I thought this was interesting and illuminating as to how GLP works.
Are you sitting comfortably TROY?
On the 26th November lat year GLP tweeted this...
Government is acting like a mobster to its own MPsIt’s not much fun being a Tory backbench MP at the moment. Just when you think things couldn’t get any seedier, No 10 is reportedly threatening to withdraw funding for their constituencies if they don’t toe the party line in Commons votes.
It appears the Government threatened to punish voters to try to force MPs to support attempts to spare Tory MP Owen Paterson from suspension, after he broke parliamentary rules by lobbying for a private firm that paid him £100,000 a year. One backbencher said MPs were told “they would lose funding for their constituency” if they failed to vote with the Prime Minister, according to the Financial Times.
This is not the first time we’ve heard of No 10 using this underhand tactic to keep their MPs in line. One backbencher told PoliticsHome in September: ”There’s been threats made to a few people that they won’t get funding for projects if they don’t side with the Government… To try and hold back an entire area or prevent regeneration just to get you to vote for something you clearly don’t like, it’s not something I’m particularly comfortable with.”
This is shocking stuff. Not only does it undermine Parliament and weaken MPs’ independence, if true, the allegations are in the realms of criminal offence.
Threatening to cut off funding for local communities to force MPs to vote to save a disgraced MP also reveals the truth behind what the Government likes to style as ‘levelling up’. As always, it’s people from hard-up communities who end up paying the price.
Good Law Project has sent a pre-action protocol letter to Michael Gove inviting him to deny, if he can, that the alleged conduct happened, to turn over any documents evidencing it, and to stop the threats.
The reports suggest a very serious misuse of public money, in the realms of criminal conduct, by or for the Prime Minister. We will not stand by and watch.
If you are in a position to support this case, you can do so here. Read our pre-action protocol (PAP) letter to Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NMjCyiDZxyWKn39ApTdUX60gDrXAsrub/viewhttps://goodlawproject.org/news/constituency-funding-government/In Janet and John terms they basically said publicly that they 'believed' the government was doing something dodgy, sent a letter to the government saying in they were looking to seek a JR, and then linked to that letter to their tweet seeking crowdfunding.
Ka-ching, Ka-ching the money, as usual, came rolling in...
Today they tweet this...
Yeah, another victory for GLP!!!
This is what they say in the article from the tweet...
No more threats – Government commits to cleaning up its actFollowing numerous reports that Tory MPs were being threatened with funding cuts if they didn’t tow the party line in Commons votes, Good Law Project wrote to the Government asking for answers. Hard-up communities can’t be blackmailed in service of Owen Paterson’s political career.
We have now heard back from the Government.
It does not deny that the threats were made (and neither do senior Tory figures like Dominic Raab). But it has assured us that the threats won’t happen again. Their response says unequivocally that “in any decision of the Government in relation to the Towns Fund or the Levelling Up Fund, the voting record of any Member of Parliament linked to any particular area will not be taken into account” and that it will “form no part of the decision‐making processes in respect of either Fund.”
This is significant.
We can’t change the past – but what we now have is a promise for the future. The Government says it will avoid a repetition of conduct that is unlawful – if not criminal. Should MPs, once again, be placed in the impossible position of choosing between their commitments to their constituents and their consciences they should contact us. We will promise – contractually – to keep their names confidential. And we will act again with proper vigour.
We have closed our crowdfunder for the case. With your help, we raised a significant amount of money. The costs we have incurred are very modest and we will meet them from our reserves.
It is impossible to make refunds via CrowdJustice. In the circumstances, we think the fairest thing to do with the net sum raised is allocated towards our challenge to the Met Police’s failure to investigate parties at No 10 Downing Street.
Good Law Project only exists thanks to donations from people across the UK. If you’re in a position to support our work, you can do so here.
https://goodlawproject.org/news/no-more-threats/So a crushing victory and over a humbled, regretful and overwhelmed Government - yes?
Well it appears so doesn't it?
Certainly there is a link for more donations to the GLP at the bottom of the article...
...ka-ching, ka-ching....
...but has anyone bothered to read the government reply...?
Well I did.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LSdIp1160_x14jBiKyf_xxV3GnZrHUVY/viewI'd print it out if I could but it won't allow me to, so I'll Janet and John it for you.
It starts off as saying that GLP haven't actually given any specifics to what they are alleging, so there's nothing the government can look into and respond to, and that the timeline of their generalised claim simply doesn't add up because what they were claiming happened BEFORE a vote actually happened AFTER the vote - so could not possibly have influenced it.
The government reply also points out that GLP haven't made a claim for relieve either, which as relief is an essential requirement of any JR application means you can't apply to even seek a JR!
They then turn to a reply to the GLP claim, pointing out how the timeline blows their case out of the water to begin with, and that other legal precedents would rule out their 'non' claim any way.
What they say in point 15 of their reply basically sums it all up...
"Your letter does not set out any action requested of our client (the government - the Secretary of State for Levelling Up). That is presumably because in truth no such action (a JR) can be requested and no relief can be sought.Can't people see that there's something going on here other than holding the government accountable???
There was a 'no case to answer' here, and I think that GLP lawyers knew that too - you can't really believe they missed something as fundamentally required of any JR, the 'remedy' requested, out of their proposal of seeking a JR - can you???
It beggars belief!!!
Yet GLP have on the back of all this implied the government had done something 'bad' which physically could not have happened, sought crowd funding for a JR, which physically could not be granted in the form proposed, and then claimed a 'victory' for something that physically had not happened - and then had the cheek to seek more donations - ka-ching, ka-ching!!!
Indeed look how GLP changed the context of the main quote from the letter they are 'claiming' victory for.
This is what they say in their text - (note the bold bit I've added)
We have now heard back from the Government.
It does not deny that the threats were made (and neither do senior Tory figures like Dominic Raab). But it has assured us that the threats won’t happen again. Their response says unequivocally that “in any decision of the Government in relation to the Towns Fund or the Levelling Up Fund, the voting record of any Member of Parliament linked to any particular area will not be taken into account”
and that it will “form no part of the decision‐making processes in respect of either Fund.”
...and this is what was actually said in the governments reply...
Point 14 For the avoidance of any doubt, in any decision of the Government in relation to the Towns Fund or the Levelling Up Fund, the voting record of any Member of Parliament linked to any particular area will not be taken into account.
Such considerations form no part of the decision‐making processes in respect of either Fund.”
GLP claim the government will not do it again but the government are stating it has never been done in the first place!!!
And let us look again at the start of that statement, this bit...
"We have now heard back from the Government.
It does not deny that the threats were made (and neither do senior Tory figures like Dominic Raab)".
Well this is what the government letter actually said...
Point 3 The duty of candour does not require the disclosure of any information where no proposed claim is even properly formulated.
What that simply means is that you've knowingly have not genuinely sought to seek a JR so therefore we have no case to answer too.
Not that threats were made and aren't being denied by the government but rather GLP claims couldn't physically have happened in the first place because the things they have alleged happened, happened AFTER the decision had been made!
People are simply falling for what GLP are telling them!
Finally note that the crowdfunding cannot be returned to those donating and is being put to another GLP 'proposed' JR, that those contributing may not wish their money to go to.
(I would imagine most of those donating to GLP wouldn't mind though as they seem totally besotted with the narrative they are reading from them!).
The irony is that if the government was doing something like this GLP would be the first to be screaming that something dodgy is going on!
As a disclaimer all of the above is just my opinion - I don't want any solicitors letters - and you should draw your own conclusions and opinions as to what is written in the tweets and text above which are in the public domain.