↪ Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was found in one part of the #Palace of #Westminster, but poses no "immediate risk", a spokesman said.

The #concrete, which can become less stable over time, was found during a "routine, on-going" investigation.

Two men have been arrested under the UK's Official Secrets Act amid claims a parliamentary researcher was spying for China.

The Sunday Times reported one of the men, in his 20s, was a researcher with links to several Tory MPs.

He and another man in his 30s were arrested in March, the police confirmed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66765759

#UK #Westminster #Parliament #China #Espionage

Is it any wonder the those in the #westminster 'village' are clueless about the life in the rest of the country....

while we battle on-line booking systems, enter lotteries for hard to obtain tickets & have to make hard choices (especially if you have kids) about which highly priced events you might attend.... MPs are handed free tickets.

Its yet one more dimension of the one thing for us & another for them.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/aug/23/more-than-100-mps-received-freebies-worth-180000-this-summer

#PoliceOfficer sits with an #XR #Rebel who has glued themselves to the road #ParliamentSquare #Westminster #London 21st April 2019 #ExtinctionRebellion #Protest #ProtestPhotography #Photo #Photography #StreetPhotography

Harry Rich, Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (a Govt. apppointed 'watchdog'), is unimpressed with #RishiSunak's weak & ineffective tweak to #lobbying rules at #Westminster.

He's 'puzzled' why the #Tories won't introduce secondary legislation to remove a range of loopholes that have left his office unable to stop various lobbying activities.

But, I think we know what's going on; Sunak has no interest in removing opportunities for his chums to make money lobbying or shaping Govt. legislation!

And then there were four.... by-elections, that is.

As #DavidWarburton quites in the face of accusations of harassment & drug use, #RishiSunak must be wondering if perhaps he could step off the #Westminster merry-go-round himself, don't ya think?

RT @APDAWG1: REMINDER: Everyone attending our Dog Bite Problem Part 3: ‘Solutions’ meeting on Tues 6 June, a) enter via Cromwell Green (map no. 8), b) arrive at #Westminster by 5pm in case of security queues, c) event is in Room 14 from 5.30-8.30pm. Safe journey folks! #DogBiteReform #APDAWG https://t.co/fkfA4MZ02s

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/WayneDavid_MP/status/1665719369064644611

Broadcasters obsession with #Westminster politics repeatedly fails to alert the public about major policy failures that are obvious to experts

"all the headline stories that have a political dimension [are] covered by their front-line political reporters, and this ensures two things. First, that the reporters will almost certainly know very little about the issue they are reporting on, and second that they are the reporters that are most subject to government pressure”

https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-broadcasters-obsession-with.html

Here's @sjwrenlewis on the problem with lobby #journalists, their obsession with the #westminster bubble & why it means the #media is not really holding our Govt. to account (and therefore is failing #democracy).

Using the example of #herdinstinct policy to broaden his well-developed critique of 'media macro' Wren-Lewis demonstrates again why his critique of the media requires your attention & is a significant element of the explanation for the current sh*show

https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2023/03/how-broadcasters-obsession-with.html

@rob_cornelius well is it a particle or a wave? Might explain the collapse of #inspiration function at #Westminster ;-)

Well, well, well who'd have thought it; #London continues to snare the most #transport #infrastructure spending per head... no wonder the #Westminster village thinks transport is well-enough funded - inside the M25 it is!

Here's Nesrine Malik (Guardian) on the paucity of #political ambition currently exhibited in #Westminster & her nostalgia(?) for a Britain that has been progressively destroyed in the past decades.

Once again the Q. is: do you trust #KeirStarmer to do the 'right thing' once in power (is he masked his ambitions for the UK), or is this actually what we'll get?

Like us all she is hoping for better, but fearing the worse (a declines coping & nothing more!)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/27/labour-britain-change-hope

If you want an example of the different 'logic' of life inside the #westminster village (so-called) & life in the real world outside, it would be top #Tories being convinced if they just continue to play hardball a little longer the general public (#voters) will turn on the #nurses... but actually, the opposite seems to be happening; the public realising the fairness of the need for a #NursesPayRiseNow are turning on the Tories;
out of touch politicians misread the public mood at their peril!

Hope those of you who like #London may enough this scene I did about a year ago. It combines one of my favorite cities and rainy night art which I love doing. And it works for #ValentinesDay as well. LOL

As always your shares boosts or any other support is appreciated. ❤️ #SupportSmall

#DigitalArt #Painting #MastoArt #FediArt #BigBen #Westminster #Rain #Romantic #BritishArt #ArtMatters #AYearForArt #MarkOnArt

On my site here: https://mark-tisdale.pixels.com/featured/romance-on-a-rainy-night-in-london-mark-tisdale.html

In #ThePeripheral in Future London, why do they keep saying they are going to or are in places in the City of #Westminster (Sackville Street, or #Paddington) when the backdrop is clearly in the City of London? It is especially odd when they go into a tunnel under a railway line. Plus the accents are very weird. and I am confused as to the connection between Virginia Water and Notting Hill.

Standing room only as Zelenskiy delivers a lesson in leadership - John Crace

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/08/standing-room-only-as-zelenskiy-delivers-a-lesson-in-leadership

#Zelenskiy #Westminster

I remember, decades back, a story about the premature demise of an otherwise promising Labour minister, for having accepted a £300 watch from a high-placed Saudi source. Voila, the press furore. A 🇺🇸 #diplomat, I think he an ambassadorial staffer in London, responding on #BBCRadioFour said, to the effect: ""£300! You Brits don’t know the meaning of “#corruption.” Well, we’ve caught up. #Johnson #NadhimZahawi #Westminster is an appalling place. Memories of #JoCox & #DavidAmess very much alive.

Το 1946 συνεδριάζει για πρώτη φορά η ολομέλεια του #un στο #westminster του #uk. 51 κράτη συμμετέχουν.

Την ίδια χρονιά ο #usarmy επιτυχώς λαμβάνει ραδιοκύματα που ο ίδιος εξέπεμψε στο φεγγάρι.

Το 1980 κυκλοφορεί η μελέτη "Addiction rare in patients treated with narcotics" στο #newEnglandJournalOfMedicine, το οποίο αποτελεί τη βάση της υποτίμησης του κινδύνου των οποιούχων.

Το 1999 η #hbo ξεκινάει την προβολή της σειράς #sopranos.

(Συνεχίζεται)

Sky's Westminster accounts are a feeble attempt to diminish the standing of elected government even more. The minor additional income of those they found pales compared to the overwhelming wealth of those rorting the nation. #Sky #Westminster

Nice to start the day with a picturesque walk to the office ✨️ #HappyMonday #London #Westminster #BigBen #wellbeing