Two examples of how our Government works today

[BillyStubbsTears]

1) The Information Commissioner's Office has spent 2 years doing a root and branch investigation into how Vote Leave used Cambridge Analytica to profile gullible, vulnerable voters and bombard them with lies on social media in the Brexit campaign. Vote Leave was headed by Johnson and Michael Gove, and the data mining and advertising campaign was run by Dominic Cummings.

The ICO has just announced (actually, not "announced", "replied to a private enquiry by a journalist") that it has decided not to report on this investigation and has closed the file.

Who does the ICO report to in Government? Michael Gove in his role as head of the Cabinet Office.


2) The Home Office ignored the correct legal process in attempting to deport several asylum seekers earlier this week. Legal action was taken to block the process and the courts ruled that the deportations were illegal under the current law and should be halted while the Home Office went through the correct process.

The Home Office then put out a video on its official Govt Twitter account, not apologising for trying to break the law, but instead throwing insults at "activist lawyers" for trying to stop them breaking the law.

The video was finally taken down last night after a string of complaints from senior lawyers (you know - the ones who are supposed to see that the law is adhered to) and an apology from the Head of the Home Office civil service, who said that it was entirely inappropriate for official Government information to use language like that. I'll not hold my breath on the issue of who Priti Patel will be taking disciplinary action against on this one.

[belton rover]

Are gullible and vulnerable your words or theirs?

[SydneyRover]

I would think those words would be in the mind of Cummings, he doesn't appear to have a conscience of any sort and we we know johnson doesn't he's told us.

[belton rover]

I would think those words would be in the mind of Cummings, he doesn't appear to have a conscience of any sort and we we know johnson doesn't he's told us.

Quite possibly. I’m just trying to clarify whether it was the ICO that used the term ‘to profile gullible, vulnerable voters’, or someone else.
Unfortunately, Billy’s not talking to me.

Can you ask him?

[Axholme Lion]

I would think those words would be in the mind of Cummings, he doesn't appear to have a conscience of any sort and we we know johnson doesn't he's told us.

Quite possibly. I’m just trying to clarify whether it was the ICO that used the term ‘to profile gullible, vulnerable voters’, or someone else.
Unfortunately, Billy’s not talking to me.

Can you ask him?

I voted Brexit so I must be gullible and vulnerable, however I don't use social media.

[BillyStubbsTears]

AL.
I don't know if you are gullible and vulnerable, but you do appear to be unable to read a post and understand what it says.

I really shouldn't have to spell this out, but I did NOT say anyone who voted Leave was vulnerable and gullible.

But Cummings was on video (it no longer seems to be online) saying he'd paid Cambridge Analytica to wade through Facebook to identify people who got angry when immigration or the EU was mentioned, and who weren't usually engaged in politics, and then he spent a couple of million quid bombarding them with this b*llocks (which anyone who wasn't gullible would see was b*llocks) in order to enrage them into getting out and voting.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-vote-leaves-dark-brexit-ads

Cummings has bragged several times that these lies tipped the balance. Given how close the vote was, he's probably right.

[MachoMadness]

Something deeply insidious about official civil service accounts being used to spread this sort of thing. It's the sort of thing that does irreparable damage to a democracy over time.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Precisely MM.

Priti Patel scares the hell out of me. A truly nasty piece of work.

[Axholme Lion]

AL.
I don't know if you are gullible and vulnerable, but you do appear to be unable to read a post and understand what it says.

I really shouldn't have to spell this out, but I did NOT say anyone who voted Leave was vulnerable and gullible.

But Cummings was on video (it no longer seems to be online) saying he'd paid Cambridge Analytica to wade through Facebook to identify people who got angry when immigration or the EU was mentioned, and who weren't usually engaged in politics, and then he spent a couple of million quid bombarding them with this b*llocks (which anyone who wasn't gullible would see was b*llocks) in order to enrage them into getting out and voting.

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-vote-leaves-dark-brexit-ads

Cummings has bragged several times that these lies tipped the balance. Given how close the vote was, he's probably right.

Calm down. I'd made my mind up about Brexit years ago, I didn't need brain washing.

[BillyStubbsTears]

AL.

I haven't once said YOU did. I have no idea where you get the idea from that I have.

Cummings has said himself that he reckoned several million others did.

[belton rover]

When did he say that?
And if he did say say it, it won’t be true anyway because he is just a lying bas**rd, isn’t he?

And do you know any of the millions of people who were brainwashed? Would they know that they had been brainwashed? I don’t see how they could, to be honest - that’s the whole point of brainwashing isn’t it?

But if these brainwashed people don’t know they’ve been brainwashed - how do we know there are millions of them?

Tough one.

These are questions for anyone BTW
I’d hate for them not to be discussed just because Billy’s ignoring me.

[Axholme Lion]

AL.

I haven't once said YOU did. I have no idea where you get the idea from that I have.

Cummings has said himself that he reckoned several million others did.

I don't if others were or weren't. I can only speak for myself.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Yes AL. I know. It's just that that hasn't got anything to do with what I was talking about.

[Axholme Lion]

Yes AL. I know. It's just that that hasn't got anything to do with what I was talking about.

OK

[BillyStubbsTears]

AL.

Apologies if I was unduly tetchy. The problem is that those who ran the Vote leave campaign have in as many words bragged that their approach was to deliberately target and misled a certain proportion of the electorate. The Vote Leave campaign leaders clearly treat those people with contempt (look at the b*llocks that they sent to them in the Full Fact article further up the post - they expected people to believe that shite).

Where I get tetchy is when I and others point this out, and then Leave supporters accuse us of saying that they are too thick to make up their own minds. It is NOT me saying that. It is me saying that the Vote Leave campaign thought that.

Of course, for some reason this has gone right off the topic of the OP. Which was about the ICO investigation into the legality of what Vote Leave did, the fact that the heads of Vote Leave are now the three most powerful men in the country with the ICO reporting directly to one of them, and the fact that the ICO has quietly decided to shelve that inquiry and not report on it.

That is precisely what Johnson, Gove and Cummings meant when they said they were going to take back control.

[belton rover]

It hasn’t gone off topic, people are responding to the words you wrote in the OP.
I know it’s awkward because you are not acknowledging me, but Axholme is.

The trouble is Billy, you sending me to Coventry isn’t going to stop me responding to you or anyone else, when I feel it necessary  to comment. Nor is it going to stop anyone else responding to me, when they see fit.

The world’s carrying on.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Something deeply insidious about official civil service accounts being used to spread this sort of thing. It's the sort of thing that does irreparable damage to a democracy over time.

Here's a bit more on that story MM.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53937593

And here is the opinion of "the professor" who made the complaint to the HO.

https://twitter.com/jdportes/status/1299050246379638786

[MachoMadness]

Very on brand for this government BST. Say something despicable then quietly delete it AFTER it's been seen 1.6 million times. They know full well what they're doing.

That Harry Cole tweet quoted by Portes in your second link is f**king awful as well. They weren't "sprung" by lawyers, they did nothing wrong, the government tried to deport them illegally and got caught doing it!

[BillyStubbsTears]

MM.

Truly shocking to see this sort of thing from a UK Govt. I cannot remember this sort of deliberate and concerted attempt to whip up anger by a British Govt in my lifetime. They are looking to direct people's anger against the very structures of civilised society like the judiciary and legal profession.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Precisely MM.

Priti Patel scares the hell out of me. A truly nasty piece of work.

And here she is again.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54349796
Worth noting that Hitler once looked at plans to deport Jews to Madagascar.

On a slightly related point, a mate of Farage's from the German equivalent of the Brexit Party said at the weekend that he was happy for more immigrants to come to Germany because it led to more support for his party. He then went on to say, "We can always shoot them later. Or gas them."

Some era we are living through int it?

[MachoMadness]

Policies straight from the desk of a Saturday morning cartoon villain.

[selby]

Brain washing must only be a temporary thing for some and more serious for others, as those who fell for Corbyn's speil are great examples.
 There's quite a few good ones on here.

[SydneyRover]

Brian washing?

[selby]

 hooked a sprat again.

[ravenrover]

Why th s Selby?

[drfchound]

Why th s Selby?

😂😂😂😂😂

[SydneyRover]

hooked a sprat again.

this government caught a whole super trawler load and still they queue to get on board

[BillyStubbsTears]

Another example of how our Govt works today.

Have a read of this thread about the £3.6bn Towns Fund.

How the civil service drew up guidance on which towns should qualify.

How Jenrick disregarded that and effectively chose the town's himself. And massively weighted funding to marginal seats.

https://mobile.twitter.com/chrishanretty/status/1309214674626514945

Absolute Banana Republic stuff. Does anyone care anymore?

PS. If you want to skim it, the key tweets in the thread are 7, 8 and 12.

[SydneyRover]

And another one

''Former Tory minister criticised for new job at firm she lobbied for
Exclusive: Nusrat Ghani joined company leading consortium that won £33m grant after backing its bid in letter to business minister''

Ghani will serve as non-executive chairman of the Belfast Consortium Supervisory Board at Artemis Technologies Ltd for a year from 4 September 2020, receiving £60,000 for seven hours of work per month, according to the latest register of MPs’ financial interests.

[MachoMadness]

Here's a good one - one of the great offices of state getting into a fight (and being brazenly dishonest as they do) with the Secret Barrister on twitter. Bizarre.
https://twitter.com/BarristerSecret/status/1314630000553885696?s=19