This report considers a complaint that the office of Mr Cameron, in the House, was being used as part of a party fund raising strategy. The complaint was upheld. Although there is no reason why Mr Cameron cannot meet, in his office or elsewhere on the Parliamentary Estate, those who donate to his party, what he cannot do is use his Parliamentary office as part of a fund-raising stratagem. In the Commissioner's view this is what happened in this case.
David Cameron was elected Conservative leader in 2005, promising to modernize the party following its three successive electoral defeats. He became Prime Minister in 2010, forming Britain’s first coalition government in 70 years, at a moment of economic crisis, and went on to win the first outright Conservative majority for 23 years at the 2015 general election. In For the Record, he will explain how the governments he led transformed the UK economy while implementing a modern, compassionate agenda that included reforming education and welfare, legalizing gay marriage, honoring the UK’s commitment to overseas aid and spearheading environmental policies. He will shed light on the seminal world events of his premiership—the Arab Spring; the rise of ISIS; the invasion of Ukraine; the conflicts in Libya, Iraq and Syria—as well as events at home, from the Olympic Games in 2012 to the Scottish referendum. He will provide, for the first time, his perspective on the EU referendum and his views on the future of Britain’s place in the world following Brexit. Revealing the battles and achievements of his life and career in intimate and frank detail, For the Record will be an important assessment of the significant political events of the last decade, the nature of power and the role of leadership at a time of profound global change.
Following a memorandum submitted by the former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, this report is a consequence of a complaint against Mr Derek Conway, Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup from a Mr Michael Barnbrook. The complaint concerned the fact that Mr Conway was paying his son £981 a month from his Parliamentary Staffing Allowance while his son was in full-time education at Newcastle University. Also that he had refused to disclose what work his son was doing on his behalf, or the hours his son worked. There appears to be no dispute over the fact Mr Conway employed his younger son as a part-time assistant from 1 September 2004 to 24 August 2007. His job description was based on a standard job description as set out by the Department of Resources (DFA) and his contract of employment provided he worked for 17 hours a week. He was originally employed on a salary of £10,000 per annum, increased to £11,773, which was backdated to the start of his employment. His basic salary was within the pay range set by the DFA. His son was also given four one-off sums, intended as in lieu of an annual salary uprating and bonuses for good work. The Committee has set out the following responses, including: that Mr Conway paid bonuses to his son in excess of the maximum permitted levels between 2005 - 2008; based on the Parliamentary Commissioner's assessment of the duties Mr Conway's son was asked to perform, it was unlikely he required all the contracted hours he was being paid for, the Committee therefore expresses scepticism that Mr Conway's son worked the permitted contracted hours per week; there is no record of the work his son is supposed to have done or a record of the hours kept, so any remuneration given was at the very least an improper use of the Parliamentary allowances, or at worst a serious diversion of public funds; that the salary paid to his son, was therefore a misuse of the Staffing Allowance; that as a consequence Mr Conway should repay the overpaid bonus funds, together with the associated pension contribution; the Committee stated that it regards this case as a serious breach of the rules and recommends Mr Conway be suspended from the service of the House for 10 sitting days, and also apologise to the House for his shortcomings by way of a personal statement.
This report, (HCP 1212, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215525437), contains conclusions on two cases referred to the Committee on Standards and Privileges by other committees of the House. The first case involved the unauthorised disclosure of two papers prepared for the European Scrutiny Committee by its legal adviser on the mandate for the inter-governmental conference which led to the Lisbon Treaty, and appeared in an article in the Daily Telegraph on 26 June 2007. The second involved the unauthorised disclosure of parts of a draft report prepared for the Home Affairs Committee on the Government's counter terrorism proposals which appeared in the Financial Times on 5 December 2007. The Standards Committee accepts the view that the disclosure of such internal committee papers constituted a substantial interference in their work.
This is the 18th report from the Committee on Standards and Privileges (HCP 1188, session 2007-08, ISBN 9780215524942) on a complaint against Ms Dari Taylor MP, for Stockton South. The complaint against Ms Taylor, by Mr James Wharton of Stockton South Conservatives, concerned the possible misuse of stationery and postage provided by Parliament, for letters sent between August and October 2007. In total, six letters were sent, with the Parliamentary Commissioner reaching a separate conclusion for each letter, as to whether the letters represented an allowable use of Incidental Expenses Provision and of House of Commons stationery and postage. The case against two letters was dismissed. The Commissioner concluded that in three cases, official House of Commons stationery provided by the House and pre-paid envelopes were misused, and that in a fourth case, official House of Commons stationery purchased by Ms Taylor was misused. The Committee therefore agrees with the Commissioner's conclusions. The Committee further concluded, that they strongly deprecated the continued misuse by Ms Taylor of House stationery for political purposes and also expresses regret that Ms Taylor has continued to dispute parts of the Commissioner's findings and has offered no apology. In conclusion, the Committee states Ms Taylor should pay the House authorities the sum of £500 and sunmit an unequivocal written apology.
FULLY UPDATED Arron Banks enjoyed a life of happy anonymity flogging car insurance in Bristol until he dipped his toes into the sharkinfested waters of politics and decided to plunge right in. Charging into battle for Brexit, he tore up the political rule book, sinking £8 million of his personal fortune into a mad-cap campaign targeting ordinary voters up and down the country. His anti-establishment crusade upset everyone from Victoria Beckham to NASA and left MPs open-mouthed. Lurching from comedy to crisis (often several times a day), he found himself in the glare of the media spotlight, fending off daily bollockings from Nigel Farage and po-faced MPs. From talking Brexit with Trump and trying not to embarrass the Queen, to courting communists and wasting a fortune on a pop concert that descended into farce, this is his honest, uncensored and highly entertaining diary of the campaign that changed the course of history.
Complaints about alleged misuse of Parliamentary dining Facilities : Third report of session 2006-07, report and appendices, together with formal Minutes
After a decade as Conservative Party leader and six years as Prime Minister, he remains an enigma to those outside his exclusive inner circle. Now, in the wake of his dramatic resignation following the sensational EU referendum campaign, this new edition of the book that 'got the world talking' ( Daily Mail) revisits the real David Cameron, bringing the story of his premiership to its final chapter. Based on hundreds of interviews with colleagues past and present, friends and foes, this unauthorised biography charts Cameron's path from a blissful childhood in rural Berkshire through to the most powerful office in the country, giving a fascinating insight into his most intriguing relationships, both political and personal. Exploring the highs and lows of his administration, from his brush with disaster over the Scottish question and his humiliation over Syria to his surprise election victory in 2015 and his controversial win on gay marriage, this fully updated edition offers a comprehensive assessment of Cameron's legacy in office, weighing up the extraordinary achievements of Britain's youngest Prime Minister for 200 years.
In 2016 two surprising explosions of popular contempt for the existing order drove Britain into Brexit and paved the way for Trump’s presidency of the United States. On both sides of the Atlantic, proud regimes with global pretensions were levelled by justifiable revolts. But in the name of self-government, Brexit and Trump will intensify the authoritarian traditions of their outdated political systems. The Lure of Greatness is a blistering account of how and why this happened. The shadow of Iraq, the great financial crash, campaigns of poison and intrigue, the filleting of David Cameron with the cold fury of a Remain voter... these are just the start. At the book’s heart is the story of the institutional and constitutional implosion of the United Kingdom, the farce of ‘the sovereignty of parliament’, a passionate account of English nationalism and the absurdity of the ever-increasing and insidious influence of the Daily Mail. What emerges is a compelling summary of an EU in crisis, the fateful absence of a viable left alternative, the normality of immigration – all of which frame the reasons for the triumph of Leave. Anthony Barnett, co-founder of openDemocracy, applies a lifetime of observing, reporting and sedition in this searing analysis of the two great democratic disasters of our time.
