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Another week in Tory government cronyism - and one where the term "chumocracy" is becoming far too familiar. A thread on what's been happening.
This isn't just a matter of waste or cronyism - it's a matter of public trust, and it has a huge impact on our public services. My piece this morning in @Independent lays out why this government has got to tackle this now. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/boris-johnson-cronyism-ppe-contracts-nao-b1759702.html
The health secretary is the latest figure today to face questions over âchumocracyâ as it turns out he quietly gave his university friend a job. Answers are urgently needed here. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/matt-hancock-gave-key-covid-role-to-lobbyist-pal-tppg75t5c
Over the summer @justinmadders and I wrote to the NAO calling for an investigation into the government's pandemic procurement. The report was published on Wednesday with disturbing findings about decision-making and waste. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/covid-contracts-fast-tracked-rules-nao-b1724458.html
The PM had nothing but lame excuses and a lack of humility when @Keir_Starmer challenged him on these findings in #PMQs, including no answers on the fact that suppliers with political connections were ten times more likely to be awarded contracts. https://labourlist.org/2020/11/pmqs-starmer-highlights-conservative-cronyism-during-covid-crisis/
There were also questions around a worrying lack of transparency on PPE contracts - made more concerning alongside these repeated patterns of cronyism. https://www.cityam.com/mps-demand-answers-from-rishi-sunak-on-ppe-procurement/
Concerns are mounting so much that @GoodLawProject - who have done incredible work on this - claim Boris Johnson acted illegally over jobs for top staff https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/21/boris-johnson-acted-illegally-over-jobs-for-top-anti-covid-staff
There are huge questions to answer and urgent transparency needed. This "My Little Crony" map raises far too many links for the government to ignore.
https://sophieehill.shinyapps.io/my-little-crony/
https://sophieehill.shinyapps.io/my-little-crony/
We've seen increasing numbers of experienced British businesses speaking out on this. Take Seren Plus, featured in Newsnight on Tuesday - asking why the govt overlooked them as an experienced NHS suppliers and went to Ayanda instead, who produced masks which couldn't be used.
We will continue to hold this Tory government to account. More scrutiny and transparency is urgently needed on this growing catalogue of cronyism.
