Question: what is the public interest reason for this video, exactly? It isn’t unlike a party political broadcast but in this case paid for (and branded) by HM Treasury.
Civil service code: Image
I’ve asked HMT how in their view this production accords with the code and is a good use of taxpayers’ money. I’ll let you know what they say.
No answer yet.
.@SteveReedMP (Shadow Local Govt Sec) on the story: “The Chancellor has serious questions to answer about official Treasury branding being used for what looks like a Conservative Party Political Broadcast just ahead of the local elections."
“There are clear rules governing Government communications and a code that civil servants must follow to prevent the misuse of tax-payers’ money by political parties. The Chancellor must explain how this video is consistent with those rules."

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More from @lewis_goodall

3 Mar
ANALYSIS

- Clearest sign yet of Conservatives grappling with their new electoral coalition and the political geography created by the 2019 general election
-Local/mayoral elections also clearly in mind.
- Economically for the next few years steady as she goes.
-but after that bigger changes to corporation tax/personal taxation and Sunak hinted might be more to come to "Pay off" cost of pandemic.
-Question is- why? As I reported last night, BoE financing our deficit/long maturity of our debt means pressure is minimal.
-Esp so given...
...OBR is forecasting pretty weak below trend growth beyond 2022. Many economists will argue best way to tackle debt and deficit is through growth and inflation.
-Other question is why set that out now, when there's so little foresight of what economy will look like.
Read 12 tweets
3 Mar
Chancellor: "It's going to take the country and the whole world a long time to recover from this situation...once we're on the way to recovery we will need to begin fixing the public finances and I want to be honest today about our plans to do that."

Early nod to the deficit.
As I reported last night there really is no need in the short or medium term for the Chancellor to be concerned about borrowing. How political rather than economic his approach is going to be will depend very much what he means by "once we're on the way to recovery"
Sunak says OBR forecasts that UK economy will return to its previous size six months earlier than forecast

But OBR says that in five years time British economy will be 3% smaller than it would have been

That is presumably on top of the forecast growth lost as a result of Brexit
Read 30 tweets
3 Mar
Nicola Sturgeon is giving evidence and providing an opening statement

“As a result of a mistake which was made, a very serious mistake- two women were failed and taxpayers’ money lost. I deeply regret that.” Image
“Although I was not aware of the error at the time I want to take the opportunity to apologise to the women involved and to the Scottish public.

My actions deserve to be scrutinised...firstly on the 8th Jan 2019 I volunteered to Parliament my contact with Alex Salmond...”
“I stated as follows: on 2nd April 2018 he informed me about the complaints against him. I will explain why I stand by that statement. Second, I will set out why I did not immediately record the April meeting within the Scottish govt a decision rooted entirely with my desire...”
Read 36 tweets
1 Mar
Conservative former International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell on c4 news on the Yemen aid cut: “it’s a very dark day for a country which has been a poverty superpower.”

Says wider UK development cuts will lead to 100,000s of avoidable deaths, many of them children.
“To cut aid to Yemen, the poorest country by miles in the M East, in the middle of a pandemic when we know they are famine conditions and famine is stalking the land, with 4 million, many children as a result of this decision continue the agonising process of starving to death.”
Extraordinary moment that a Conservative former Cabinet Minister saying a decision of his own government will lead to more deaths of children in Yemen.
Read 9 tweets
1 Mar
NEW: Big news in France. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 3 years in prison (2 years suspended).
It’s the second time a former president of the fifth republic has been given a sentence.
Reports say Sarkozy will serve at least the first part of his sentence at home wearing an electronic tag.

An extraordinary and humiliating end to his political life. When elected he said he wanted to be France’s Thatcher,the Republic’s great reformer. Instead he is in disgrace.
Read 4 tweets
25 Feb
I've been in touch with the Department for Transport about this. I've asked them repeatedly (as a point of information) to deny that they've cut TfN's core budget by 40%. They've not done so.
They did say: "This Government is absolutely committed to delivering the upgrades to level-up the North, building on more than £29 billion invested in transport across the north since 2010..."
“In 2021/22 TfN have access to over £70m of funding, the majority of which will help develop proposals for Northern Powerhouse Rail. There is also a significant proportion of money remaining in their reserves, enabling them to carry out all their statutory functions effectively.”
Read 5 tweets

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