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19 Feb 2018

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Accountability, Budleigh Salterton, Clinton Devon Estates, Developers/ Development, Spin

[Clinton Devon Estates] “Fence in Budleigh Salterton is branded ‘an abomination’ “

Picture: Sidmouth Herald

Owl says: check every word and letter of that do ument that promises ‘greater security’ for your what is left of your garden League of Friends – not to mention that of your building should the Hub not be successful …!

“A ‘substantial’ fence – around 6ft high and 100ft long – is causing uproar in Budleigh Salterton.

Residents are angry that it has gone up and a town councillor has described it as ‘an abomination’.

The fence has been erected by Clinton Devon Estates (CDE) on land that it owns and leases to the Budleigh Salterton Hospital League of Friends on an annual basis.

Running across the former Hospital Gardens opposite the new Community Health Hub in Boucher Road, it marks the boundary of the new hub garden and land that CDE has earmarked for development.

Last September, CDE had its outline application – for means of access, proposing two houses to be built on half of the land east of East Budleigh Road – rejected at appeal by East Devon District Council (EDDC).

Now, it appears, it may make a fresh application.

“We are in discussion with the league of friends to agree a more secure long-term lease to provide the hub with a generous, tranquil garden with mature trees on approximately half of the site,” said a CDE spokesperson.

“This will provide easy access for all ages using the hub, as well as an attractive outlook from the building itself.

“We have recently put up fencing to mark the boundary of the new hub garden and any proposals we may have in the future for the remainder of our land at Boucher Road will go through all the required processes and approvals.”

David Evans, chairman of Budleigh Salterton Hospital League of Friends, said: “There is no doubt that our local community will be very disappointed at the erection of a substantial dividing fence down the middle of the greatly-valued hospital garden.”

However, he said the new lease would give ‘greater security’ than before.

“Whilst the league of friends would ideally have preferred to have been able to make use of the whole garden, it has been able to secure long-term access to a valuable and useful green area for the benefit of many,” said Mr Evans.

Councillor Courtney Richards – speaking at a town council planning meeting on Monday – said his phone had been ‘buzzing’ with complaints about the fence.

“I don’t know if Clinton Devon are having a fit of pique, but they are really emphasising that ‘this is ours’,” he said. “There’s very little as a council we can do about it, which is a shame because it borders straight onto a piece of land that’s designated in the Neighbood Plan as an open green space.

“Frankly, I think it’s an abomination, but that’s Clinton Devon’s latest attempt to improve Budleigh Salterton – he said, with his tongue firmly in his cheek.”

http://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/fence-in-budleigh-salterton-is-branded-an-abomination-1-5398384%5B

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

19 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Developers/ Development, Scrutiny, Transparency

Auditers – what are the good for? Papering over cracks?

“Carillion’s investors fled the failing company as it headed for disaster, according to MPs.

The construction firm’s annual reports were a worthless guide to its financial health and raise major questions about corporate governance, the MPs say.

The comments come in a joint report published on Monday by the Work and Pensions and Business committees.

Carillion’s former auditor, KPMG, will be questioned by MPs on Thursday.
Britain’s second largest construction company collapsed last month, with the loss of almost 1,000 jobs. There were also job cuts and widespread disruption among sub-contractors. …

… Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, said there was a “disconnect” between what Carillion directors told MPs and the information from shareholders.

“On one hand, the Carillion directors told us all was sunny” until a major contract in Qatar went wrong.

“On the other hand, investors were fleeing for the hills, and it appears those who looked closest ran fastest,” Mr Field said.

It has emerged that one leading investor – Kiltearn Partners – considered suing Carillion. …

Rachel Reeves, who chairs the Business Committee, said: “Investors spotted that Carillion was heading for disaster and fled.

“The company had unsustainably high levels of debt, weak cash-generation and was saddled with a widening pensions Rachel Reeves, who chairs the Business Committee, said: “Investors spotted that Carillion was heading for disaster and fled.

“The company had unsustainably high levels of debt, weak cash-generation and was saddled with a widening pensions deficit.

“Carillion’s annual reports were worthless as a guide to the true financial health of the company.”

She said the fact that it was impossible to get a true sense of Carillion’s financial health “raises serious” corporate governance issues.

“KMPG will have to explain why they signed-off on accounts which appeared to bear so little relation to reality,” Ms Reeves said. …

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43107500

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

19 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Developers/ Development, Housing (local), Persimmon

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“Persimmon increases freehold sales after Government pressure”

Persimmon – whose boss got a £110 million bonus. And note the headline doesn’5 say “stops” leasehold sales of houses … Why isn’t this illegal?

“Persimmon has upped the number of homes it is selling freehold in a sign it is bowing to Government pressure over the sale of leasehold properties.

The company is understood to have changed its sales tactics on a number of sites where it is currently developing homes after concerns were raised about the potential for third party firms to buy up tranches of freeholds, and the high cost of ground rents.

Homes being sold at a development in Melksham, Wiltshire, where a four bedroom house is available for £234,995, are now being offered freehold, where previously only a leasehold sale had been available. Other sites in Penrith, Crewe, Crawley and Bracknell are also now being marketed for freehold sales.

Persimmon, which builds around 15,000 new homes each year, has come under fire for selling houses on leasehold terms to then hold onto the freehold for future sale as an extra source of income. Some leasehold homeowners found themselves on punitive terms with rapidly increasing ground rents and extra charges, or facing spiralling costs to buy the freehold at a later date. There are around 1.4 million leasehold households in the UK in total. …”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/02/18/persimmon-increases-freehold-sales-government-pressure/

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East Devon Watch

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18 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Standards Committee

Some Standards Committee chairs are better than others!

Standards – what standards?

“A Conservative councillor who defended the disgraced Presidents Club and accused the Financial Times of exaggerating the behaviour of its guests at a men-only dinner is being forced to stand down from a senior role.

Tina Knight’s comments on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine programme, in which she dismissed reports of widespread groping at the event and said that the “real harassment” took place at women-only functions, prompted a furious online reaction and a protest over the weekend.

Vine interviewed Knight, the chair of the standards committee at Uttlesford council in Essex, and Madison Marriage, the FT reporter who went undercover as a hostess and reported allegations of sexual harassment that left some hostesses in tears.

Knight said any hostess at the event would have to be a “real airhead” not to expect “ribald” behaviour of the kind she knew from her rugby club in Saffron Walden. She said to Marriage: “You’re obviously a reporter because you are exaggerating … If she’s upset that’s one thing; she should not be speaking for others.

“If you want to know real harassment then you go to a women-only function and you see real behaviour that would absolutely make men look like saints … This belittles real sexual harassment … rape and that sort of thing … when somebody can’t deal with a drunken man.”

She said the £2m raised for charity at the event was “astounding”, and claimed men were more generous and competitive when “imbibed with lots of liquor”. ”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/18/ambulances-stuck-at-ae-unable-to-respond-quickly-to-999-calls

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

18 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Housing (local), Inequality

Another toothless tiger – a rented housing “watchdog”

Owl says: more money to be spent on another useless quango. Can you imagine the correspondence? Instead of a long-running battle with a landlord, it will be an everlasting problem with a taxpayer-funded quango, which could go something like this:

I live in a flat with no heating, my landlord refuses to fix it.
Rate your heating and explain your problem in as technical way as possible, on this 20 page form. (end of week 1)
I don’t have any heating, I can’t get more technical than that, I’m not a plumber or electrician.
We cannot process your complaint unless you fill in the form and have it certified by a plumber or electrician. (end of week 4)
(You fill in the form as best you can).
Sorry, you did not include information about the warranty and the plumber you engaged said he could not provide more information without a full inspection. (end of week 8)
I don’t have the warranty, my landlord has it and won’t let me see it, it’s my landlord’s responsibility to engage and pay for an inspection
Sorry, we can’t help you if you do not have a copy of the warranty and a copy of the inspection report from your landlord (end of week 12)
So what do I do now – I have no heating, I’ve paid for a plumber’s visit out of my own pocket and my landlord refuses to give me a copy of the warranty and refuses to call a plumber? (week 16]
Email: Thank you for using our service. Please rate our service on the attached questionnaire: was it
excellent,
brilliant or
outrageously, miraculously wonderful?

“HOUSEHOLDERS will soon be spared long-running battles with rogue landlords and builders to get their homes repaired.

A new watchdog will be appointed to adjudicate in disputes over damp walls, broken boilers and crumbling plasterwork.

The government appointed housing ombudsman will have sweeping powers to resolve disagreements between dissatisfied residents and landlords or builders.

He will also be encouraged to name and shame dodgy housing or repair providers.

It will be a lifeline for millions of tenants or home-owners locked in long-running rows over everything from outstanding repairs to cracks in new-build homes. …”

Housing Secretary Sajid Javid will today launch an eight-week consultation on the precise role of the new official.”

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5604478/new-housing-watchdog-to-be-set-up-to-deal-with-rogue-landlords-over-home-repairs/

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

17 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Accountable Care Organisation, East Devon Alliance, Health and Social Care (local), Martin Shaw, NHS (local), Seaton/ Colyford / Colyton

Important health meeting in Seaton on 23 March

From the blog of DCC East Devon Alliance councillor Martin Shaw:

“Seaton and Area Health Matters – Going Forward Together

Friday 23rd March 2018 – Seaton Town Hall

9.00 for 9.30 am start – 1.00pm

Book here: https://goo.gl/forms/7laMUjhByt8F0w053 (right click on link to open booking form)

You are invited to participate in this community led event with key stakeholders around the future health and wellbeing of all the people in our communities, in response to the new landscape affecting Seaton and surrounding area as a result of NHS and Government policies advocating Place-Based Care in health provision and cross-sector collaborative working with community groups

The aim: To discuss what we know, where there are gaps/challenges and how, as a community we will address these to ensure collaborative approaches to co-design and co-produce local health services/activities that meet the needs of all the people in our communities.

Invitees: Management and senior level employees and volunteers / trustees from community, voluntary and social enterprise sector as well as public and private organisations.

Area to include: Seaton, Colyford & Colyton, Beer, Axmouth, Branscombe

PROGRAMME:

Welcome: Mayor of Seaton – Cllr Jack Rowland

Community Context:

Dr Mark Welland – Chairman of Seaton & District Hospital League of Friends
Roger Trapani – Community Representative, Devon Health and Care Forum
Charlotte Hanson – Chief Officer, Action East Devon
Strategic and Services Overview – Place Based Care:

Laura Waterton – Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust
Richard Anderson – Health and Social Care Community Services Manager
Dr Jennie Button – Social Prescribing Lead – Ways 2 Wellbeing project in Seaton
Workshop, Networking and Discussion will form the main part of this event:

Workshop 1 – What is working well and what are the challenges for Seaton and surrounding area?
Workshop 2 – Working together to improve health and wellbeing outcomes? What support do we need?”

Important community conversation on health and wellbeing in Seaton and area to begin on 23rd March

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

17 Feb 2018

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Misc

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1 Comment

So, you vote Conservative …

If so, then you need to watch this video…

If not, then you still need to watch this video…

Posted by

East Devon Watch

Posted on

17 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Claire Wright, Council tax, DCC

DCC vote more cuts to keep reserves

Claire Wright and other independent councillors tried to persuade DCC to fund services rather than add to reserves – Tories voted to keep reserves.

From Claire Wright’s blig:

“… Over £155m worth of cuts have now been made to Devon County Council by central government, since austerity began in 2010. That’s around 80 per cent of the council’s core funding… gone…. …

It emerged in the past week that an extra £5m will be squirrelled away in Devon’s reserves, in case of financial difficulty.
But vital services are being relentlessly cut – for the EIGHTH year running – council tax is rocketing and the county’s people are suffering.

With council tax rising by 20 per cent in just seven years. That’s £250 for an average band D property, while wages stagnate – Devon’s residents (and people all over the country) are being ripped off by a Conservative government that claims to be a government of low taxation.

– 30 health visitor posts are to be cut which will hit families that most need support, especially those with babies and young children. The Independent Group is proposing that part of the £5m is used to prevent those losses

– Foster carers who look after the most damaged and challenging children could lose around £100 a week to foster carers who look after less damaged less challenging children.

This income cut is in addition to earlier cuts in allowances over recent years. The result of these cuts could see experienced dedicated foster carers struggle to make ends meet and be forced to leave. It is causing much anxiety … and ultimately it will be the children who suffer. The Independent Group is proposing that part of the £5m is used to shore up the income of foster carers

– The schools counselling service is set to be lost at a time when anxiety and depression among young people is soaring and when many are now being forced to PAY for their own counselling sessions. The Independent Group is proposing that part of the £5m is used to ensure this essential service continues

– People in Devon’s towns and villages are falling over dangerous paving stones every day. The Independent Group is proposing that part of the £5m is spent on making far more pavements safer, especially for elderly people who are most likely to hurt themselves and end up in hospital

And what of Devon’s MPs, especially the Conservative MPs, who ALWAYS toe the party line on cuts to our council budgets, despite requests each year from the leader of this council to stand up for the people of Devon?

Well this year, guess what? It’s no different. All Conservative MPs who were present in the chamber last week voted in favour of yet more suffering. …”

http://www.claire-wright.org/index.php/post/20m_of_devon_service_cuts_voted_through_as_council_tax_rises_by_around_five

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

17 Feb 2018

Posted under

Coastal communities, Exmouth, Flooding, Grenadier, Regeneration

Anyone else underwhelmed by Exmouth’s watersports centre?

And wouldn’t you think the safety changes might have been foreseen?

“Peter Quincey, director of Grenadier Estates, said: “Following our community consultation and the feedback received, we have focused on water safety in consultation with East Devon District Council and have made amendments to the design.

“The amendments to the design include setting the building back by four metres to allow a more substantial space between the building and the sea wall, and increasing the rigging areas to accommodate additional water sports equipment.

“To improve the visual appeal of the building further, we have included additional stone cladding and designated more space for planting trees.

“These additions have resulted in a reduction of 14 parking spaces.”

http://www.exmouthjournal.co.uk/news/grenadier-estates-statement-watersports-centre-application-1-5397490

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

17 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Austerity cuts, Council tax, Inequality

“Poverty is now so visible that even the richest can see it”

Owl wonders how many will cough up for a guilt tax – most of these people didn’t get rich by helping the poor!

“Officially, it’s not a guilt tax. Westminster council prefers the term “community contribution” to describe the idea that its millionaire residents might like to make a voluntary donation on top of council tax. It is, they say, merely a chance for the wealthiest to “invest in their neighbourhood”. Perish the thought that they may have anything to feel guilty about.

But whatever you call it, attempting to appeal to the social consciences of the super-rich is surely a sign of changing times. That a flagship Tory council should be dabbling in new forms of redistribution is interesting in itself. That it began considering the idea a few months after the Grenfell Tower fire, which had some of Kensington’s more liberal-minded millionaires asking why their council hadn’t charged them more and housed their neighbours decently, is more interesting still, given that Westminster’s guilt money is earmarked partly for tackling homelessness….

The significance of the guilt tax is that, according to the council leader, Nickie Aiken, the idea came from wealthy residents themselves, who began asking last year if they could pay more. Most tellingly of all, she says it is most popular among those living in “the most expensive homes”, reversing the normal finding that tax rises are wildly popular only with people who won’t actually be paying them. This is starting to feel less like a conventional tax, and more like the biblical concept of guilt offerings: pay up, cleanse yourself of the perceived sin of unwittingly perpetuating gross wealth inequality, and perhaps you might avoid a plague of locusts.

… Relying on charitable donations, which could dry up overnight, to fund essential public services feels precarious and wrong. But the pragmatic attraction of a guilt tax is that, like the decision by the Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, to donate part of his salary to a homelessness fund, it is quick and achievable, and it beats wringing hands.”

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/17/poverty-visible-richest-grenfell-homelessness

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

16 Feb 2018

Posted under

Hinkley C, Local Enterprise Partnership

Nuclear energy price falls affect EDF (except at Hinkley C) so ramping up renewable energy (except at Hinkley C!)

“French state-owned energy firm EDF reported falling profits, including a downturn in the UK due to falling prices for nuclear power, improved energy efficiency among its household customers and the slide in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote.

Profits in the UK division, which includes EDF Energy, slumped by a third to €1.035 (£920m) as sales dwindled by €579m to €8.68bn, partly because UK customers pay their bills in pounds but the company reports its results in euros.

EDF said the decline of the pound against the euro had cost it €608m.

The company has faced criticism over delays and the cost of its £20bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant. However, it has blamed a 12% fall in nuclear energy prices in the UK, where it is the market leader.

Revenues were depressed by lower home energy consumption among customers, with usage falling 1.9% due to “milder weather and rising energy efficiency”.

EDF, which is majority-owned by the French government, reported a 2.2% decline in overall revenues to €69.6bn, with profits down 16% to €13.7bn, excluding the impact of asset sales.

It said group results had declined due to lower prices in almost all of the regions where it operates and an exodus of nearly 1 million customers.

It was also affected by lower nuclear and hydroelectric output in its domestic market, where it is the dominant supplier with more than 85% market share.

Last year the company had unplanned outages at some of its 58 French nuclear plants, where reactors had to be shut down for safety reasons.

It lost 960,000 customers, shaving €341m off profits, blaming the exodus on heightened competition, including in the UK.

Chief executive and chairman Jean-Bernard Levy said the group’s profitability in the face of a “difficult market context” was evidence of EDF’s financial strength, adding that he expects a “rebound” in 2018.

He said the company would launch an “unprecedented” ramp-up of renewable energy this year, as France looks to reduce nuclear’s share of power generation from 75% to 50% by 2025.”

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

16 Feb 2018

Posted under

Inequality

Be rich, live long, be poor, live short

The fall in death rates of England’s richest and poorest aged between 60 and 89
Group Fall in death rates*
Richest men
32%
Poorest men
20%
Richest women
29%
Poorest women
11%
Source: The LSP *Death rates measure the likelihood of somebody within this age range dying.
The fall in death rates charts an improvement in life expectancy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/ever-live-determines-long-live/

Posted by

East Devon Watch

Posted on

16 Feb 2018

Posted under

Developers/ Development, EDDC, Hugo Swire, Sidmouth/ Sidford/ Sidbury

Port Royal: Modesty (EDDC) versus ambition (Hugo Swire)

Owl reported last week in Hugo Swire’s grandiose ideas about redevelopment of Sidmouth’s Port Royal, including his suggestion to bring in Prince Charles’s design team:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2018/02/05/sidmouth-swire-fancies-flats-and-car-parking-at-port-royal-or-getting-prince-charles-in/

Thankfully, the district council has gone for a more “modest” plan. Swire bemoans this and says plans should have been more “ambitious”. Sadly, these days “ambitious” is a word often interchangeable with “greedy” in modern planning terminology!

“District chiefs will not bring in the Prince of Wales’ design team after they opted for a ‘more modest’ direction for Port Royal.

East Devon MP Sir Hugo Swire said the Prince’s Foundation could create a development that has the community’s backing.

But a scoping study for the site revealed a number of ‘unresolved uncertainties’ so East Devon District Council (EDDC) has limited its proposals to marketing the Drill Hall. A spokeswoman said: “Had we felt that it was possible to go forward with a comprehensive redevelopment of the Port Royal site then the involvement of the Prince’s Foundation was certainly worthy of exploration.

“However, as explained, this is a much more modest and specific direction proposed that involves the Drill Hall site only.”

Sir Hugo told the Herald focusing the redevelopment on the Drill Hall would be ‘missed opportunity’ and it required an ambitious approach.”

http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/modest-approach-to-port-royal-means-prince-of-wales-design-team-won-t-be-used-1-5395956

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

16 Feb 2018

Posted under

Developers/ Development, Flooding, Planning System

More storms, more floods

“Homeowners in the South West are being warned intense bouts of flooding are set to become more frequent.

The Environment Agency has launched the Flood Action Campaign to raise awareness.

Younger people are being encouraged to check flood risks as research shows 18 to 34 year olds are at the highest risk of fatality due to being less likely to perceive personal risk, the agency said.

Met Office records show intense storms are becoming more frequent, sea levels are rising, and since 1910 there have been 17 record breaking rainfall months or seasons – with nine since 2000.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-devon-42892693

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

16 Feb 2018

Posted under

Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Planning System

“Developers leave 420,000 homes with planning permission unbuilt, new figures show”

“The number of homes that have not been built despite receiving planning permission has soared in the last year, new figures reveal, meaning sites for hundreds of thousands of new properties are being left undeveloped.

More than 400,000 homes have been granted permission but are still waiting to be built, according to analysis published by the Local Government Association (LGA) – a rise of 16 per cent in the past year.

The data also shows developers are taking significantly longer to build homes than they were four years ago. It now takes an average of 40 months from planning permission for a property to be completed – eight months longer than in 2013-14.

The findings will probably raise questions over why developers are taking more than three years to complete homes, and in many cases failing to build them at all, at a time when the UK is building around 50,000 fewer properties per year than is needed to meet current demand.

In 2015-16, the number of homes in England and Wales that had received planning permission but not been built was

365,146

A year later that had risen to

423,544

Developers argue that a burdensome planning system stops them building properties more quickly, but the LGA said the new figures prove that delays are the fault of developers, not councils.

Councillor Martin Tett, the organisation’s housing spokesman, said: “These figures prove that the planning system is not a barrier to house building. In fact the opposite is true. In the last year, councils and their communities granted twice as many planning permissions as the number of new homes that were completed.

“No one can live in a planning permission. Councils need greater powers to act where house building has stalled.”

Arguing that town halls need to be given greater freedom to borrow money to fund new homes, Mr Tett added: “Our national housing shortage is one of the most pressing issues we face. While private developers have a key role to play in solving our housing crisis, they cannot meet the 300,000 house-building target set by the Government on their own.

“We have no chance of housing supply meeting demand unless councils can get building again.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/developers-real-estate-homes-planning-permission-unbuilt-social-housing-crisis-figures-a8212641.html

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

16 Feb 2018

Posted under

Air pollution, Environment (local), Inequality, Rural communities, Transport (local)

Comments

1 Comment

“Britain’s bus coverage hits 28-year low”

“Britain’s bus network has shrunk to levels last seen in the late 1980s, BBC analysis has revealed.

Rising car use and cuts to public funding are being blamed for a loss of 134 million miles of coverage over the past decade alone.

Some cut-off communities have taken to starting their own services, with Wales and north-west England hardest hit.

The government has encouraged councils and bus companies to work together to halt the decline.

One lobbying group fears the scale of the miles lost are a sign buses are on course to be cut to the same extent railways were in the 1960s.” …

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42749973

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East Devon Watch

Posted on

15 Feb 2018

Posted under

Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Austerity cuts, Conflict of interest, Developers/ Development, Privatisation, Sleaze

Buzzfeed says Tory Housing Minister in private Facebook group that wants to sell off all council housing, privatise all health care and bring back workhouses for debtors

“The Conservatives’ new housing minister, Dominic Raab, belonged to a private Facebook group that argues for council housing to be sold off at market value, healthcare to be privatised, and the return of workhouses for the poor.

Raab was, until Thursday morning, one of 14 members of a closed group called the “British Ultra Liberal Youth — The Ultras”, which was set up about seven years ago. He withdrew from the group after being approached for comment.

Raab told BuzzFeed News: “I wasn’t aware of this group, let alone that I had inadvertently and mistakenly been linked on Facebook. I have corrected it, and needless to say I do not support its aims.”

Because the group is closed, BuzzFeed News is unable to see activity within the group — just the description and membership. There had been no new posts or new members in the last 30 days.

According to the group’s “About” page, it believes that “Britain is a nation that has been shooting at it’s [sic] own feet for too long” and that “too much tolerance of socialism has cost us a trillion pounds”.

“If this were a football field,” the description continues, “we would be racing down the right wing so close to the touchline, we would be doing so very carefully making sure we don’t put our feet outside the field of play.”

It is the duty of members, it adds, to pressure mainstream Conservatives into realising that selling off council housing, ending free healthcare, and bringing back workhouses for debtors are policies that “have found their time to enter Britain”.

At the time of publishing, the 13 other members appeared to include another current Tory MP, Henry Smith; a former Tory MP; and others who have stood unsuccessfully for parliament for the Conservatives or UKIP.

Smith was unavailable to comment because he is travelling, but an aide said he wouldn’t have voluntarily joined the group, and that he hasn’t used that Facebook account for more than a year. “Certainly someone may have added him to the group and he clearly didn’t notice but he definitely does not join any such groups himself,” the staffer said.

According to Facebook, you can be added to a closed group if you’re friends with someone in that group, and you’ll receive a notification that you’ve been added.

Raab joined Facebook in 2010 and uses his account to publicise his work as an MP and minister. In one recent post, he promoted an opinion piece he wrote for the Daily Telegraph about the government’s £866 million investment in local housing projects. Housing is “one of the great social challenges of our generation”, Raab wrote.

Raab, 43, was appointed housing minister in Theresa May’s new year reshuffle, putting him in charge of one of the Conservatives’ top policy priorities. Addressing the housing crisis has been one of the party’s main concerns after it polled significantly worse than Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour among voters under 40 at the last election, and the prime minister has said she will make it her personal mission to get more people into homeownership.

Raab was a City lawyer and Foreign Office official before becoming a parliamentary aide to David Davis. He was elected MP for Esher and Walton in 2010 and was a minister in the Justice Department before moving to housing last month.

Having been tipped as one of the rising stars on the Tory right, Raab was seen as unlucky not to be given a cabinet position during the reshuffle last month.

He was criticised during last year’s general election campaign for saying on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show that food bank users typically aren’t poor but have a “cashflow problem episodically”.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/the-tory-housing-minister-was-in-a-private-facebook-group

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