Party Games

Dominic Cummings turns on Boris Johnson, questioning his integrity and competence. Why did Downing Street blame him for leaking if they couldn’t prove it? And will the sleaze claims do any damage to the Conservative Party in May’s elections? More at twitter.com/paulosbourne and partygamespodcast.com

Supply chain finance — it’s a bit like a posh version of shamed payday lender Wonga. How did former Prime Minister David Cameron end up phoning around the Cabinet asking favours for a struggling finance company? And does it even matter (spoiler alert: yes, it does). More at twitter.com/paulosbourne and facebook.com/partygamespod.

London prepares to choose its next Mayor. Who will almost certainly be the last one. Sadiq Khan is one of a ludicrous 20 candidates standing on May 6th — we explore some of the more ludicrous, and London’s faintly ludicrous way of electing its Mayor as well. To see the video on London’s odd voting system, head to https://youtu.be/JG3HLBtqtts. More at twitter.com/paulosbourne and facebook.com/partygamespod.

A year after Britons were first told to stay at home, the vaccine roll-out offers us an escape route from our third lockdown. But, after 12 months of mis-steps and failings, how much praise does the government deserve? More at twitter.com/paulosbourne, facebook.com/partygamespod and instagram.com/partygamespod

As the Met Police Commissioner insists she won’t resign over her officers’ heavy-handed treatment of women at a vigil for a murder victim, MPs debate whether to give police tougher powers to restrict the right to protest. Given what we saw at the weekend, is that really a good idea? More at twitter.com/paulosbourne and facebook.com/partygamespod.

Rishi Sunak says he’s only being honest, as he raises taxes on businesses and individuals — but is he? Or is he being just the tiniest bit sneaky when he increases your income tax bill but not the rate of tax you pay? And why is health spending being cut?

Matt Hancock, called out by the courts, responds by saying it doesn’t matter that his department broke the law, and then goes on to rewrite history by insisting there never was a chronic shortage of PPE at the height of the pandemic’s first wave. Which may not be entirely correct… more at twitter.com/paulosbourne and facebook.com/partygamespod

Boris Johnson maps out a 4-month route out of coronavirus restrictions, but can he pull this off without thousands more deaths? The Prime Minister says we’ll have to get used to living with Covid, after a year when so many have been dying from it. More at twitter.com/paulosbourne

Why should you care about a fight on the other side of the world between facebook and the Australian government? Because if facebook can cut access to the news from millions of Australians, they can do it to you as well. More at twitter.com/paulosbourne and partygamespodcast.com

What links America’s fake news, China’s state-controlled propaganda, and the future of Britain’s traditionally impartial TV and radio news? How the appointment of a new boss for the UK’s media regulator could make the already tense relationship between broadcasters and politicians even worse. More at twitter.com/paulosbourne and facebook.com/partygamespod.