The Conservative Party in East Devon has come under fire for failing to explain how jailed former councillor, John Humphreys, was allowed to stay in the party and even given a local honour, despite being investigated for sexually abusing boys. 

What are they hiding? This isn’t going away. – Owl

sidmouth.nub.news 

Humphreys, who once served as mayor of Exmouth, is serving a 21-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting two teenagers in the early 1990s and early 2000s.  

He was first questioned in 2005 but police did not find sufficient evidence. But following a complaint by another victim he was arrested in 2016, before being released under investigation on suspicion of sexually assaulting both boys.  

Humphreys continued to be a councillor until May 2019 and in December that year was presented with the honorary title of alderman by East Devon District Council (EDDC), allowing him free parking in the council’s car parks and the opportunity to represent the council at some functions.

At a full council meeting on Wednesday 20 July, some councillors demanded to know what senior Tories knew about the investigations into Humphreys and why he was allowed to continue in his role. 

A motion also asked for the council to call on East Devon Conservative MP, Simon Jupp, to use his influence to “obtain from the relevant part of the Conservative Party an urgent explanation as to what went wrong with the Conservative Party’s vetting and safeguarding processes.” 

The motion was proposed by Independent councillor for West Hill and Aylesbeare, Jess Bailey, who said: “In the 11 months since his conviction, answers have been sought from the Conservative Party. 

“For 11 months, we have been met with a deafening wall of silence. No one from the Conservative Party, locally or nationally, has provided any answers as to why it failed to suspend John Humphreys’ party membership in 2016 and to prevent him having any further involvement with activities that could bring him into contact with children.” 

Humphreys was already a councillor when he was arrested in 2016. He did not seek reelection to EDDC but was elected as an Exmouth Town Councillor in May 2019.

In April councillors agreed to commission an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the award of alderman to Humphreys.

Cllr Bailey argued Simon Jupp may be able to get answers that councillors had failed to do. 

“Surely Simon Jupp, our MP, is best placed of anyone to help this council obtain that information about what went wrong within the Conservative Party, practices and procedures and provide reassurance they have been rectified,” she said.

She acknowledged that Mr Jupp, who was elected in December 2019 before Humphreys’ crimes became public knowledge, was not to blame for failings in the selection process. 

“Of course, I accept that Simon Jupp is not personally responsible for safeguarding and vetting. Instead, we call on him to obtain an explanation from the relevant part of the Conservative Party urgently.”

Labour councillor for Exmouth Halsdon, Paul Millar, backed Cllr Bailey and recalled questions asked by one of Humphreys’ victims to the council.  

“To paraphrase what one of the brave victims asked through Cllr [Eileen] Wragg at one of our meetings … who knew he was being investigated for these serious offences?” Cllr Millar said.

“And why was he allowed to carry on as though nothing was happening? That’s the question every relevant agency needs to look at through independent inquiries in the coming months.”

Independent councillor for Exmouth Town, Joe Whibley, suggested there was no one brave enough to tackle issues surrounding sex abuse.  

“It’s quite clear from the John Humphreys affair that we simply do not know or do not have the courage to be able to act properly in such a situation, either individually, as an officer or at full council level,” said Cllr Whibley.

“Because we sit here time and time again nodding our heads and saying how terrible this is. But by doing nothing, we are potentially letting that happen again.”

Among the most emotional comments on the debate came from Cllr Eileen Wragg (Lib Dem, Exmouth Town) who had been in contact with Humphreys’ victims. 

She explained how she only narrowly beat him in an election as a county councillor and added:  “Had he got into county council, he would have had access to children’s services, vulnerable adults, all sorts of people, schools, colleges, you name it, he’d have been there. And yet, he would have been believed against any accusation or allegation. 

“Clearly, what’s happened here is that politics have been put before the safeguarding of children and Devon County Council, as the safeguarding authority, should hang its head in shame.”

Cllr Bailey repeated her call for Mr Jupp to help put pressure on the Conservative party structure in order to get answers. 

“Everybody knows that Simon Jupp isn’t primarily responsible for safeguarding,” she said. 

“We’re calling on him to help us. We know it’s not his duty to check the forms within the Conservative association. That’s the Conservative association. 

“The Conservative association chair is Councillor Bruce de Saram [a councillor representing Exmouth Littleham on East Devon District Council]. He’s never given any answers. So, the idea that we can all just work together and move forward is just not credible because you haven’t answered the questions.”

Before the meeting, Mr Jupp responded to Cllr Bailey to clarify the position. In an email, he wrote: “I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that Conservative Party processes, including vetting and safeguarding, are entirely separate from my role as member of parliament.

“The chair of East Devon Conservative Association is the appropriate person to contact in relation to the issues raised within the motion.”

However, the motion, for the council to express its deep disappointment that the Conservative Party allowed John Humphreys to hold prominent roles for more than four years and to call on Mr Jupp to ask senior party members for answers, was passed. 

……….the right wing press!

Penny Mordaunt’s exit from the Tory leadership race has left her pondering a familiar question: do the UK’s rightwing newspapers still shape political debate, or do they simply have a knack for spotting which way the wind is blowing?

Press attacks take toll as Penny Mordaunt misses out in PM race

Jim Waterson www.theguardian.com 

One Mordaunt-supporting Conservative MP was in no doubt that she had narrowly missed out on her chance to be prime minister due to relentless criticism from rightwing outlets. “The nasty personal attacks in the Mail and Telegraph cut through,” they said.

The papers portrayed her as having been absent from her former ministerial job and as a “woke” supporter of transgender rights. They put questions to Mordaunt’s team about other, more personal stories that did not ultimately appear in print.

Readers of the Daily Mail in particular were left in no doubt as to how the publication felt about Mordaunt, who topped polls of party members and briefly became the bookmakers’ favourite to be Britain’s next PM.

This may be due in part to Paul Dacre, the former Daily Mail editor who is rumoured to be in the running for a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours. He retains influence over his old newspaper and in December he wrote about sitting next to Liz Truss at a dinner: “She is clearly a toughie, possessed of a steely self-belief, an imperviousness to the media, a healthy contempt for the male species, a seemingly genuine belief in a low-tax, small-state economy and a disarming habit of asking abrupt questions and dismissing the response as ‘bollocks’ – a tactic clearly designed to gain further elucidation.”

In the two weeks since Johnson was ousted, the Mail has talked down Mordaunt on its front pages and attempted to boost the standing of Truss, who won through to the final two with Rishi Sunak on Wednesday.

Front-page headlines included “Mordaunt’s No 10 bid hits buffers”, “Mordaunt under the microscope”, “New favourite Penny under fire for ‘lies’ on trans views” and “Mordaunt flouted No 10 ban to meet boycotted group”.

Sunak also received critical treatment – in line with the outgoing Johnson administration’s reported desire for an “anyone but Rishi” candidate – while Truss enjoyed headlines such as “Unite now or we lose, Truss tells Tory right”, “Liz tax boost for families” and Wednesday’s eve-of-vote call to arms: “Truss allies warn: no dirty backroom deals.”

At points the Mail’s front pages have appeared targeted more at the pool of Conservative MPs voting in the first stage of the leadership than the general reader or even the Tory party members who will now receive a ballot.

“They clearly just decided they wanted Liz and would do all they could to get her in the final two,” said one Daily Mail journalist of the approach taken by executives including the editor, Ted Verity.

The Daily Telegraph has also been critical of Mordaunt, with her previously positive position towards transgender rights and self-identification policies as equalities minister being held against her.

The cabinet secretary, Simon Case, has opened a leak inquiry after documents relating to Mordaunt’s time as equalities minister were published on the front page of the Sunday Times. However, in common with many Whitehall leak inquiries, there is little expectation among Mordaunt supporters that this will uncover the culprit – and in any case, any damage has been done.

Sunak remains hopeful of picking up the endorsement of Rupert Murdoch’s Sun and Times as ballots are sent to party members. The role of Michael Gove, who helped mastermind Kemi Badenoch’s campaign, could be decisive on this issue. A former journalist at the Times, he remains close to Rupert Murdoch and is said to be strongly against Truss becoming prime minister.

Although Truss can now expect to receive full-blooded support from Tory outlets that remain loyal to Johnson, she may not receive entirely uncritical support from the Daily Mail, which will have its own views on how she should approach the contest. Dacre wrote in the Spectator last year: “I hope she won’t mind me suggesting that she might benefit from a Maggie-style makeover to smooth that metallic voice and irritating raucous laugh.”

From a correspondent:

Is the government now starting to really try to get a grip on the disgraceful state of our rivers and beaches or will all this vanish under a new tory prime minister?

There will be an amendment included in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill that will ensure water companies “take urgent action to tackle pollution from nutrients where they are threatening some of our most precious habitats”. This theoretically means the water companies will have to upgrade sewage works to reduce this form of pollution. In 2019 Environment Agency data found that one third of rivers were failing to meet ecological standards because of excess phosphorus.

But then there is also the Home Builders Federation which is lobbying hard to halt Natural England’s guidance to English councils to limit development where phosphates and sulphates were judged to be at dangerous levels and would damage the habitats of protected sites.  We have already seen this in our LPA with regard to pollution in the Axe.

The attitude of the Federation is to call this “Environmental Red Tape”.

I must applaud this next step in reducing high pollution as we will still have combined sewer outflows into our rivers until 2050. George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, has given the water companies until then to cut sewer spills by 80%!

Or will the new PM cancel this, giving priority to “build, build, build” at any cost?

What legacies are we leaving our grandchildren?

Will it change minds? Tory members, the electorate who will choose the next PM, have a habit of responding to communications “by return”. – Owl

The first of the 12 official public hustings organised by the Conservative party in the leadership contest has been set for July 28 in Leeds, before Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak tour the UK for questioning.

A hustings for the Conservative Councillors’ Association, organised separately and believed to be taking place behind closed doors, is expected to take place on Thursday.

Conservative members are expected to receive postal ballots by 5 August, with the ballot shutting at 5pm on 2 September ahead of the final announcement.

The candidates will also attend hustings in Exeter, Eastbourne, Northern Ireland, Manchester and London during their tour. 

Source Guardian

Can either “Rich Rishi!” or “Fizzy Liz” turn this around before the next election? – Owl

Larry Elliott www.theguardian.com 

Forget talk of a return to the inflationary spirals of the 1970s. The real story of Britain’s labour market is of an intensifying squeeze on living standards as the gap between pay and the cost of living widens.

Real regular pay – wages adjusted for prices once bonus payments have been stripped out – were 2.8% lower in the three months to May than in the same period of 2021. Not only was that the sixth monthly decline in a row, it was the biggest drop since modern records began in 2001.

What’s more, there is worse to come as inflation heads higher over the coming months. Pay growth excluding bonuses picked up slightly from 4.2% to 4.3% according to the latest Office for National Statistics data but nowhere near fast enough to keep up with price increases. If the Bank of England is right and inflation peaks above 11% after energy bills rise again in the autumn, the pressure on household budgets will be enormous.

Including bonuses, the picture is a bit brighter. Here the fall in real pay is smaller – at 0.9% – but the benefits of bonuses have been skewed towards better-paid workers in the finance and business services sectors and construction. These groups enjoyed annual total pay growth of 8.2% and 8.1% respectively, enough to keep pace with price rises.

But not all workers can rely on bonuses to top up their pay packets. Real earnings are falling particularly rapidly in the public sector, where total pay was just 1.5% higher in the three months to May than it was a year earlier.

The ONS labour market figures show a decline in inactivity as people return to the workforce in search of jobs. This is not entirely surprising: job vacancies are at record levels and households need paid employment when they are struggling to pay the bills.

Two big conclusions can be drawn from the latest data. The first is that there will be trouble ahead unless the government responds to the falling living standards of teachers, nurses, civil servants and other groups of public sector workers. This will mean either people leaving the public sector or strikes, and probably both.

The second is that the economy is rapidly reaching crunch point. If average regular pay is rising by just over 4% and annual inflation is running well above 10%, something has to give. That something will be consumer spending, with the lowest-paid and most vulnerable workers suffering most.

Problems ahead for the choice of “His Master’s Voice” Simon Jupp, as Simon returns to his constituency to prepare for….defeat? – Owl

Tories brace for ‘nastiest’ leadership campaign in party’s history

The identity of Britain’s next prime minister remains in the balance but, with the contenders whittled down to the final two, one thing seems certain: the Tories are entering the “nastiest” leadership campaign in their history.

By Gordon Rayner, Associate Editor www.telegraph.co.uk (Extracts)

…It will be a battle of ideology, policy and personality, with Mr Sunak, the prudent, centrist, polished public schoolboy against Ms Truss, the tax-cutting, Right-wing, robotic Yorkshire lass.

The two have already committed enough blue-on-blue attacks to last Labour through to the next election. 

Mr Sunak has dismissed his opponent’s “something for nothing” tax-cutting pledges as “fairytale” economics and attacked her past as a Remainer and a former Liberal Democrat. Ms Truss, who went to a comprehensive school, has attacked the former chancellor’s privileged education at Winchester College and accused him of leading the country into a recession….

One person who is already helping him from the sidelines is Dominic Cummings, the former Number 10 adviser who helped unseat Boris Johnson with “Dom bombs” about partygate. He now has Ms Truss in his sights, and has dubbed her “the human hand grenade” because “she blows up all she touches”. 

Mr Cummings has suggested that Boris Johnson wants her to win the contest because: “He knows Truss is mad as a box of snakes and is thinking ‘there’s a chance she blows, there’s another contest and I can return’.”

In his blog, he said she had been guilty of “compulsive pathological leaking” which “caused chaos and damaged the UK”. Previous experience suggests that Mr Cummings will make sure that plenty of other damaging stories about Ms Truss make it into the public domain.

Ms Truss, aware of her own shortcomings, has already felt the need to say she is not the slickest performer. Without the charisma of a Boris Johnson or even a Rory Stewart, she has no choice but to attack her opponent’s record and compare his policies to socialism.

One source in the Truss camp said: “Both of them have quite a few problems when it comes to winning over the membership.

“An awful lot of members are very cross that Boris is gone, so there isn’t a huge amount of affection for either candidate. It means they have got to work harder than normal to win over the membership.

“Rishi isn’t liked because he is regarded by the members as a high-tax chancellor, so he is retaliating with personal attacks on Liz, such as asking whether she had greater regrets about voting Remain or being a former Lib Dem, which was astonishingly pointed….

Mr Sunak also has another formidable opponent – Boris Johnson. In a proxy war with Mr Cummings, Number 10 will be doing everything it can behind the scenes to steer members towards loyalist “continuity Boris” candidate Ms Truss, rather than the man who triggered the Prime Minister’s downfall by resigning….