Welcome back once again to my Weekly Digest politics blog. A round up of selected political news from NI, UK and the US, all delivered in my own inimitable way! So, let’s get started, as there’s a lot to get through!
It’s been all about the money in Norn Iron politics this week, or rather, the alleged misappropriation of it! Surely not, I hear you say! Aren’t we a model of good housekeeping, competence and moral fortitude in such matters? I almost typed that with a straight face! 😂
So, the NI political story of the last week has undoubtedly been the financial scandal engulfing Sinn Fein, regarding sums of government money that had been sent to three of their constituency offices in error but were still not returned after 8 months! The money, totalling £10,000 in each case (£30k in total), was part of Stormont’s emergency Covid fund for small businesses. MP and MLA constituency offices were ineligible for the scheme but some were sent out to those accounts automatically, clearly in error! No other political parties in NI received the payments, although one payment was made to the landlord of a DUP MLA’s constituency office.
The Sinn Fein leadership has acted swiftly to deal with the issue, resulting in the resignations of four party figures, two of them serving politicians. Former Foyle MP and Senator in the Seanad, Elisha McCallion and West Tyrone MLA, Catherine Kelly, as well as two party officials who have all fallen on their metaphorical swords! This is a source of acute embarrassment for the party, who have been quick in the past to highlight perceived financial impropriety by other parties, and which prides itself on its socialist principles. Sinn Fein elected representatives even claim to only receive an average industrial wage from the salary paid to them, with the remainder going into central party coffers. Perhaps, it’s the central party coffers that are the problem? Sinn Fein are, by some stretch, the richest party on the island of Ireland! In fact, £30,000 is small change to them!
The issue here is not how or why the money was paid to them in the first place. In all probability it was an administrative error. Rather, it was the length of time it took the three constituency offices to pay the funds back – 8 months! Why did they hold on to the money for so long? Why was it only paid back after the error had been exposed by the media? A separate issue is why a total of over £45m was handed out in error to various companies and organisations as part of the same scheme? The usual mix of Stormont profligacy and departmental/civil service ineptitude, we would have to assume! 🙄
And so to the DUP’s money problems! As reported here in last week’s blog, the Northern Ireland Audit Office found that a Stormont green energy scheme far more lucrative than RHI saw Arlene Foster approve more generous subsidies than in Great Britain, but managed to get electricity customers in GB to pay for most of it — and the total bill could be £5 billion! Yes, £5 billion! It’s worth repeating! This was revealed via the Auditors’ investigation into the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO) which incentivised green electricity from wind turbines, solar panels and anaerobic digesters. What are anaerobic digesters, I hear you ask? Well, apparently anaerobic digesters produce biogas from waste material, such as the waste from poultry factories, to generate electricity. Poultry factories? Now, wasn’t there a connection between the previous RHI scandal and that particular industry? 🤔
Now it seems documents show how officials in Mrs Foster’s Department for Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI) — the same department which set up and oversaw RHI — used equally dubious maths logic to justify these lucrative subsidies back in 2011. I know, we should be getting used to this by now, but how many times does this have to happen before the big boys in London lose patience with us altogether? 🤦🏻♂️
Okay, let’s leave the financially scandal riven basket case that is NI behind for now and move on to the goings on across the Irish Sea!
There’s more ‘trouble at Mill’ up north for Boris Johnson this week, starting with the growing discontent on his own backbenches. A 50-strong group of Conservative MPs, called the Northern Research Group, released an open letter to the PM calling on him to commit to his pre-election promises to invest in the north in what he termed his “levelling up” initiative. Jake Berry, the MP who organised the letter, insisted it was not a “revolt” but an offer to work with the Prime Minister. Hmm? Sounds like a bit of a threat there, Jake, to be fair? 🤔
What should really worry Johnson is they would not have taken this bold move if they were not deeply worried that support for Conservatives is starting to ebb away, particularly in the so called northern red wall constituencies that flipped from Labour to Conservative at the last election. Many are still considered to be marginal seats and, therefore, vulnerable to flipping back to Labour again!
To add to Johnson’s growing list of migraine inducing internal difficulties, former Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb also fired a warning shot over plans to end the temporary £20 extra being paid in Universal Credit. He told the BBC’s Today programme that it would be “unconscionable” to remove the additional funding and warned it could prove a greater headache for the government than the row over free school meals. And we all know how that has gone down! (Pardon the pun!) It’s enough to give one indigestion, Boris!
Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield has weighed into the extension of free school meals controversy to heap yet more embarrassment onto the embattled PM. She said she was “horrified” that children in one of the world’s biggest economies faced hunger on a daily basis. She also added: “We are a wealthy country, it’s 2020 and to have a debate about whether we should make sure hungry children should have enough to eat is something which is strikingly similar to the chapters of what we would expect to see in Oliver Twist…. We all have to agree now there is a problem with children going hungry.” Well, that is embarrassing! Is the PM listening, though? Boris? Hello?
Finally, at the time of writing it would appear that the PM looks set to announce a belated 4-week, nationwide lockdown. For many, this comes too late, as the SAGE Committee of scientific advisors have been arguing for just such a measure for weeks now! Labour has accused the PM of dithering over the issue and of not following the clearly stated scientific advice!
It hasn’t exactly been a good week for the Labour Party, either, however! This week saw the release of a fairly damning report by the ERHC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) into allegations of systematic anti-semitism within the Labour Party. Following the publication of the report, Jeremy Corbyn was dramatically suspended from the Labour Party after he claimed the scale of anti-Semitism within the party was “dramatically overstated for political reasons”. The former Labour leader accused “opponents and the media” of exaggerating anti-Jewish racism within the Party during his tenure.
So, in unprecedented scenes, Corbyn was informed by a photographer that he had been suspended and the party whip removed pending an investigation, rather than Starmer contacting him directly to tell him in person. Apparently, he had been notified by a formal letter/notice instead. If the ex-leader is found to have broken party rules he could be disciplined or even expelled.
The watchdog report found Mr Corbyn’s office unlawfully interfered in anti-Semitism complaints, including one against the then leader himself. Sir Keir promised to implement the EHRC recommendations in full and branded it a “day of shame” for Labour.
Corbyn’s suspension, and the manner in which it was executed, has caused a lot of anger on the left of the party which could easily break out into all out civil war! This is the last thing that Starmer needs, after gaining the party leadership on the back of a promise to unite the different ideological factions. Perhaps, ostracising the hero of the entire left of the party may not be the best way to achieve this aim, Keir? Or, was that precisely the intention – to purge the far left wing and return the party to the more electable centre ground of the Blair years? This is a fascinating power struggle at play, with the very soul of the Labour Party at stake!
And so to America, where Amy Coney Barrett has now been sworn in as a Supreme Court Judge, in a lavish, floodlit ceremony in the White House Rose Garden.
However, only hours before Coney Barrett took the oath, the Supreme Court already took a decision which could be a harbinger of things to come and may have hinted at potential Election Day chaos. The court ruled that the state of Wisconsin could not extend its deadline for postal ballots to account for mail delays. Controversially, it is thought that this move will affect mainly Democratic Party voters.
The Court appeared to argue it was better to get a result on time than to count all the votes – even if they arrive late. That’s a view which is wholeheartedly shared by the President – who knows people who vote in person and are counted on the day are more likely to vote for him. He’s repeatedly insisted the result must be announced “on the night”.
Apart from Florida, a close election could hinge on the so called Rust Belt states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Given the avalanche of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic, counting might take much longer than usual. Pennsylvania counts ballots that arrive as late as November 6. And Michigan has already warned it may not announce results until then.
It could all point towards a chaotic situation after the Nov 3rd election, where Trump could claim victory based on in-person votes, and declares Biden-leaning postal votes to be fraudulent! Crazy as it sounds, you really couldn’t rule this scenario out! Any element of doubt or question mark over the results is sure to be exploited by the notoriously bad loser, Trump. And if that happens, Trump expects the newly appointed Justice Barrett to tip the vote in his favour when it all ends up in front of the Supreme Court. All indications are still pointing towards a Biden victory, but don’t expect the spoilt man-baby to go quietly! Watch this space!
There are also real concerns inside Downing Street as polls point to a Biden victory. A win for the Democrats could leave Boris Johnson scrambling to rebuild the ‘special relationship’ he has enjoyed with the Trump administration.
Mr Johnson’s relationship with Mr Trump, who backed Brexit and calls his British counterpart “Britain’s Trump”, is much closer. Downing Street was hoping the good will between the two leaders would help smooth the path of a trade deal, London’s top priority when it comes to its relations with Washington. With the expected Biden victory, however, British officials have been trying to draw up trade proposals that are more likely to win Mr Biden’s approval, such as including tougher protections for the environment and workers’ rights.
However, there are many who believe that Mr Biden is likely to follow in the footsteps of Mr Obama in making Berlin his primary relationship in Europe. “Biden is an old fashioned Atlanticist,” said John Kerr, a former British ambassador to Washington. “But Angela Merkel and Merkel’s successor will be the main focus in America.” That’s not sounding too good for Boris and his much vaunted U.K.-US trade deal! There is a lot riding on this election on both sides of the Atlantic. The stakes really couldn’t be any higher!
Well, that’s all I have for you for this week, folks! Once again, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading and that you feel inclined to tune in again next week. Next week is going to be huge, whatever the outcome in the US Presidential election, so don’t miss it! Until then, stayed tuned in, stay informed and stay safe! Adios! 👋🏻
The Weekly Politics Digest! 