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Breaking: Blairite Byrne under investigation for use of parliamentary staff exposed by Skwawkbox

Claims that parliamentary staff were used in mayoral campaign being investigated by IPSA

Liam Byrne: investigated by parliamentary standards body

In April, with the West Midlands mayoral election in full swing, Skwawkbox exclusively revealed that a former staffer had accused Labour’s candidate in the contest of misuse of parliamentary resources.

A whistleblower formerly employed by Labour MP and co-founder of right-wing pressure group Progress Liam Byrne said – and other local sources confirmed – that Byrne’s campaign was in such disarray that:

Basically half his team have left and the rest are his parliamentary staff and he’s making them work full-time on the mayoral election [which is] not parliamentary work.

The whistleblower also alleged that Byrne:

  • owed the former staffer more than £11k in unpaid salary, leaving the employee working for a year below the legal minimum wage
  • played arbitration service Acas and parliamentary standards body IPSA off against each other about the matter to avoid an employment tribunal deadline
  • damaged at least one staff member’s mental health because of the stress of ‘containing’ the misuse of parliamentary resources
  • told Acas that he had instructed IPSA to make the outstanding payment, but IPSA said no such instruction had been received and that they had been told the matter was with Acas
  • made a partial payment in December but not in full, with the delay causing the deadline for tribunal action to be missed
  • said in January that he now considers the staff’s overtime hours voluntary and therefore non-payable

As a result of the revelations, a complaint was made to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) – and IPSA has now announced that it is investigating Byrne over the allegations:

The Compliance Officer for IPSA has opened an investigation to determine whether Mr Liam Byrne MP has been paid an amount under the MPs’ Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses that should not have been allowed.

An investigation will be conducted into claims submitted under the following areas of the Scheme:

– Staffing and Office Costs in 2019/20

Read the full official notice of investigation here.

Mr Byrne has been contacted for comment.

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17 comments

  1. If the likes of Byrne ever get their grubby claws on power, the whole country will be damned to the same old same old swinging – Torys to Tory understudies and back.

    Let us break their dirty swing cycle once and for all.
    Short term rain for longterm great gain.
    🌻🌞🌻🌞🌻🌞

    1. “If the likes of” ANY OF THE 90% Neolabour Party TORIES “ever get their grubby claws on power, the whole country will be damned”
      If we EVER want an OPPOSITION Party, who/whatever that might be, we need to get rid of the Parasite TORIES! They will Sabotage and Crush every attempt by any Party to form an OPPOSITION to this Government! They are Powerfully connected with The Elites/Establishment and have Full Use of The MSM to spread their Damaging Propaganda, Lies and Smear!
      We have to eliminate these Parasite TORIES from their seats and prevent any others from taking any seats! Suffer we will Suffer! This TORY or That TORY, however by eliminating The Neolabour Party Parasite TORY Filth first we will be free to form an OPPOSITION to This Government FOR The PEOPLE! Be that The UK Labour Party, The Socialist Party, The Communist Party, The PEOPLE’S Party, WHATEVER, we NEED AN OPPOSITION and The Neolabour Party TORY Filth are literally preventing that from ever happening, by sabotage, lies, smears, Anti-Socialist tropes, etc, etc, etc FAR MORE AGGRESSIVELY than The Conservative Party TORY Filth!
      What did the Conservative Party TORIES have to do to stop Corbyn!? NOTHING! Not a Thing! All their work was done for them by their Esteemed Colleagues and Fellow TORY FILTH, The Neolabour Party TORIES!
      In my book that makes them the Greatest Enemy and Threat to The PEOPLE by comparison of the TWO TORY Parties!
      There is ONLY ONE WAY to get rid of them:
      1. Be Organised!
      2. Communicate!
      3. Be sure to know The Candidates for each Constituency!
      4. Be SURE TO KNOW who is the strongest opposition to the Neolabour TORY MP/Candidate!
      5. Communicate
      6. Vote for the Strongest Opposition to The Neolabour Tory MP/Candidate, to GUARANTEE they are Ejected from their seat, ESPECIALLY in Seats that are hot!

      Ideally there would be a Jeremy Corbyn, Claudia Webbe, etc in every seat, but that wont happen, my Constituency seat is pretty Hot and Between a Conservative Tory MP and a Neolabour TORY candidate! The Neolabour TORY wont get my vote, but I will use my vote to make very sure The Neolabour TORY does not get that seat! In fact he is a bit of a Byrne type character!
      Many will NOT vote Conservative on Principle and I would totally agree, IF WE HAD AN OPPOSITION Party, but between a Bastard Tory and a Bastard Tory who will do everything in their power to prevent an OPPOSITION PARTY, I am afraid that CHOICE was taken from me at GE2017 and GE2019!

    2. Isnt this the same grubby character that left an incoming conservative government with a damming letter “Sorry no money its all gone” .That admission by a government minister was used to trash Labour in virtually every general election campaign since then over many years.the label fiscally incompetent as stuck.Weve now millions of members money Spaft,siphoned, “disappeared” and just the usual cynical comment Prove it?from the same centrist bank robbers.

  2. IIRC this is the twat who gifted the Cameron govt a propaganda coup with the “sorry there’;s no more money” note.

    Idiot.

    1. “Unify with” Blair’s Byrne for a “Labour” government?
      👀

  3. Used and abused so he did’t have to pay them then making excuses up I remember chukca abusa doing the same wanting young people to work for nothing for one year his excuse was that they were getting experience

    1. “Unify with” Bryant “for a Labour government” ?
      ❔👀❔👀

  4. I have zero confidence in IPSA! If it was any good it would do something about the liars in 10 downing street.

    1. We are ENCOURAGED to “UNIFY with”, “WORK with”, “CALM DOWN with”, “SORT THINGS OUT with”- Reeves Straw Rayner Evans, lover of “the filthy rich” Mediterranean yachting Mandelson, DNA ID CARD pushing Blunkett,” Hodge… the less said the better for one’s health, Ashworth Campbell Blair responsible for the deaths of over one MILLION innocent children, women and men in IRAQ DESPITE being WARNED those deaths will ignite the bloodshed we’ve seen since PLUS the nonstop stream of refugees fleeing the conflicts Blair supported, Owen Smith Kinnocks, …🪣🪣🪣 ❔❔❔

      … “CONVERT” the likes of “Covid the gift that keeps giving” man… name slips me… lawyer chum of “Weapons of Mass Destruction” War Criminal Bliar,

      Cooper SIR Keith… “for a LABOUR government” ⁉️⁉️⁉️

      Anyone … ANYONE please explain how “that works”… PLEASE. I’m begging.
      🟪❔🟪❔🟪❔

    2. There is not a Commission, Watchdog, Commission, etc, that is not entirely owned and in the Pocket of EITHER OR BOTH TORY PARTIES! Ofcom, CIVICA, Electoral Commission, EHRC, ICO, IPSA, CPS, etc! All working hard against a Party FOR THE PEOPLE! ALL their efforts are entirely for the Benefit of The Two TORY Parties and The ELITES/ESTABLISHMENT!

  5. This is the arrogant prat that left a note in the Treasury in 2010, saying “I’m afraid there is no money”,…giving the Tories years of free hits about Labour overspending.

    Cameron even produced his note in the 2015 GE, waving it around as if proof of Labour’s profligacy when last in office.

  6. Strange that this thread wasn’t showing on my phone?! Only got on to it through checking emails..

    Anyway, don’t hold your breath expecting anything to happen. IPSA will be expecting people to work on a ‘voluntary basis’ there too soon. That’s unless they’re not already doing so.

  7. Yes, liam ‘There is no money left…In your savings account…because I refuse to pay you for doing my legwork’ byrne.

    byrne – who extolled workfare. byrne – Who wanted – nay, almost demanded – to ‘help’ the toerags ruin lives with the monumental balls-up that is universal credit

    I’ve always said he was a bigger ratbastard than dummkopf-schmitt (Who byrne models himself on)

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