Fraud Rewarded with Promotion
The new Prime Minister has unveiled a raft of measures which, he says, are intended to improve the country's fortunes. However, social media users are already questioning how they will be paid for, whilst also reviving allegations about the financial controversies surrounding the former Mayor of Greater Manchester.Andy Burnham has pledged to reduce electricity bills, increase the personal tax allowance, provide greater funding for metro mayors, expand support for employment programmes, and launch what he describes as the largest council house-building programme in British history, among a range of other commitments.
Meanwhile, Burnham has already retreated from one of his earlier tax pledges. According to the Birmingham Mail, his decision not to increase the £12,570 personal allowance could leave the average taxpayer around £700 a year worse off.
Appointments Under Scrutiny
It is not only the public finances that are attracting criticism. A major row erupted after Louise Haigh was appointed First Secretary of State. Haigh had previously received a suspended sentence for fraud and, in an apparent attempt to limit political damage, responsibility for overseeing the Public Sector Fraud Authority was removed from her remit immediately after her appointment and transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Daily Express quoted critics as saying that ‘ordinary people can lose their jobs for dishonesty. In Westminster, it apparently earns you a promotion.’
The appointments of Alison Phillips and Matthew McGregor, both from the organisation Hope Not Hate, to positions within the Prime Minister's office have also attracted criticism. The organisation's leadership has previously been linked to a number of controversies, including allegations arising from a sex scandal involving a minor.
Old Allegations Resurface
A number of social media users have also revisited controversies from Andy Burnham's own political career. The account InTheTrenchesUK published a lengthy thread highlighting, among other things, the deaths of more than 1,000 patients at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust during the period when Burnham was Health Secretary. The thread also revisited allegations concerning property developments during his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester, together with criticism of his handling of the grooming gangs scandal.