Public First
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UK Crony Capitalism: Government is appealing
The statement issued by Downing Street when Michael Gove lost the Public First case (“We welcome the judgment”) might almost have made you think he had won. He didn’t of course – and the finding he had broken the law by awarding a contract to friends of Dominic Cummings was a powerful vindication of Good… Continue reading
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UK Crony Capitalism: We Won!
Michael Gove broke the law by giving a contract to a communications agency run by long time associates of him and Dominic Cummings, the High Court has decided. Continue reading
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UK: They want to block public interest
“All citizens are likely to have an interest in whether or not the procurement on the part of the Government is done using good governance procedures and integrity. And therefore there is a real wider public interest that has been represented by the claimant group”. These are not our words. They are those of the Judge in… Continue reading
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Gangster Capitalism: Yesterday in court
Documents disclosed to the court revealed that civil servants queried Public First’s costs and asked whether the contract was going to tender (it wasn’t). In one candid exchange a civil servant describes the deal as “tory party research agency tests tory party narrative on public purse”. Continue reading
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Another lucrative contract for friends of Gove and Cummings
How is it that Public First, long-time associates of Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings, have been awarded yet another contract, without any advertising or competitive tendering process? Continue reading
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Dominic Cummings: Money for his mates
Why do so many public contracts end up with friends of Dominic Cummings? Like us, you might have wondered. But, although reporters pick these stories up, nothing ever happens. Well, this time it’s different. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 