An early #TheWeekInTory (Sun to Tues), but things are moving crazy fast

1. Last week the govt said “we will work around the clock to ensure nobody goes hungry as a result of this crisis”

2. Then 4 days later the govt ended free meals for the poorest 1.3m children
3. So Marcus Rashford called for meal vouchers for hungry children during school holidays

4. But Boris Johnson’s spokesman said “the MP understands the issues” and refused to change the policy

5. So Rashford continue to campaign for meals to be provided
6. But Boris Johnson refused to do this as it would cost £115m to feed all those children

7. EasyJet got £600m in April

8. And the govt is spending £900,000 painting the PM’s plane with what cabinet sources called “an Austin Powers-style union jack”
9. Meanwhile, the Housing Minister admitted he knew he was breaking the law when he saved a billionaire Tory donor dodge £50m tax, - half the cost of feeding 1.3m children

10. And then Boris Johnson then said he hadn’t even heard about Rashford’s campaign, and did a u-turn
11. But then a Downing St spokesman said Boris Johnson HAD heard about Marcus Rashford’s campaign

12. And then Boris Johnson said he had DEFINITELY heard about the campaign all along, but didn’t offer any excuse why he still thought it was OK to let kids go hungry
13. In March, student nurses nearing the end of training were asked to forego exams and volunteer to fight Covid19 on the front line

14. This week their contracts were dropped, so from July they have no work, no pay and no qualification

15. And their July wage won’t be paid
16. Last week Boris Johnson said that after and 64,000 excess deaths, he would take “direct control” of Covid19

17. He immediately missed his own deadline for a review of the 2 metre distancing rule, and it was revealed he hasn’t attended a Cobra meeting for over a month
18. In one of last week’s best U-turns, Boris Johnson said immigrant NHS workers wouldn’t need to pay a $400 surcharge to use the NHS

19. This week a study found 95.4% of immigrant NHS workers are still paying the surcharge
20. Horse-racing became the first major sport to return

21. Matt Hancock is MP for Newmarket, and received tens of thousands of pounds of donations from racehorse owners, trainers, and Jockey Club bigwigs

22. The Jockey Club board includes Dido Harding and Rose Paterson
23. Rose Paterson is the wife of Tory MP Owen Paterson. The Jockey Club's biggest event, the Grand National is sponsored by Randox Health, to which Owen is an advisor. Randox was granted a £133m contract for testing kits without other companies being given the chance to bid
24. And Dido Harding was put in charge of the Covid-19 track and trace app, which most developers (and I am one) reckon could be done in 3 weeks, and has now taken 5 months. Its development cost is the highest worldwide, and described by scientists as “not fit for purpose”
25. Meanwhile campaigners are seeking a judicial review into why a pest control company with no experience of producing PPE and assets of just £19k was granted a £108 million PPE contract. It doesn't appear, at first glance, that Chris Grayling was involved.
26. Bob Stewart MP, a leading Brexiter, asked in Parliament for his “French Speaking dogs” (!) to continue to have freedom of movement after Brexit, something humans don’t get

27. Michael Gove said he would aim to ensure dogs keep freedom of movement - but replied in French
28. The EU launched a website to help travellers see coronavirus status, so we can travel safely and open up tourism

29. The UK declined to contribute data to the website

30. In the UK, 94% of tourism staff are not currently working, and tourism earnings are down 98%
31. As other nations relax their lockdown, Britons are forbidden from entering multiple European countries due to our high infection rates

32. After 3 weeks without a single Covid19 case, New Zealand reported 2 infections – travellers from the UK, obviously
33. It was revealed Matt Hancock failed for 11 months to respond to a report calling for an immediate injection of cash for social care, highlighting the risks of infections in care homes months before Covid19

34. At least 12,500 people have died of infection in care homes
35. Two of the govt’s most powerful civil servants have said there were no economic preparations for a possible global pandemic in the years leading up to the coronavirus outbreak, despite a 2016 simulation that prompted demands for a plan.
36. On Sunday Matt Hancock said there were "only" 36 recorded deaths, proving we are “winning”

37. Next day there were 233 recorded deaths. Matt has not commented on the winningness of this

38. The UK has 0.9% of global population, and 10% of the confirmed cases of Covid19
39. The govt said local councils would be responsible for “local lockdowns”

40. And then local councils had to explain to the govt that councils have no legal powers for local lockdowns, and even if they had, 26% has been cut from their budgets since 2010
41. Sadiq Khan asked for emergency funding to fill a £493m hole in his budget

42. Ministers anonymously accused him of “typical Labour mismanagement”

43. A group of Tory councils said they are about to go bankrupt

44. Ministers anonymously didn’t say a thing about that
45. An IMF report found a No Deal Brexit is now “a highly likely outcome” and that it will reduce UK GDP by 5% permanently

46. So Boris Johnson made a video celebrating Brexit as an opportunity to sell Penguin Biscuits to Australia. So we can all relax.
47. In response to the urgency and importance of #BlackLivesMatter , the govt immediately pledged to never, ever remove the statue of Churchill that nobody had suggested removing

48. And then, after a few days, Boris Johnson promised a new commission on race equality
49. There are currently over 600 recommendations from previous commissions on race equality between 2010 and 2020, which the govt hasn't implemented and has no published plans to implement
50. Then the govt appointed Munira Mirza to head the commission. She has previously called anti-racism a “neuroses”, written that “institutional racism is a myth”, “the UK has no problem with racism”, and that race equality “fosters victimhood”.
51. And then the former Tory party chair said the new commission was “designed be a whitewash”, and warned it would “find the answer they want to hear – there is no such thing as racism”

52. It's Tuesday. Not even late Tuesday.
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