Sunak Dumps the ‘Red Wall’ and concentrates his Cabinet Selection on safe Tory Constituencies! to win some seats in future?

 

Rishi Sunak who in his first full working day in office decided to hide behind the Tories 2019 manifesto to stop fracking and exploration of shale gas areas. He must have done so after feeling the ground shaking around the 62 new boy Tories who gained ground in the North and East of the Country in former red wall seats.

We here at murky do have some other inklings and at first we thought Rishi must have read some of the comments from the Conservative members on the Ground particularly across Northumberland and the Midlands who were almost in tears when the ground troops of the Party didn’t get a vote as to who will lead them politically and most commentators would have rather had Larry the Downing Street cat lead the party than Rishi Sunak.

The Conservatives under Sunak are bracing themselves for the type of annihilation experienced by the Lib Dems after trusting Tory man, Cameron, in honestly leading them through a power sharing partnership and then slaughtering them on the altar of mammon and the question arose just as it did to Matthew in the Bible: Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters”. In the LibDems case it was Cameron's failure to stop Brexit after being so confident that he could and the suction of cash by the friends of the Conservatives out of an economy struggling with Austerity which they absolutely hated.

Sunak of course is a cheeky ‘devil’ and as a successful banker will come out of this horrific journey for ordinary families, labelled AUSTERITY 3 very well off indeed with his fortune increasing in parallel with his punishment of pensioners and the working class along with those who believe they are currently members of some sort of ‘Middle Class’, you will pay for the mistakes Boris Johnson let Rishi Sunak off with when they jointly ran the country.

That aside, as a nation we the public from Derbyshire to Northumberland have allowed the growth of a caste system over the last two decades and the sufferance of local people has been offset through the only positive (depending how you look at positive) growth item that of food banks. We at murky recall the Hartlepool by-election when a member of the public was interviewed on TV who thought the growth from one food bank in Hartlepool to three under the Tories was a good reason to vote Conservative and others followed in their droves.

Hartlepool is one of the ‘Red Wall’ seats expected to move back to Labour at any next general election and an analysis of new candidates chosen by the Labour Party Johnathon Brash, shows that Labour has moved on from Momentum and its the Tories who now have factions operating within their membership and those factions will float like scum to the surface now that Rishi Sunak has ditched the North and given Gove the job of levelling up the Blue Wall he has concentrated his Cabinet within.

Bringing Warkworth and Amble into the limelight for all the wrong reasons?

 Living in Northumberland and being either a reader of the Regional, County-wide, local press reports or most forms of social media you can’t have failed to notice the continual battering that Amble and its satellite village of Warkworth have received because their Conservative Town and County Councillor who is the Cabinet Member for healthy lives and the Counties military champion has been dragging the area into disrepute. 

 He has achieved this notoriety on behalf of his constituents through speaking his ultra right wing mind about what he perceives as the lack of indicators towards those who are poor and the lack of signage towards the problems faced by those who find themselves caught up in the poverty trap and the current Governments utter incapability of managing an economy larger than a wicker basket of veg.

 Councillor Jeff Watson told the Guardian newspaper that he denied the UK had issues with malnutrition as he did not see “people dying on the streets” in his area. 

 His area? He lives in a large house in Amble West on an estate of equally large homes and exudes wealth in the way he dresses, the car he drives and the way he acts in public. But the Town he lives in has suffered from high levels of deprivation and needs for decades. It relies on the fishing, summer retail and tourism trade with the pre brexit promises from Councillor Watson and his ultra right wing colleagues in both Government and Northumberland County Hall, who walked away when the fishing industry was the first to be lied to by the Tories in Westminster.

 The Guardian didn’t ask his views on those claiming Universal Credit and other benefits although his superior-being image is certainly coloured by his right wing links and beliefs they probably didn’t need to ask however his attitude and answers reproduced in his local newspaper illustrate that he doesn’t care.

 

Being a leading member on a Council which acts in secrecy and denies access to information that would enable correct and proper scrutiny of the Tories spend on such things as healthy lives to take place and as its undergoing a number of high level investigations into what has gone on in the recent past. Councillor Watson should follow the advice of Wansbeck’s Labour MP Ian Lavery who called for Coun Watson to resign from his cabinet position.

In a letter to council leader Glen Sanderson, he wrote: “To be frank, I found the video to be a disgrace. The levels of child poverty in the North East is growing rapidly, to the point where we have the highest levels of child poverty in the country.

Has he taken that advice? Not up to press, as he needs the cash from his cabinet post to keep his pensions topped up to be able to afford the rose coloured glasses that he scans the world around his mansion with!

 

Scramble for Safer Seats begins as Northumberland three notice the Polls.

 

With the bookies shortening the odds on the fractionated Conservatives making an early election call following which most won’t return to the glory of their current seats even in some of the areas where it's expected that most people vote always vote Conservative after todays U-turn by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt screws many more families than it benefits.

 Today he re energised the energy crisis and removed eighteen months of support for bills from eleven times as many families as the Government's former plans supported.

 It's expected that all ‘red wall’ seats and former marginals will spin out of their control as the Tories do to their own Conservative buddies what they did to the LibDems a few short years ago.

 In Parliament and Local Government debate has begun on changes to the boundaries and a small imaginary Yorkshire constituency Satley Carm is central to many conversations about how areas should be split.

 Satley Carm is a conglomerate of a number of Constituencies buried deep in the North Pennines, mostly above the winter snow line where mathematically ‘No opposition voters dwell.’

 The three Tory MP’s from Northumberland have noticed the polls and it doesn’t take the trimming of a wick above their ears to realise they need to find a Satley Carm and fast where they can gain a nomination to run as an MP.

 The problem is that they are not the easiest of MP’s to win the hearts of voters in other areas in order to get a nomination:

 One only talks about the mishaps, trials and tribulations he and his family have suffered in recent years.

 Another doles out the same promises year after year and fails to deliver on any of them, convinced her constituents will believe her rhetoric and solidly follow like Norwegian Lemmings.

 The third is hell bent on attacking hundreds of his constituents whom he seems to have a hatred for and has upset so many people in his own party that he is unwanted and Satley Carm would be the only saviour for any future he may wish to have in UK politics.

 
This weekend it's advisable to stay away from roads leading into the deep Yorkshire Pennines as dozens of MP’s who want to find their own Satley Carm will be on the prowl as the last few weeks show that most Tories don’t listen or take advice from anyone whose mind may be classified as normal and their natural hatred of ordinary folk whom they consider inferior is racing to the surface to crawl all over their skin.

 

Saving South-East Northumberland

 

‘British Volt’ we know how hard Labour's Ian Lavery is campaigning, but has the Tory MP for Blyth Valley Ian Levy gone back to living under his stone? 

A funding stream is urgently required to save South East Northumberland from another 30 years in the doldrums?

Yesterday's news from that august of authorities on all things affecting the economy, the Financial Times that the embryonic saviour of the future for south-east Northumberland ‘British Volt’ the proposed largest battery manufacturer in the world will be sold and left to the four winds by Christmas.

The FT article explains that at least £200m is needed to get the show on the road. Due to the deprivation both adults and children suffer from the north side of the river Blyth estuary which sits in Wansbeckconstituency, Ian Lavery has been knocking on doors nationwide in an attempt to bring the possible 11,000 jobs to the wider river basin which includes the Constituency of Blyth Valley where the quiet man, Ian Levy MP seems to be fully engaged upsetting hundreds of his constituents who have lost confidence in his ability to serve them correctly instead of attempting to secure their futures.

The article moves on to explain that TATA the Indian based engineering conglomerate may be interested in purchasing the factory site and growing the battery element to service its Jaguar/Rover cars and other are waiting in the wings and its all down to how much the Tory Government will shell out to pay for their original faux pas.

Another small problem may await on the horizon if anyone can believe or have confidence in the dealings of Northumberland County Council following the recently published papers and well reported dealings, as when under immense pressure after offering the site cheaply to British Volt, the deputy leader of the Council told the baying and growling press he had a buy back clause built in just in case the wheels came off.

The wheels look like they are well and truly off and the department for trade and industry are all at sea through the actions and activities surrounding the mini budget from Government and may not be able to give Ian Lavery MP the advice required to resolve the issues facing South East Northumberland and its long term DNA may end up being similar to its past and endemic poverty and deprivation will dog Blyth Valley and Wansbeck for another 30 years. 

It is hoped that ‘Red Wall Levy’ will wake up and join Ian Lavery in attempting to forge a great future for the residents of the whole of South East Northumberland.

 

Blind Panic to show that deregulation is popular? Truss to become Mother Hen!

 

Sure Start, one of the great aids to increasing help towards ensuring the nation's children were safe, well fed and kept was swept out under PM Cameron's time for cost. 

 His Government's decision piled the costs onto families to ensure the State had enough workers to ensure endless growth while part of the worlds largest economic bloc was a failure from the start and growing costs have made matters worse with families now paying 71% of mothers wages to have their children looked after.

 Truss, whose communication team haven’t been of much use since her promotion to PM have leaked out a Mother-Hen story to see if there can be any scope for a rise in popularity for her deregulation of everything plans. So instead of supporting an industry that has grown enormously through Tory methodology she should deregulate the children's health industry, ditch it and grind it into dust at a time when poverty is overwhelming families and millions are living in the new world of Neo Nasty Party deprivation.

 The Communication team from No10 are going to Truss up society further and cheapen the industry through a statement in coming days allowing anyone to look after your kids and the state will give you a grant to spend as you like, cutting out trained staff and health workers from seeing them at all.

 The televised system of advertising will show loving grandparents looking after children and mum paying them each month. The questions which need to put by professionals working in the NHS and Councils is how will we know how well our children are doing and is early learning going to suffer though this despicable deregulation rush?

 
The rise in the pension age is a huge conversation piece in towns and villages across the UK and many older people cannot understand why the nurse looking after them is almost as old and infirm as them. Truss time economics will ensure your kids are being looked after by people in the same state of health and the same age, who like to nap in the afternoons and have very little patience with the young of today.

 

 

Truss' version of levelling up will concrete over the countryside right across Northumberland!

Simon Clarke MP the levelling up minister for the Truss Government in his speech to the Tory Party Conference last week illustrated how levelling up is now a thing of the past.

In his keynote speech he dedicated his platform time to talking up deregulation and investment zones, far removed from the program designed by the previous administration under Boris Johnson MP lowering the expectations of Councils and Mayors who were expecting more not less from Liz Truss.

Regulation is a great tool for those living in rural areas and the Councils who serve them who need to ensure a little equality is doled out across rural areas such as guaranteeing bus services are available to get children to school and adults to work and that enough GP’s are in place to look after communities and services are shared across rural and urban sites etc.

Deregulation loses the handle and misses the needs of local people, putting profit and venture capitalism before people.

In Northumberland this ‘new venture’ and direction from Government will be tested to the hilt as its emerging brand new Local Plan will be examined by venture capitalists looking to harvest cash from the wants of the rich who wish to live in the Countryside yet the Counties Local Plan has all future homes directed to the urban areas within its bounds.

Yet again the Conservatives have failed to connect with those who have supported them through thick and thin for decades and spreads rose petals across the way forward for developers and carpetbaggers to ensure it's the rich who benefit most from Ms Truss.

More trouble at Northumberland County Council

 

A very active Facebook page, ‘The Blyth Debating Group’ have been monitoring information slipped out from the ‘Secret Council’ at County Hall in Morpeth, unearthing information that is rattling the recently exposed by Government inspector Mr Max Caller Council whose report is a damning indictment of the dark happenings and nefarious decision making that has brought this once admired local authority to its knees.

The accusations revealed by the debating group centres on the Conservative Councils development company ADVANCE Northumberland whom it appears have been acting outside the Councils financial regulations even though the single share which controls all happenings at the company is held by the Councils Chief Executive in conjunction with the Leader of Council and the Chairperson of the Company.

The allegations against what must be the Leader of Council and the Chairperson of Advance responsibility, as the Council forced its Chief Executive Officer out of office, appears to be centred on a matter kept secret and one party or the other has paid the former CEO of Advance Northumberland a fee of £140,000 from the public purse without following the Councils financial regulations to bring any payments over £100,000 to full Council complete with a report stating why the payment was necessary.

This debacle is a follow on from the well reported alleged incompetence on behalf of ADVANCE Northumberland and the inability of the company to follow a clear instruction from the former Councils Chief Executive which led to the international company Farrens Construction filing a civil law suit for £8.4 million. The conclusion (if it is concluded) of this lawsuit has not been made available to the Counties council taxpayers.

Other allegations surround inappropriate and potentially unlawful use of Advance Northumberland credit cards.

That Advance Northumberland was alleged to be in breach of HMRC rules as the debating group indicated they have recorded ghost employees on their books.

The debating group exposed the allegation that the company may have made incorrect and inappropriate redundancy payments to employees.

Invoices and invoicing may be questionable; the external auditor does not appear to have reported on this material matter yet as no information has been released on either organisations website.

The debating group are also asking the obvious questions: ‘of why has the Council cabinet or/and its shoulder length company ADVANCE Northumberland’s directors paid £140,000 of Northumberland residents public funds to a CEO who hasn’t appeared to answer the questions now exposed in the public domain’? They also wish to know if the leaked report is correct, why a payment has been made and gross misconduct investigations haven’t been commenced or if they have reported upon as per the adopted policy of the Council?.

Notes

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/advance-
northumberland-forensic-audit-report-24608977