Hancock: the normalisation of hypocrisy

I was listening to the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2 yesterday and, while there were callers demanding that Hancock should resign, others were saying that it is a private matter so leave him alone. They were completely missing the point. If Hancock had been having an affair with someone who had no connection whatsoever with his department, then the worst he would have done is ignore his own distancing guidelines.

But even that is not a simple matter: apart from breaking the rules he helped draw up and which he exhorted us to obey, which is hypocritical enough, last year he said he was “left speechless” after the government adviser Professor Neil Ferguson allowed his lover to visit his home, in breach of social distancing rules at the time, declaring that Ferguson consequently had no option but to resign. The fact that he thought an apology for doing the same thing would be enough to save his ministerial career compounds the hypocrisy of both him and this government with their blatant “one rule for you and none for us” attitudes. It's another Barnard Castle, and Johnson – an utter weakling with no leadership skills – was yet again letting a mate get away with actions for which ordinary people have been punished.

But it goes further than that. Ms Coladangelo was on the DHSC (Department for Health & Social Care) Board, whose job is to oversee the running of the department right to the very top. How intensely would she scrutinise his actions while she was his lover? How far has her input into the board compromised their work? How far has she influenced their deliberations because of her relationship with the boss? The other question remaining is how she, an old friend of Hancock from university, got her DHSC job in the first place? Claims that her recruitment was all above board are looking increasingly threadbare.

As a former trade unionist in the civil service, I know that if people had conducted an affair actually in the workplace, they would probably be spoken to very firmly and if they persisted, would almost certainly face disciplinary action, possibly leading to dismissal. That's not to say you couldn't have relationships with colleagues, but you had to keep your activities off the premises and in your own time – which is perfectly reasonable.

If DHSC employees had behaved in the same way as their boss, they wouldn't have got off so lightly. Yes, he has resigned as a minister, but he is still an MP on £81,932 a year, with an “all you can claim” expenses regime and a pension scheme generous beyond the wildest dreams of most of us. Despite his resignation, he won't be queueing at the Jobcentre.

I'm hoping that this resignation, which Johnson thought he had prevented by firmly announcing that the matter was closed, is the first sign that the British people are getting sick the corruption, cronyism and double standards that are the hallmarks of this thoroughly incompetent and self-serving government.

► Here is a post on the Rhymes & Routes blog which approaches the issue from another angle.

Neville Grundy
ARMS Mersey

TV licences: ask your MP to support the Early Day Motion

3.7 million UK pensioners over 75 will have to pay for their TV licence from 1st August as the BBC’s decision to means-test this benefit is enacted, meaning that only over 75s who are on Pension Credit will get the free TV licence.

This decision will push more than 50,000 people into direct poverty and mean that hundreds of thousands more will have to choose between their only source of information and contact with the outside world or food, heating and other essentials.

The National Pensioners Convention would encourage you to write to your MP encouraging them to support the Early Day Motion #747.

You can find your local MP's details on this link.

EDM #747 in full
That this House supports the urgent reversal of the decision to make over-75s pay for TV licences during the covid-19 outbreak; notes with concern that licenses will have to be paid for from August 2020; believes that responsibility for funding free TV licences should not have been handed over by the Government to the BBC; highlights that loneliness amongst the over 75s has worsened as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; further highlights that stripping the over-75s of their free TV licenses will exacerbate loneliness; and calls on the Government to reconsider the issue as a matter of urgency.

Helping the PCS General Election Campaign

A general election has now been called for the 12 December. In line with policy agreed at our 2018 annual delegate conference, PCS will be campaigning for a Labour vote including targeted campaigning in 40 seats across England and Wales.

As a union we recognise that the election of a UK Labour government under the leadership and policies of McDonnell and Corbyn is in the interests of PCS members. Key Labour pledges include a return to national pay bargaining in the civil service and related bodies, and end to job cuts and office closures, the recruitment of 5,000 extra DWP staff, and large scale investment in HMRC.

The North West region are asking for PCS members to support campaigning and join PCS canvassing teams in the following seats: Southport, Blackpool North and Cleveleys, Bolton West and Crewe and Nantwich. Campaign dates for each of these target seats will be publicised shortly.

If you are able to volunteer, please email nwrc@pcs.org.uk with your name, branch and preferred email and telephone number.

How members vote is entirely a matter for them, and whichever party is in government PCS will always be there to fight your corner.

To see BB-73-19 (General election campaign update & guidance for civil service members), click here.

Register to vote and for a postal vote by the 26 November

Make sure you and your colleagues use your voice on the 12 December by registering to vote by 26 November. It takes less than 5 minutes to register online - here. All you need is your national insurance number.

Please also consider registering for a postal vote and encouraging your branch reps and members to do the same for this election, the deadline to request a postal vote is also the 26 November. Register here.

Democracy demonstration, Liverpool

Facebook page for this event here.

The British Trump prepares for office

So the results are in. We've endured TV hustings for a vote in which the vast majority of us had no role to play. The contest for the Tory Party leadership has been treated like a general election, but it was no more democratic than an internal leadership battle in the old USSR.

Johnson beat Hunt by 92,153 votes to 46,656. As the total number of registered UK voters in December 2018 was 45,775,800 (source: ONS), this means Johnson will become PM with the support of 0.2% of the electorate. To put it another way, 99.8% of the electorate did not vote for him, and 99.65% had no vote at all.

The Daily Mirror has an article "37 lies, gaffes and scandals that make Boris Johnson unfit to be Prime Minister" which you can read here.

I have a comparison which will ring particular bells with former reps in the civil service.

A long time ago when I was a union rep in the DSS/DWP, I represented a member who was facing dismissal having been accused of deliberately misspending public money, a sum of around £200. I managed to save his job only at the second and final level of appeal when it was eventually accepted that it was a genuine error. The first two decision makers had rejected that argument and had recommended dismissal.

Johnson, on the other hand, misspent £53 million of public money for a bridge that was never even begun. He also misspent more than £300,000 on illegal water cannons which were eventually scrapped at a huge loss. Now he stands to be rewarded with the keys to Number 10. I cannot understand why he has not faced prosecution for massive misuse of public funds. If not prosecuted, than at least barred from holding public office.

His 'election' was little more than a coup d'état and his misspending of huge amounts of public money has been shrugged off. He has a privileged immunity that has exempted his incompetence and arrogant profligacy from any kind of scrutiny or disciplinary investigation, and has denied the people any say in who leads the country. This last point is especially galling because Johnson denounced Gordon Brown for succeeding Tony Blair as PM without immediately calling a general election.

He is our next prime minister - finger crossed, not for too long.

Neville Grundy
ARMS Mersey