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15 Aug, 16 tweets, 8 min read
As #KeepingTheReceipts week 14 draws to a close, the long-term ramifications of Brexit and cuts to public services, including the NHS, continue to be felt across the UK, and MPs and Lords face renewed scrutiny over their financial dealings. THREAD:
1. The week kicked off with former PM David Cameron once again taking centre stage, after it emerged that he pocketed $10m before finance company Greensill’s collapse, with his spokesperson calling his remuneration a “private matter”
2. Hard-right lobby group, the Institute of Economic Affairs, lost a court battle over it being described as such following a conversation between @PeterKGeoghegan and LBC presenter @mrjamesob, focusing on their opaque funding.
3. The government announced on Tuesday that emergency powers under Operation Brock for post-Brexit lorry queues were to be extended indefinitely, with the expectation of further disruption to supply chains.
4. Another from @OpenDemocracy, revealing that 40 members of the House of Lords had been reported to authorities over a “shocking lack of transparency” concerning their financial interests.
5. And ministers faced calls to intervene over outrage at the ‘scam’ Covid-19 travel test system, featuring hiked prices, political connections, and unfulfilled or undelivered test results.
6. After weeks worth of scandals covered by multiple outlets, and months of investigation by @allthecitizens, it was also announced that the ICO were to launch an inquiry into the use of WhatsApp by government ministers.
7. In further Greensill (and government by disappearing message) news, Nadhim Zahawi declined to explain why he deleted texts to Mr Cameron regarding the collapsed investment company.
8. In the first of a new series, @sianushka for @BylineTimes explored the realities of #NHSPrivatisation and corporate takeover of the health service, and what these changes could look like with the new Health and Social Care Bill
9. Trade minister Lord Grimstone was found to have met with a secretive ‘spy’ firm to discuss PPE supply. The firm is chaired by government’s own PPE tsar Lord Deighton, no records were kept of the meeting.
10. And the treasury were reported to be actively blocking green policies key to net zero, with chancellor Rishi Sunak refusing to commit to spending needing to shift the UK economy to low-carbon footing.
It’s been a busy one this week, with a lot of ground to cover, so we’ve included two more big stories that dropped over the last 7 days, although this is still far from exhaustive, firstly:
11. Tufton St think-tanks hit the news more than once, after Home Secretary Priti Patel appointed ex-Taxpayers Alliance head Jonathan Isaby as her new communications private secretary.
12. Also, earlier today it was reported that, despite Conservative ‘levelling up’ pledges, former Red Wall seats and other poorer areas of the UK stand to lose £1bn worth of development money post-Brexit.
We’re keeping tabs, every day, every single week, and you if you want to look up our spreadsheets and read our weekly newsletter brought to you by members of the @allthecitizens team, you can follow and subscribe to our substack here below:
keepingthereceipts.substack.com
And if you see something you think we’ve missed, or that you’d like to see make it into our rolling summaries of life in Tory Britain, don’t forget to tag us @receiptkeepers and let us know.

Until next week!

#KeepingTheReceipts

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More from @receiptkeepers

keepingthereceipts Profile picture
17 Sep
#KeepingTheReceipts Week 19 has been as eventful as any other with the cabinet reshuffle, contentious legislation being pushed through at an alarming rate, and a steady stream of reporting on lobbying, donors, and a decline in living standards. THREAD: Image
1. Further talks over privatising Channel 4 led to increased speculation that the move to pull it out of public ownership amounts to an attack on independent public service broadcasting:
2. The Health & Social Care Bill, accused of enabling further outsourcing of health services and paid for with a £12bn hike in National Insurance, entered committee stage on Tuesday:
Read 14 tweets
keepingthereceipts Profile picture
5 Sep
While Parliament is in recess you could be forgiven for thinking that the news cycle would have slowed down, but sadly this isn’t so.

As #KeepingTheReceipts week 17 draws to a close, we take a look at the latest on Afghanistan, cash-for-honours, and changes to UK law. THREAD:
1. On Monday it was revealed that Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick breached government transparency rules by failing to disclose a meeting with the Conservative lobbying forum:
2. Meanwhile, Dominic Raab faced a grilling from MPs over his luxury holiday to Crete and handling of the crisis in Afghanistan:
Read 14 tweets
keepingthereceipts Profile picture
31 Jul
Our #KeepingTheReceipts Week 12 is almost over, and centre stage for much of it yet again is the Home Office, as revelations surrounding detention, policing, and the rights of asylum seekers threaten to further impact the most vulnerable in society:
1. Returning to changes to the Official Secrets Act, on Monday further reports covered the potential 14 year sentences for journalists citing “unauthorised disclosures’, with fears of the UK heading towards becoming an ‘authoritarian police state’
2. The same day, FOI requests uncovered evidence of 52 prisoners in close supervision units being kept in conditions that a UN human rights expert said “may amount to torture”
Read 15 tweets
keepingthereceipts Profile picture
16 Jul
As we conclude #KeepingTheReceipts week 10, cronyism once more takes centre stage after days of new revelations uncovering VIP contracts, donors/political allies elevated to key positions and the Tories pushing through plans to accelerate #NHS privatisation.

Let’s dive in:
1. On Monday Sue Gray, a key witness who played a major role in granting Greensill Capital formal access to Whitehall, was blocked from giving evidence to the PACAC by the Cabinet Office and Michael Gove
2. The same day, it emerged that Cameron had taken a salary of more than $1m a year for just 25 days work, more than $40,000 per day
Read 14 tweets
keepingthereceipts Profile picture
9 Jul
It’s been a huge week, and not just for football fans.

In the last 7 days, drastic legislative changes have been brought forward, the unrelenting cronyism at the heart of government continues to be exposed, and cuts threaten thousands of those most at risk.

Let’s recap:
1: The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was passed with a majority of 100, attacking the freedom to peaceful protest, targeting traveller communities and homeless people, and rejecting statutory minimum sentences for rape.
2: The very next day the Home Office published the equally draconian Nationality and Borders Bill, criminalising asylum seekers who enter the UK “irregularly” and those that aid them. It also includes proposals for removing people to “offshore centres”
Read 12 tweets
keepingthereceipts Profile picture
7 Jun
The Citizens - KEEPING THE RECEIPTS:

In the Queen’s Speech on 11th May, the Johnson administration laid out its plans to introduce major legislative alterations to the fabric of our democracy; paving the way for voter ID, judicial review, and scrapping fixed parliamentary terms. Image
Following attacks on the freedom to protest, billions in public funds issued to Conservative donors, and numerous breaches of parliamentary norms, @allthecitizens have started #KeepingTheReceipts, cataloguing the attempts to undermine our democracy:

keepingthereceipts.substack.com/p/why-keeping-…
As US activist @Amy_Siskind wrote when undertaking this same task during the Trump years:

‘experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember’

- this is exactly what we’re going to do.
Read 9 tweets

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