Bishop Hill Commons comedy gold
Aug 19, 2012 Climate: Parliament Although this blog has mostly concentrated on Lord Oxburgh's multiple conflicts of interest, press attention is currently focused on the similar problems of Tim Yeo, the chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee. Yeo's decision to lobby for legislative changes strangely coincided with the interests of Eco City Taxis, a company of which he is the chairman, and this unfortunate coincidence did not escape the notice of the UK's uber-Westminster watcher Guido Fawkes. The following day the Mail carried a major review of Yeo's green machinations, outlining the extraordinary sums of money he has earned in the process.
Today, David Rose has expanded the attack to Lord Deben, the new chairman of the "independent" Climate Change Committee. Deben is chairman of a consortium seeking to build windfarms in the North Sea and a lobbying company with a specialism in climate-related business.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has put forward a hilarious defence of their proposal of Deben:
A CCC spokeswoman said that any possible conflicts of interest would be considered by the DECC. A Department spokesman added: ‘Lord Deben has made a full declaration of his interests to the DECC and the Cabinet Office. The appointment is now subject to scrutiny by the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee.’
Reader Comments (38)
Nice to see John Selwyn Gummer in the frame. A more unpleasant character would be hard to invent.
I see that Rod Liddle takes a swipe at Yeo in his Sunday Times column today.
(paywall)
Nice to see John Selwyn Gummer in the frame. A more unpleasant character would be hard to invent.
Aug 19, 2012 at 10:24 AM | James P
Absolutely, he was my MP for 25 yrs. Come up against him twice in the context of bent policemen. Despicable.
Yeo interviewing Seldom Glummer should be a classic. One despicable MP interviewing another. Oh the irony.
Is there anything or anyone more corrupt than a politician ? Maybe, how about a climate scientist.?
Yeo: Johnny, me old pal , me old beauty. Are you a bad boy?
JSG (lord Deben): No Timmy, I am not
Yeo; Case closed. Not a splodge on his pristine character
Yeo: Spot of lunch old thing? I think we might have some matters of mutual interest to discuss..areas where our interests might coincide....
JSG: Got your drift, Timmy...could be a very profitable chat all round........ let's go.
I always thought of Gummer as the lowest of the low. Force feeding his daughter beef burgers to prove that they were free of mad cow disease was contempible. Now wonder the Norwegians labelled him a shit bag.
What first attracted you to these multi-billion pound subsidies?
Who works for who?
It is getting ever increasingly obvious that MP's no longer work for us but we work to feather their nest eggs. I fear that this is more noticeable at the end of epochs rather than when societies are at their peaks.
Tallbloke has an interesting post that links some of E M Smith's work with Gale Combs and Fred Singer, suggesting the link between climate and the ups and downs of human civilisation.
Only met Gummer once, as I've said before, at a Tory Student Conference in the 60s. He came across as a prat then and I've had no reason to change my view since. Discovering that he had become an MP was probably the least surprising thing that happened to me in my life by a wide margin!
Eo tempora eo mores.
(Cicereo)
However, don't expect anyone in the Establishment do do anything about the conflicts - they'll all be too busy working out how to get into the scam for themselves.
Is there a deeper conflict of interest in Tim Yeo's portfolio?
ElecLink, an electric (FR-UK) interconnection is a joint venture between Eurotunnel and Star Capital Partners. It will develop and install a 500MW electric interconnector between the UK and France, via the service tunnel. http://www.star-capital.com/eleclink.htm A presentation is available here: https://www.nomura.com/events/transport-conference-2012/resources/upload/eurotunnel.pdf
Presumably this will be classed as grid infrastructure upgrading in order to accommodate renewables.
So when the wind stops blowing, France can attempt to keep UK lights on with nuclear power via this link. How much will ElecLink charge power companies for this privilege?
Let's also hope the French give us generous bulk discount.
Mad Cows and Englishmen go out in the Solar Sun.
Oh well then, it is a done deal, Gummer has the ideal credentials for getting the job. He is one of them!
That [snip] Tim Yeo- recipient of multiple renewable energy kickbacks, sorry, directorships had the hypocrisy to campaign against a wind farm in South Suffolk- his constituency, as being "totally unsuitable"
Talk about lining your pockets and covering your arse!
'Jason Lewis is Investigations Editor of the Sunday Telegraph. He specialises in writing on intelligence and security matters, human and civil rights and the activities of the British State.'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/jason-lewis/
This investigative reporter wrote one of the most penetrating summaries of Gummers's (Lord Deben's) Globe lobby group back in April last year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/8469883/Lobbyists-who-cleared-Climategate-academics-funded-by-taxpayers-and-the-BBC.html
Amusingly, the most highly recommended comment below the piece has now been censored.
Perhaps its high time he returned to re-investigate the latest chapter of climate chiefs and mischiefs, of which there seems to be an inexhaustible supply.
Its rife amongst our political class. Nowadays they think that the words are all that matter. So if you "declare your interest" that in itself is enough and is proof of your integrity. Then they do what they bloody like and never get pulled up. It is corrpution, pure and siomple.
It has been stated that the fox declared it was a fox prior to being invited into the hen house therefore there is neither conflict of interest nor reason for concern.
Oxburgh, Yeo, Deben, Gummer et al: ={O}=
geddit?
"Eo tempora eo mores." --Dreadnought
"Nihil horum ora vultusque moverunt?"
Whilst, slagging off Yeo and Gumbo can be very therapeutic (and I for one could indulge in it all day), I think it might be more pertinent to delve more deeper into their relationships with Cameron, Clegg, the current Ministers of State at Defra and DECC, and the current Senior Civil Servants and 'Special Advisors' at those Departments. I think that such an approach might turn up an even odious and stinking state of affairs.
I think that such an approach might turn up an even odious and stinking state of affairs.
Aug 19, 2012 at 5:14 PM | Salopian
There is something very nasty lurking in there somewhere.
What really gets on my t*ts about Gumbo is that he is such a C of E christian fundamentalist that he makes Widdicombe look like a satanist, so how the heck can he believe in AGW in the first place?
How come Gummer acquired the title Lord Deben? I always thought Life Peers ("day boys") had to use their surname.
jorgekafkazar
I doubt it. They are shameless.
I guess, no "(climate) scientist" will say the obvious - corruption ...
Straight talking from Yeo, have a look at Liddle too in the Sunday Times [19.viii.12].
Two more upstanding and fine fellows one could not hope to meet, great stuff and crony capitalism goes from strength to strength with 'old boy network Tories' and statist through and through.
And the green agenda, remains right on track, careering down the line towards the terminus of Britain's industrial obliteration.
@HTTS: I am mystified where the Debden connection came from, but a correction to my previous post, he is a Roman Candle, not CofE, which makes his AGW beliefs even more hard to swallow. Does anybody have any details of the Vatican's stance on AGW?
Vatican's stance on AGW?
UN Agenda 21 - do the math.
The Vatican gets involved in climate change - Watts Up With That
Deben probably comes from the Suffolk river and estuary (which is a AONB) downstream of Debenham.
But deben is also a declension of the Spanish word for must, and also (according to the all-knowing Wikipedia) an old Pharaoh weight measure for precious metal etc - in the 19th dynasty a slave girl was priced at four deben and one kite of silver.
Tim Yeo Honourable member for suffolk.
Nothing honourable about him or his member.
Last John Major Tory government got booted out for sleeze by Tim and his Lovechild and Cash for Questions.
Tim is taking bungs from the Rewenals Sector .Now its Cash for Wind Farms.
Question for George Monbiot who i do think is an honourable if slightly misguided man.
George seeing it from your side how can you expect the British Public to have confidence in Climate Science and make the nessarsary change from Fossel Fuels to zero Carbon Renewals when Tim Yeo has single handedly mired the whole reputation of the Renewals Sector in Corruption ,"Bribes"and Sleeze?
George -Yeo is an embarrassment and a liability to the Climate Change movement .The Enviroment British Political Reputation, Thousands of Birds and Bats and Generally Everyones Electricity Bill is better off without him.Get Yeo out hes just milking it.
@ Jamspid: You're assumimg that Moonbat hasn't got his hand in Yeo's pocket.
I wonder if Monbiot would allow a wind turbine in Tinkers Bubble?
Is this the norm in British politics? In Canada this would be headlines with repercussions.
Aug 19, 2012 at 6:40 PM | Salopian
I believe he was active C of E member of synod then converted to Rome. What the synod achieved in wrecking the C of E before he left does not bear mention here.
Aug 19, 2012 at 8:51 PM | Jamspid
You refer to Yeo's second successful attempt at producing lovechildren - apparently he also produced one at university, which was adopted. What a sh1t the man is - thoroughly unpleasant and deeply-flawed.
'So Tim Yeo, the conflicted committee chairman, will question Deben, the conflicted candidate on whether conflicts are acceptable. I imagine this could be a penetrating cross-examination. It promises to be Commons comedy gold.'
---
I also look forward to the clear holding to account engaged upon with such murky dealings by the reporting of our national media. Who I am told, if by them mainly, can be trusted on such things.
I have a healthy interest in sensible enviROI+ actions and plans to accommodate future climate related challenges.
The activities of folk such as those mentioned above do not seem to very dedicated to meeting that aim, and indeed appear to be tarring anything green AND sensible with tainted brushes.
Which helps no one's interests, except perhaps those of a conflicted, or unique, or uniquely-conflicted nature, and then only short term.
Salopian:
Re: "I think it might be more pertinent to delve more deeper into their relationships with Cameron, Clegg, Ministers of State at Defra and DECC, and the current Senior Civil Servants and 'Special Advisors' at those Departments"
Go to http://www.e3g.org/ and have a browse around. Have a look at the profiles of Mabey, Burke, Ashton:
http://www.e3g.org/about/Who-we-are/. If you go through all the profiles you will find some Oxburgh links and more govt and UN related bright young things.
Have a look at the FCO page: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/who-we-are/special-representatives/john-ashton
Then of course we have the "Stern Team" at DECC: http://web.archive.org/web/20090331231714/http://www.occ.gov.uk/activities/stern.htm
Stern Symposium - Washington 2009
"The Stern Team organised the US Symposium which was held in Washington DC on the 3rd March 2009. Academics, CEOs of large US corporations, cross party Senators, and staffers attended, with a view to gaining a global economic perspective on U.S climate change action.
The event was sponsored by the World Resources Institute, (Al Gore on the board), the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Centre for Global Development, the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change & the Environment and with assistance from CISCO and The Climate Group.
Lord Nicholas Stern chaired several sessions with other notable speakers including Tony Blair, who chaired the closed door session and press conference, Connie Hedegaard; Danish minister for climate and energy and Ed Milliband."
The Stern team, based at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, work closely with Lord Stern to develop further analysis on the economics of climate change, disseminate the Review's analysis and findings and provide advice to other countries and regions that are planning similar work."
The FCO sent Stern to Ecuador earlier this year, if Assange were to publicly embrace AGW, perhaps they would let him go as well.
Lord Nicholas Stern’s visit to Ecuador 30th March 2012, http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=740492382
The visit was organised by the British Embassy in Quito and the Ecuadorean Ministry of the Environment, with the support of the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano (FFLA), FUNDAR Galápagos, Conservation International (CI), World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), and the Charles Darwin Foundation.
As Spartacusisfree has referred to recently, Stern also had contacts with Lehman Brothers, this report mentioned a few more familiar names, obviously they were informal contacts, not suggesting anything untoward:
"The Business of Climate Change - Challenges and Opportunities" - Lehman Brothers
http://www.climateneeds.umd.edu/reports/Lehman%20Bros,-The%20Business%20of%20Climate%20Change.pdf
"Outside Lehman Brothers, Sir Nicholas Stern, through the course of a long lunch, provided a brilliant overview of the principal climate change issues as he had come to see them." Specific mention should also be made of particularly helpful discussions with Vicki Arroyo, Sir Samuel Brittan, Sir Colin Budd, Nick Butler, Beverley Darkin, Peter Davies, Martin Donnelly, Roger Harrabin, David Henderson, Cameron Hepburn, Christopher Huhne, Saleemul Huq, Rod Janssen, Cornelia Meyer, Max Mosley, Baroness O’Cathain, Joel Smith, Don Verry, and David Ward."
I think Max Mosley was probably just organising the parties.
As an aside have a look at Theodore Roosevelt IV who was chairman of Lehman Bros "Council on Climate Change" Also at WRI with Al Gore, now MD at Barclays Capital.
http://www.wri.org/about/board/theodore-roosevelt-iv.
The note about MPs thinking only the words mattering, and so long as you've declared your interests, that's ok. Well I've received a reply from Andrew Lansley on this matter saying exactly that! What arrogance! Do they think we are ignorant fools? Time for the Whole lot to go, and for a complete ban on MPs holding directorships during their tenure and for 5 years afterwards.
The sadly amusing thing is that all these MPs chasing the climate gravy train will soon enough Conf themselves siting on a huge dead duck, i.e. when the whole scam finally collapses.
I anticipate the first major 'carbon' (i.e. CO2) casualty will be the current Aussie gov't under Julia Gillard, who has introduced a universally hated and ruinous 'Carbon Tax', which the opposition has vowed to repeal.
The only UK party with any climate (& EU) policy credibility is UKIP.