Dan Whitehead

Lawyer, Northerner, technology enthusiast.

[James Johnson @jamesjohnson252]

New: What’s happening in Tory heartlands in the South? We ran a @kekstcnc @timesradio focus group of swing voters in Tiverton & Honiton who voted Conservative in 2019.

None would vote Tory in the upcoming by-election, and all bar one said they will vote for the Lib Dems. (1/12)

[The Secret Barrister 🦋 @BarristerSecret]

Stand by for:

1. This did not happen.

2. It did happen, but the Prime Minister knew nothing about it.

3. The Prime Minister knew about it, but it wasn’t technically blackmail.

4. It was blackmail, but the Prime Minister wasn’t told that blackmail was against the law.

[Paul Brand @PaulBrandITV]

EXCL: Email obtained by @itvnews proves over 100 staff were invited to drinks party in No 10 garden at height of lockdown to “make the most of the lovely weather”.

We’re told PM and his wife attended, with staff invited to “bring your own booze!”

https://t.co/rg34EIkdz2

[Ros Atkins @BBCRosAtkins]

The government says “there was not a party” at No 10 last December and that no COVID rules were broken. A week into the story, this is a new 5-min video on the gap between the government’s assurances and available evidence. Produced by Michael Cox. https://t.co/cqIalvKKnB

[Jonathan Lis @jonlis1]

This is a full frontal attack on the constitution. They will stop at nothing to crush the institutions that hold them to account.

[Adam Bienkov @AdamBienkov]

How Boris Johnson’s spokespeople answered questions today about whether the Prime Minister broke Covid rules by having parties in Downing Street during lockdown.

[Dan Whitehead @LibDemDan]

@ConnorNUFC_ @NeelRobb

[Adam Payne @adampayne26]

Raab tells #r4today he plans to increase aid to Afghanistan "probably by 10%"

Context: Gov recently cut Afghanistan aid by 78%

"Bilateral aid from the UK to Afghanistan... is estimated at £37.5m for 2021/22, down from £167.5m last year" - @HugoGye

https://t.co/tkqGSkLZod

[Lewis Goodall @lewis_goodall]

Yesterday, @DavidGauke told me he thinks the Conservative vote in the South East is soft. And it was striking, talking to voters in Chesham and Amersham, how so much of the language used about the Conservative party in the south is reminiscent of voters about Labour in the north.

[Hannah Al-Othman @HannahAlOthman]

This is very good:
https://t.co/F1g0yDpyuk

[Anna Mikhailova @AVMikhailova]

Your regular reminder that the Cabinet Office is yet to publish the Register of Ministerial Interests, due at the end of 2020

The Ministerial Code says it must be published ‘twice yearly’

Yet we only had one last year, in July

[Dan Whitehead @LibDemDan]

@loveourparks @oapcat @VolanteNick @WeAreOpenreach @Hyperoptic Entirely agree. The government should have (and should be) doing more to ensure that all homes across the UK have access to a high-speed broadband connection which is fit for a post-Covid world. It’s terrible that residents have had to suffer with the current speeds in the area.

[Dan Whitehead @LibDemDan]

Positive meeting with @WeAreOpenreach last night. They are in final stages of rolling out fibre broadband to the Rotherhithe peninsula and it should hopefully be available for most households by Q4 2021. Many residents have had to cope with sub-standard broadband for too long.

[Dan Whitehead @LibDemDan]

@chempsall @WeAreOpenreach Let’s hope this time they follow through on their promises!

[Dan Whitehead @LibDemDan]

@SELondoner @WeAreOpenreach Agreed - it has taken far too long. There remain some blackspots on the peninsula though, so hopefully those will at least get adequate coverage.

[Dan Whitehead @LibDemDan]

@peterjohn6 @cllrhumaira @SouthwarkLabour Telling a woman in power to be calm? Where have I heard that before 🤔

[Dan Whitehead @LibDemDan]

@peterjohn6 @cllrhumaira @SouthwarkLabour Are you really trying to suggest that this is the fault of the residents who dare challenge your council, rather than of the cllr concerned?