Thread by @Andrewwood17

Why Robert Jenrick should resign
Because he badly messed up the decision November-January
But also because of what has happened since the Westferry Printworks story first broke on the 21st May (5 weeks now)
Or what has not happened in those 5 weeks
1/

https://twitter.com/Andrewwood17/status/1263816631643451393?s=20

I think the Minister lacks political experience, the kind of experience you get from being actively involved in politics
That maybe a surprise, he has been a full time politician since 2014 but has only ever stood in safe Conservative seats, served in a Conservative government
2/

At every stage he has responded to events, questions from others, pressure from Labour & FOI's etc
He has never attempted to get on top of the story or build a credible case for a defence
There are a number of things he could have done to mitigate the damage, but did not do so
3/

For a start I have been bemused by the fact that Jenrick/Conservative HQ has not reached out to local Conservatives for help/assistance/information early on
Had he/they done so they may have learnt things that might have helped him
But then they routinely ignored us locally
4/

I genuinely do not think Jenrick knew that there were Conservative Councillors in the affected ward or right next door to it
It was routine for senior Conservatives to visit the area, not let us know, not invite us nor ask for advice on things to be aware of or to avoid
5/

I can think of a number of things Jenrick could have done to mitigate the damage
For a start the new Westferry Printworks secondary school, is getting delayed by this fiasco, but we desperately need it locally
Sir Ed Lister, one of the reasons he said at the time to support
6/

this application in 2016 were his concerns over too many applications being approved locally without any social infrastructure (schools) & his desire to re-balance by approving schemes with schools in them quickly
He started the Isle of Dogs OAPF to try and sort that out
7/

Jenrick could have said his desire to get the development approved quickly was also driven by the desire to get the school built
May not have been true but he could have highlighted the failure of TH Council to open any new schools themselves (Wapping sec is a free school)
8/

Jenrick could have also said something about he did not think that the £45 million of CIL missed would be of any value as Tower Hamlets Council do not spend the money / or do not spend it locally
More evidence of this to follow in next couple of days
9/

https://twitter.com/Andrewwood17/status/1177567458510569474?s=20

There are a number of other things he could have said/done to mitigate the damage to his own career but also reverse damage locally
But his failure to do so, the waiting for the next piece of damaging information (which he could have anticipated), rather then being honest
10/

early on as to why his decision was unlawful (also been silent on why he agreed to that but we assume the Court granted TH Council request for full disclosure of docs)
He has just allowed the story to build & build = political inexperience
He is a Cabinet Minister though
11/

He does not have the political skills & judgement to serve effectively at the top at this point in his career
He also lacks local government & planning experience, he could not spot what a bad mistake he was making last year either
Needs to resign & learn more about politics
12/