for last Friday morning from 10am-11am between me, as leader at East Devon District Council (EDDC) and our CEO, Neil Parish MP, and Simon Jupp MP. 

Paul Arnott www.sidmouthherald.co.uk 

A first-rate agenda on matters of concern for the people of East Devon had been produced from the council end, and all was set fair.

There was a poor start when Simon Jupp gave a very late, terse apology and didn’t show up. 

Neil Parish, however, was there on Zoom and we had a good hour with a set of identified outcomes. 

This is what he agreed he would help us with:

• Mr Parish was to endorse our bid to government under the Levelling Up fund for major works on Seaton seafront, industrial units in Seaton, and regeneration projects in Axminster.
• He said he would personally fight on for the missing £1.6 million his and Mr Jupp’s government promised they would help the council with two years ago if we kept LED running through the pandemic.
• He was going to work with us on the phosphate pollution into the River Axe which has led Natural England to say no more homes in Axminster can be built until that is mitigated. As a farmer, with all the problems of leaking slurry lagoons and fertiliser run offs from fields, he would have been a considerable figure in all this.
• We appealed to him to have a word with government about the huge strain put on a district council when it is suddenly asked to distribute energy rebate payments via the means of the council tax system.
• We asked, yet again, to help with a change to housing policy, especially what happens if we graft to create new social housing only for it to be privately purchased within a few years.

At 11am on Friday, I was left with the impression that he’d listened and would help as much as possible. 

His mood was not that of a man who had any idea that he’d be the MP identified by his party just a few hours later as the House of Commons phone culprit. 

Perhaps he thought there were other candidates, and certainly he did not fit the profile of the “frontbencher” who’d been rumoured.

As Leader of EDDC, however, there are consequences for you all I must share. 

First, all those critical bullet points above are left nowhere now. In particular, for the Seaton and Axminster bids to be submitted they urgently needed a credible local MP’s signature. 

What a waste of our council’s time, and quite probably what losses for the entire community.

Further, in the circumstances as they now stand, I will disclose what Mr Parish shared with me about us leaving Europe, about how hard he’d tried to dissuade his constituents from voting Leave, and what a total disaster it is now across all issues.

I appeal to Mr Parish here – you know your Conservative government has conned and deceived good people to vote for this mess. 

In the spirit of clearing your conscience, as you did last weekend over the phone pornography, can we ask you to speak out on that too, please?

For while Conservatives remain silent on that it will fester like an exploitative image in a dark corner of what was once the greatest Parliament in history.

As for the effects of his departure now on local people, our administration will do all we can to offset them. 

For your own political choices when the by-election comes, and indeed a general election, that is for you. 

All I suggest is that you do what you can, vote how you can, to make sure that this toxic cloud of national Tory infamy is removed from the skies of our wonderful district forever.

That’s when you’ll find the true ‘sunlit uplands’, promised so fraudulently by Boris Johnson and his merry band of rogues and liars.

I got twenty acres
An’ you got fortythree
Now I got a brand new combine harvester
An’ I’ll give you the key

Untreated sewage was discharged into England’s coastal bathing waters for more than 160,000 hours last year, according to figures collated by the Liberal Democrats to mark the start of the summer sea-swimming season.

Sandra Laville www.theguardian.com 

Data compiled by the party using Environment Agency figures on 2021 discharges shows that water companies released raw sewage 25,000 times into designated bathing waters off the English coast.

Figures collated by the campaign group Top of the Poops reveal that when also including the bathing waters in Wales, water companies released untreated sewage for 217,804 hours.

The bathing water designations – which were created by the EU – are supposed to highlight the country’s cleanest and safest waters for the public. The quality of the water is publicly identified on signs at the bathing beaches, ranging from excellent to poor.

The longest discharges into bathing waters were carried out by United Utilities, which released untreated sewage into sea-swimming spots in its area for almost 75,000 hours. The company’s worst-hit bathing water site was Morecambe South beach.

Southern Water, which was last year fined a record £90m for spilling billions of litres of raw sewage into Hampshire and Kent coastal waters, was responsible for 20,367 hours of untreated sewage discharges into designated bathing spots off the coast in their area.

South West Water discharged sewage into bathing beauty spots for 43,901 hours, with their longest discharge released at Ilfracombe’s Wildersmouth Beach, lasting 1,833 hours.

The figures were released as the official sea-swimming season opened on Sunday. This marks the start of annual monitoring of bathing-water quality, which helps to inform the public about the water at beaches they visit. The season lasts until September.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrats rural affairs spokesperson, said: “It is now or never to save families from swimming in sewage-infested waters this summer.

“Children should be free to enjoy Britain’s great coastlines and lakes, yet Conservative ministers are letting water companies get away with shameful sewage dumps. This is an environmental scandal.”

The data was released as many parts of the UK prepare to go to the polls on Thursday to vote in local elections.

The Liberal Democrats have called for a sewage tax on water companies’ profits to be used to clean up coastlines, rivers and lakes.

Environment Agency data shows that in 2021 water companies released raw sewage into all coastal waters and rivers in England for more than 2.7m hours. The Lib Dems said that in the same year the firms made £2.8bn in operating profits and paid out £27m in bonuses to senior executives.

Hugo Tagholm, chief executive of the campaigning charity Surfers Against Sewage, said: “Water companies are getting away with blue murder – repeatedly dumping raw sewage into areas of special recreational interest, with seeming impunity.

“Our great beach-loving public shouldn’t have to swim or surf the gauntlet 0f sewage, pathogens and pharmaceuticals that are pumped out through water company pipes. Surfers Against Sewage has been challenging the water industry for decades, calling for them to put people and planet before excessive profits and executive bonuses. We demand a new decade of ambition to clean up and protect all our bathing waters and blue spaces.”

Sue Gray’s report into lockdown-breaking parties will expose emails revealing widespread “premeditation” by civil servants and Downing Street staff who knew they were breaking the law.

Caroline Wheeler, Harry Yorke www.thetimes.co.uk 

The revelation comes as it emerged yesterday that the latest Metropolitan Police questionnaires have been sent out, and relate to the leaving party of Lee Cain, the prime minister’s former director of communications, on November 13, 2020.

Gray’s report, on hold until Scotland Yard has completed its investigations, is expected to be highly critical of Boris Johnson for attending some events and for the culture in No 10 under his leadership.

A senior official familiar with the contents said the findings would be “difficult for everyone”.

One source has suggested the report will leave Johnson, who has already been fined for attending an event to mark his 56th birthday, with no option but to resign.

An official said: “The most shocking thing Sue’s report has uncovered is a series of emails which expose the extent to which the parties were premeditated and the rules were being wilfully broken. She is also concerned by the lack of contrition shown by those who have been found to have broken the rules.”

It is understood that the most egregious event in terms of premeditation was to mark the departure of Hannah Young, a No 10 private secretary. It took place on June 18, 2020, with 20 people gathering in a room close to the cabinet secretary’s office in 70 Whitehall and was described by officials as “raucous”. Last month it emerged that Helen MacNamara, the former director-general of the propriety and ethics team at the Cabinet Office, had attended and received a £50 fixed penalty notice.

It was also alleged that MacNamara had brought a karaoke machine to the gathering, which ended with a brawl between two staff.

It has now been claimed that an email exchange, details of which have been shared with this newspaper, showed that staff discussed the gathering in advance and were warned by officials that it might be a breach of the rules.

There was said to be a debate as to what type of room was best suited to hold a gathering while coronavirus restrictions were in place. The rooms in No 10, where Young had worked, were considered too small one source claimed. A second source provided an alternative explanation, alleging that Martin Reynolds, then Johnson’s principal private secretary, had been told by senior aides in No 10 that he could not organise an event there.

As the email exchange continued, one respondent is said to have questioned whether the event was a good idea. According to one familiar with the incident, they are said to have asked: “Is this wise?”

It was at this point that MacNamara is said to have stepped in and assured others on the email chain that she had resolved the issue. According to insiders, she gave approval for a room to be used in the Cabinet Office.

In the end, the event is believed to have begun in a communal area on the ground floor of the Cabinet Office, before “migrating” to a room close to the cabinet secretary’s office.

Gray is also understood to have copies of another email, which shows that a very senior official warned Reynolds against inviting 100 staff to a “bring your own booze” party in the No 10 garden on May 20, 2020. Police have started issuing fines for the party, which Johnson attended with Carrie Symonds, then his fiancée, and more than 50 Downing Street staff.

This story seems to get murkier and murkier – Owl 

Devon county councillor and friend of Neil Parish, Colin Slade (Tiverton), has said he can see how searching for tractors on the internet could lead to a porn site.

www.bbc.co.uk (Click on site to watch the interview clip)

According to other news reports (including Mirror and Telegraph) Neil Parish’s allies have speculated that he was searching for a “Claas Dominator” tractor. Though Neil hаsn’t responded to the suggestion yet.

[Owl is under the impression, however, that these are a brand of combine harvester, rather than tractor. But must stress Owl has no expertise in such matters]

“a few bad apples”

Commons Speаker Sir Lindsаy Hoyle hаs cаlled for “rаdicаl” reform to Pаrliаment’s working prаctices in the wаke of the scаndаl, which is just the lаtest in а string of bullying аnd sexuаl misconduct аllegаtions аnd аllegаtions involving MPs.

However, Business Secretаry Kwаsi Kwаrteng dismissed clаims thаt Pаrliаment hаs а widespreаd culture of misogyny, clаiming thаt the problems аre due to “а few bаd аpples.”

“I don’t think there’s а culture of misogyny,” Mr Kwаrteng sаid on Sundаy to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge. I believe the issue we fаce is thаt people work in а very demаnding environment with long hours, аnd I believe thаt most people аre аwаre of their limits аnd how to behаve respectfully.”

“I think we hаve to distinguish between а few bаd аpples, people who behаve bаdly, аnd the generаl environment,” the Cаbinet minister told the BBC’s Sundаy Morning show.