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Tracking links between Tory politicians and firms winning government contracts. Created by @sophie_e_hill.

May 2, 2021, 11 tweets

🔍 POWER VACUUM: A closer look at the PM's connections to James Dyson.

Let's start at the beginning... 🧵

Back in 2016, the PM's brother Jo Johnson was Minister for Universities and Science.

When James Dyson complained to him about the "engineering skills crisis" in the UK, Jo Johnson encouraged him to set up his own higher education provider.

This encouragement seems to have been quite significant... Jo Johnson is explicitly credited on the Dyson Institute's website!

(Along with photos of the pair of them gazing lovingly at machinery, and pretending to dig up some grass while a group of teens watch.)

In 2018, Jo Johnson gets shuffled over to a new role as Minister of Transport and Minister of London. He resigns at the end of the year because he supported a people's vote on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

Fortunately, in 2019, his brother takes over as PM and Jo Johnson lands back in cabinet as... Minister for Universities!

A few months later, he resigns again, citing "unresolvable tension".

But Jo Johnson wouldn't be out of work for long. After standing down as an MP in the December 2019 election, he waits just a couple of months before taking a cushy job as non-executive director at... the Dyson Institute!

…te.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/107012…

The leaked text message exchange between Boris Johnson and James Dyson happened in March 2020 - just one month after Dyson gave Boris Johnson's unemployed brother a job! bbc.com/news/uk-politi…

Curiously, even though Companies House lists Jo Johnson as being appointed to the Dyson Institute in February 2020, the ACOBA letter reviewing his appointment is dated April 2020: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…

Our interactive map has been updated to reflect the Jo Johnson / James Dyson links... #mylittlecrony

You can find all of this - and more! - in the usual place:

mylittlecrony.com

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