Profile picture
Steve Lawrence 🇪🇺 @SteveLawrence_
, 5 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
@msmarbles2017 @acgrayling The ERG is a ‘pooled service’ recognised by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (which was established after the MP’s expenses scandal) whose purpose is to provide MPs, who subscribe to it, with research & document services. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independe…
@msmarbles2017 @acgrayling The SDP, Labour Party & Lib Dems also have ‘pooled services’ & the Tories also have the Policy Research Unit.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_…
@msmarbles2017 @acgrayling The PRU is a limited company and so its accounts are a matter of public record. The ERG isn’t incorporated in any way, its legal status is as an unincorporated association owned by its members and with no obligation to file any kind of account of its financial activities ...
@msmarbles2017 @acgrayling ... it’s a constitution suited to the annual village vegetable & produce show or a youth sports club.

Subscriptions to ‘pooled services’ are considered legitimate Parliamentary expenses & are thus paid for by the taxpayer direct by IPSA. In the case of the ERG there ...
@msmarbles2017 @acgrayling ... is a lack of transparency & it is unknown how much additional money comes into it or for what purposes that money is used.
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Steve Lawrence 🇪🇺
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @SteveLawrence_ see all

Profile picture
Is there a Brexiteer or a Brexiter in the land (UK that is) who doesn't admire Switzerland with its GDP/capita of nearly $60,000 per annum and social expenditure running at 20% of GDP?
If there's a roof to be fixed or a boiler to repair there's money in the bank. If there's a pothole in the road, a floral display in the park to be made or a new needle exchange to be created, there's money in the social expenditure fund. What Brexiter wouldn't wish for this?
And, of course, fixing roofs, repairing boilers, filling potholes, digging floral displays and building needle exchanges creates jobs and jobs means people in employment generating GDP/capita and paying tax for the social expenditure.
Read 10 tweets
Profile picture
Support for Brexit is shrinking fast

There are 4 main drivers

• Official confirmation that the referendum result was fraudulent
• Emergency measures to deal with governmental breakdown at local and national level
• Serious long term economic damage
• New young Pro-EU voters
Each of these, in its own right, constitutes a reason for abandoning Brexit. Together they create an unarguable imperative in the interests of the majority of people in the UK
Brexit is an unfortunate word, it is both meaningless and meaningful. Meaningless in real terms because it does not adequately describe the cessation of long-standing, complex and important Treaty obligations and rights. Meaningful in a mythical sense as an object of aspiration.
Read 7 tweets
Profile picture
A graphical thread on the UK population & how it's changing over time.

1. A good place to start is to think about births - a pretty good indicator of whether a country represents a hospitable environment.

The UK population increases by around 800,000 births each year.
2. Those arriving are balanced to a large extent by those departing and the UK has around 600,000 deaths each year ATM.
3. Which means that the UK has an internal population growth rate of about 200,000 per annum (births less deaths). This rate of growth increased from around 100,000 to 200,000 between 2002 - 2007 & it's remained pretty constant since.

That's +1 million every 5 years.
Read 11 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
Labour's Shadow Chancellor, @johnmcdonnellMP, has released a statement regarding the sickening news that single parents and families will lose £200 per month under #UniversalCredit.
His statement is in response to this.

#DWP boss Esther McVey admits millions to lose £200 a month on #UniversalCredit

McVey has been forced to admit single parents and families face a £2400 a year benefit cut next year
universalcreditsuffer.com/2018/10/06/est…
Just the day before this came out;

DAMNING study shows Universal Credit to blame for dramatic rise in foodbank use.

#UniversalCredit to blame for a rise in claimants experiencing debt & #mentalhealth issues

Not to mention a 52% increase in #foodbank use
universalcreditsuffer.com/2018/10/05/dam…
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
Few thoughts on the #ERG proposals for the Irish border, an issue @awstojanovic and I wrote about back in June: instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/i…

The paper stresses that the ERG support the principle of no hard border, which will be welcome to all sides

(1)
Also says that customs checks won't be a problem - which is true if the Govt can swing the Facilitated Customs Arrangement, which both the EU and the ERG have problems with...

(2)
The paper points to an EU report, Smart Borders 2.0, as providing solutions to the customs questions. However, that report a) doesn't solve the problem and b) isn't an EU report (it was commissioned by the Parliament, it doesn't represent an EU proposal)

(3)
Read 7 tweets
Profile picture
Top story on @SkyNews this morning: Tories openly discussing ousting May at an ERG meeting last night: Brexiteers clearly split between those who want a true Brexiteer in power (some Johnson supporters and those who want to chuck Chequers not here (the @DavidDavisMP camp)
But have they got the numbers? Could get the 48 letters into the 1922 chair to trigger a confidence vote, but No 10 sources say May will stay and fight......
Once confidence vote triggered, half the parliamentary party (near 160 MPs) would have to vote against her to force a leadership bid. No 10 sources clear she won’t stand down unless she loses a confidence vote. So there simply aren’t the numbers to force her out, yet.....
Read 6 tweets
Profile picture
A Letter to Chimamanda Adiche about Feminism, Egalitarianism and Me.

THREAD.
Dear Chimamanda,
I planned to write you this letter privately through A mutual friend but he likes to shy away from controversy. So I thought to write it here on social media, hoping it gets to you and you read it objectively and maybe we can discuss it sometime in the future.
In your @TEDx speech about Feminism, the part @Beyonce adapted, you described a feminist as a person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. This definition/intention sits well with me as it doesn’t favor any gender.
Read 45 tweets
Profile picture
Nadine Dorries
•Claimed £24,222 Additional Costs Allowance for "secondary" housing costs on her main or only home
•Claimed hotel bills including one for 'Mr N Dorries'
•Investigated by the parliamentary commissioner for standards, regarding her claim for second home expenses
•Claimed £20,000 in office expenses for work undertaken by a media relations and public affairs company.
•Claimed around £10,000 for an annual report in 2007 on her performance as an MP, despite her former Commons researcher having never seen the report or worked on it. Dorries insisted that she had indeed published the report, placing a photograph of it on her blog.
Read 9 tweets
Profile picture
On days like today not even 5 yrs of faithful & honorable active duty #Service in #USMC can convince some ppl of a Muslims loyalty to USA.1/
Ppl ask me why I enlisted in the #Marines in 1997 at the age of 19. I tell them b/c loyalty to my nation of residence is part of my faith./2
I served the US faithfully BECAUSE of my faith, not in spite of it. I had the full support of my father — a Muslim Imam & my family. /3
Read 17 tweets

Trending hashtags

#Offenders #Designs #Legal #MondayNightFootball #guardian #thesun #Anzio #channel4news #France #EO #Dailymirror #dailyexpress #barnes #HMCTS #Nazi #Bostonherald #corpus #JudicialReview #world #global #legalweek #ProjectFear #Conservatives #Portland #citizen

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member and get exclusive features!

Premium member ($30.00/year)

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!