Strayside Sunday is our weekly political opinion column. It is written by Paul Baverstock, former Director of Communications for the Conservative Party. 

This week, I thought I would share something from my small but active Stray Ferret postbag. While working away at my kitchen table, my email pinged with a missive from a reader who, to spare blushes, shall remain nameless.

Attached to the email was a photograph of what turned out to be an article from 31st January’s Sunday Times (“The furlough firms that gave money to the Tories"). It turns out that several companies, both major and minor, availed themselves of shedloads of Dishy Rishi’s furlough scheme cash and, during the same period of time donated large sums of money to the Conservative Party.

As I scanned the list a familiar name stood out; The Fat Badger has never been at the top of my list of favoured watering holes, although I understand it is popular with the punters. It seems that the company that own’s Harrogate’s Fat Badger Pub had gifted £18,000 to the party of power all the while participating in the furlough scheme. In the subject heading of my reader’s email it said simply, “Is this right?”

Although The Times piece made clear that no laws have been broken (both individual and company donations to political parties are entirely legal), the answer, of course, in my view is no. All hospitality businesses are going through a torrid time and the furlough scheme is vitally important for their survival. But the issue here is that furlough money is intended to plug the gap in company finances created by the Covid-19 economic downturn. If companies in receipt of furlough monies still have the discretionary funds required to make political contributions, they are in danger of creating the perception that they are accepting furlough funds in bad faith. To avoid such bad ‘optics,’ business owners could and should make political donations in a personal capacity from personal funds, if so minded.

I for one don’t believe in political donations; in my view they should be banned and parties funded by the state to an agreed and equitable formula. I believe that state funding for political parties would be a simple and transparent way to reduce the undue and unwanted influence of those interests with the power and inclination to pay for it.

With the end of the Covid-19 crisis perhaps mercifully in sight, we are hurtling towards an inevitable reckoning for the government. It will be hoping that its success in testing and vaccinations (the latter of which has been nothing short of spectacular) will mask its howlers. Stories of wholesale furlough scheme and government emergency loans frauds are starting to surface. In its rush to do the right thing; to get money to where it was needed when it was needed, the government played fast and loose with the usual rules of engagement. Advantage has been taken.

My vote is that we should send in Jackie Weaver (from the Cheshire Association of Local Councils) to sort it all out. Clearly not a woman to be messed with, Ms. Weaver shot to internet stardom this week for her brilliant handling of a Handforth Parish Council Zoom meeting. More specifically, for her handling of a group of swearing, raging, cackling and spluttering (mostly) men. This Iron Lady for our generation retained an icy calm and was ruthless in her use of the cursor, dispatching several misbehavers to that modern purgatory, the Zoom waiting room. Never has a row over standing orders been more compelling. My favourite line in proceedings was from Aled’s iPad, “she’s kicked Barry out, so I’m leaving.” Who needs Emmerdale?

Ms. Weaver’s matter of fact and straightforward response to the viral storm has been priceless. She can’t see what the fuss is all about. The impression one has is of a group of silly and frustrated men, egos inflated by their minor office holding, attempting to throw their weight about. Our Jackie simply sorted them out and got proceedings firmly on track. It strikes me that if councils were like football teams I would agitate for Jackie Weaver to be transferred to Harrogate. I’m not sure Richard Cooper and his merry bunch at the Borough Council would respond well to Ms. Weaver’s hard-tackling style. She would strike the fear of God in them. And I for one, would pay really good money to see it.

Maybe it was ever thus, that we are governed by ordinary people, doing their best. Mostly decent people who share our flaws, who have some good days and some bad. That’s why we need transparency about how decisions are made in government, especially when it comes
to spending vast amounts of taxpayer money. And it’s why we have rules, because people, human beings, left to their own devices, get things wrong. From the government in Westminster, to Harrogate Borough Council to the Parish Council in Handforth, politicians rise to their relative level of incompetence. We have to keep an eye on them or they will misbehave. Time to send in Jackie!

That’s my Strayside Sunday.

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