Last week the Tories hid from the vote on their Universal Credit (UC) roll-out – resulting in a 299-0 defeat for the government, followed by a ridiculous attempt, slapped down with derision by the Speaker, to claim it wasn’t a defeat because the government hadn’t voted.
If you thought that was the most cowardly tactic the Tories could come up with, you were wide by a country mile.
Work and Pensions Secretary David ‘Chicken‘ Gauke is directly responsible for the UC programme. Yet he failed to follow the time-honoured convention that the government must respond to a Commons defeat, to the ire of the Speaker – and today, he is in hiding from the debate on Labour’s ‘urgent question’.
The irony of the DWP Secretary failing to turn up for a meeting when his victims are penalised for not turning up to a Jobcentre appointment because of a heart attack was not lost on Labour MPs:
Twitter activists are already calling for action against the cowardly foul/fowl:
Please retweet this if you think @DavidGauke should face sanctions for his act of cowardice. Shame on you David. #NoConfidence #ToriesOut pic.twitter.com/XCrmBIBpkQ
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) October 24, 2017
And Gauke’s lame tactic of sending along his DWP mini-me Damian Hinds simply won’t wash.
Morally bankrupt. Utterly incompetent. Shamefully cowardly. Despicably callous.
Just ‘another day at the office’ for the Tory ‘government’.
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His pay should be stopped immediately for a period of at least 6 weeks.
Whats sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. After that, he should have capability assessment interview carried out by a panel of benefit claimants. Theresa May would agree to this since she is such a fair-minded woman……..?????
It’s his second offence – he didn’t vote last week.
That’s a 26 week-long sanction, isn’t it?
Oh sorry – THIRD offence.
He chickened out of going on ch4 news at the last minute (to explain why they didn’t vote) last week, too.
3 YEARS 🙂
As Sir Edward Leigh pointed out the Tories play with fire with their refusal to vote to save themselves from defeat; it’s a precedent they may well regret making some time soon. Barely a brain cell between them
Reblogged this on SidLabour.
This man should be taken to court for not answers’n the British people,he has just spat in the public eye’s
Having watched last week’s debate and todays. I find it strange that none of the Tory constituents that are on UC have experienced any difficulties whatsover. It’s all the otherside of the house that has the problems. Is that down to DWP making sure that the Tory areas go smoothly and labours has all the problems or are the Tory’s all living through their back teeth.
A government in absentia is no government at all and forfeits any claim to legitimacy.
Reblogged this on sdbast.
Reblogged this on elizapdushku's World.
And they wonder why they’re despised?
Rich government for rich tax dodgers tis the length and brest.
he should join the rest of the mp’s on the popular vote leave bus that Theresa May will ultimately realise are like there wca process are unfit for purpose and find new jobs for them, counting street light, traffic cones on the M25 during rush hour springs to mind on minimum wage of course there to overpaid for the work some of them do and there perks and benefits need to be scaled down to a realistic austerity cut, flat share for mp’s for example, block of flats 4 mp’s to a flat when there on business in London then back to there constituencies, and rented flats not second homes, that perk should be done away with