droid

Well-known member
Some of the stuff coming out about local councils, landlords and Tory cuts re the Grenfell nightmare is just appalling.

 

droid

Well-known member
Fucking hell.

Residents at the block were so concerned about fire safety after the recent refurbishment works in March that they requested an independent fire safety assessor to come in to review the safety of the building, but their request was rejected, the Labour councillor responsible for the block said.

She said tenants were concerned about the fire risk during and after recent refurbishment works and repeatedly raised their concerns with her.

Judith Blackman, Labour housing spokeswoman and who is on the board of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which runs the council’s homes, said:

We were constantly being fobbed off. All our concerns were being ignored. Our request for an independent safety adjudicator was turned down. We were told it was unnecessary.

Blackman said she raised the concerns of the residents with colleagues on the board so frequently that the board tried to have her removed from her position. The board said there was no need to employ an independent assessor, told her that their own checks were adequate, and said it “was not necessary to fund or instruct an independent adjudicator at this time”.

Blackman said:

I was treated like I was a nuisance. I raised 19 complaints on behalf of individual residents. Every single time we were told that the board had satisfied itself that the fire safety was fine. We were told that the go inside and wait policy was absolutely right.

In a letter to KCTMO, Blackman shared the residents’ concerns with the group. “I can’t think it all my 34 years on the Council of anything that has gone on for so long in such an irresponsible manner and caused such concern to residents,” she wrote.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
So the deal is that the Ballyban have pledged to support the Tories in Commons votes but are not officially part of the government - so they still don't actually have a majority. Is there a precedent for this, and how long can it go on for? Is May going to attempt to limp along for another five years like this? :eek:

Also, who has the power to bring about an early election? Does it have to the PM, or can an opposition leader suggest it and put it to a vote? If the latter, do you reckon enough moderate/Europhile Tories might rebel to pass the vote?

Edit: says here if a government (presumably meaning a majority) can't be formed following a No Confidence vote (which ousted Callaghan and brought in the first Thatcher government in 1979), or if a supermajority of 2/3 of MPs vote in favour of one.
 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I don't think there is a precedent. 1974 obviously in the same ball park, but no such agreement made.

Tory MPs openly saying that May won't stay in for five years, but offering little more than that by way of precision. Once the DUP deal blows up in her face, surely May will be toast. Who the fuck is going to be her replacement though - the realistic candidates are dropping like flies. This man http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/international/davis-emerges-without-trousers-20170620129863 is the bookies' favourite, which says it all. And second fave Philip Hammond would make the 'zombie Prime Minister' assessment unnervingly literal.

I imagine some of it will depend on public mood - surely there's only so long a minority government can limp on without any real power, if the public is baying for a new election? Even if there's no formal no-confidence vote. Not sure though, the whole situation is baffling me...
 
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