There are so many who are missing the point.
It's not about whether Burnham will be a good, bad or indifferent PM.
It's about the shabby, murky unethical below the radar plotting & scheming that propelled him there-plus the £5m cost to the taxpayer of 2 unnecessary by-elections.
This was the first time @Nigel_Farage was properly challenged on his house in Clacton, and his commitment as an MP.
His dismissal then looks even worse now we know about the undeclared £5m and other houses.
1) It’s *literally* your job to regulate this platform.
2) If you can’t, what does that mean? Tell us.
3) The Dept of Culture is not ‘your’ department, it’s ours. You’re its temporary custodian
5) But Facebook is ok? Really?
This is, with respect, an extraordinary abdication of ministerial responsibility.
If Lisa Nandy genuinely believes that X has become a platform where abuse, intimidation and unlawful content are too readily tolerated, then her duty as the Cabinet minister responsible for digital policy is to address that failure, not withdraw from it.
Public life is not without criticism. Every minister is subjected to robust scrutiny, often accompanied by unpleasant and deeply unfair commentary. That is an unfortunate reality of democratic politics. The appropriate response is not to retreat from a platform used by millions of people, but to ensure that it operates within the framework of UK law.
Where content is unlawful, the law should be enforced. Where the regulatory framework is inadequate, Parliament has the power to strengthen it. Social media companies that choose to operate in the United Kingdom should be expected to comply fully with the standards and obligations set by this country.
Closing official Government accounts achieves none of those objectives. It neither protects the public nor deters those responsible for abuse. Instead, it removes an authoritative Government voice from one of the largest public forums in the world, leaving that space to others.
Leadership is measured not by walking away from difficult problems, but by confronting them, legislating where necessary, enforcing the law impartially, and ensuring that those entrusted with public platforms meet their obligations to the people they serve.
Farage always first to attack others but:
- ‘forgot’ to declare all 5 homes
- failed to register £5 million donation
- finds no time for Clacton, plenty time to take outside money
Needs further investigation.
In PM Starmers Govt all the major offices of State are held by women.
Chancellor - Rachel Reeves.
Home Sec -Shabana Mahmood
Foreign Sec- Yvette Cooper.
Yesterday on BBC Politics Live, Tim Montgomerie who, in some capacity, works for Nigel Farage, told us all that he has to answer the question of the £5M donation.
David Bull, Robert Jenrick and now Montie are all calling for their boss to front up.
Why won't he?
@Miatsf Where have all you MPs been in the last two years?
Not a peep out of any of you
No telling the voters whst has been achieved
You are all a disgrace.
If Harborne thought @Nigel_Farage should have a reward for Brexit, or money for security, why did he wait 8 years?
Why not pay it in 2016?
It was a bribe, Farage is corrupt, and the net is closing in!
#corruptfarage#fivemillionbribe
So has £5million, 5 house (at least) Farage got more questions to answer
- who lives in those properties?
- are they empty except his main residence and maybe a second home?
- if rented - where are the receipts of any rental income?
- cash paid for 4 of the 5 - How?
No money in politics - he said so.........
NEW: The Times has established that Nigel Farage and his partner own at least five homes spanning Surrey, Essex and Kent.
All but one were bought with cash since 2000. Farage described himself as "skint" in 2017.
https://t.co/dwVOv9TQvs
A new investigation alleges Christopher Harborne, now Reform's biggest donor and at the centre of the £5m scandal, was present at the secret Blackfriars meeting and on the campaign trail in Hartlepool the day Farage made the decision that delivered Boris Johnson's Brexit majority.
Chris Mason also doesn't mention that 'British billionaire' Harborne lives in Thailand under a Thai name, and he doesn't bother to mention that Farage actually owned Reform UK at the time he received the gift.
Mason is a disgrace to journalism, and a handmaiden to fascism.