Who is Grant Shapps and why is he willing to degrade Stonehenge?

[Swammerdami]

(I'm just reporting some things I found interesting. It's up to TFTers whether the ancient Stonehenge monuments or British politics today is more interesting to discuss. Political Discussions may be the best forum for this: It's not just U.S. that has increasingly dysfunctional Politics.)


I'm not really an archaeology buff, but I feel that Stonehenge is very special. So this story saddened me:
. . . . Will Stonehenge lose its World Heritage Status?
I don't understand the details, but apparently moving vehicles from A to B is more important than this ancient site. A tunnel is planned which will degrade the site further.

The responsible Minister is  Grant Shapps. His Wiki article isn't encouraging:

... On 28 November 2015, he stood down from his ministerial position due to allegations of bullying within the Conservative Party.
...
[Shapps'] company marketed business publications and software. The existence of at least three people who allegedly provided testimonials for the company has been questioned.
...
Shapps's use of the names Michael Green, Corinne Stockheath and Sebastian Fox attracted controversy in 2012. He denied having used a pseudonym after entering parliament and, in 2014, threatened legal action against a constituent who had stated on Facebook that he had....

However, in March 2015, Shapps admitted to having had a second job whilst being an MP, and practising business under a pseudonym. In his admission, he stated that he had "over-firmly denied" having a second job. Under the name Michael Green, Shapps had offered customers a "get-rich-quick scheme" costing $497, and promised customers a "toolkit" that would earn them $20,000 in 20 days, provided they followed its instructions.

... The Guardian reported allegations by a Wikipedia administrator that Shapps had used a sockpuppet account, Contribsx, to remove embarrassing material from his own English Wikipedia page and make "largely unflattering" edits to articles about other politicians ...

... the Financial Times reported that it had discovered a "secret pay deal" between Shapps and OpenBrix, a British blockchain property portal company. The story alleged that Shapps would have received a payment in cryptocurrency tokens with a future value of up to £700,000.

 

[Jarhyn]

(I'm just reporting some things I found interesting. It's up to TFTers whether the ancient Stonehenge monuments or British politics today is more interesting to discuss. Political Discussions may be the best forum for this: It's not just U.S. that has increasingly dysfunctional Politics.)


I'm not really an archaeology buff, but I feel that Stonehenge is very special. So this story saddened me:
. . . . Will Stonehenge lose its World Heritage Status?
I don't understand the details, but apparently moving vehicles from A to B is more important than this ancient site. A tunnel is planned which will degrade the site further.

The responsible Minister is  Grant Shapps. His Wiki article isn't encouraging:

... On 28 November 2015, he stood down from his ministerial position due to allegations of bullying within the Conservative Party.
...
[Shapps'] company marketed business publications and software. The existence of at least three people who allegedly provided testimonials for the company has been questioned.
...
Shapps's use of the names Michael Green, Corinne Stockheath and Sebastian Fox attracted controversy in 2012. He denied having used a pseudonym after entering parliament and, in 2014, threatened legal action against a constituent who had stated on Facebook that he had....

However, in March 2015, Shapps admitted to having had a second job whilst being an MP, and practising business under a pseudonym. In his admission, he stated that he had "over-firmly denied" having a second job. Under the name Michael Green, Shapps had offered customers a "get-rich-quick scheme" costing $497, and promised customers a "toolkit" that would earn them $20,000 in 20 days, provided they followed its instructions.

... The Guardian reported allegations by a Wikipedia administrator that Shapps had used a sockpuppet account, Contribsx, to remove embarrassing material from his own English Wikipedia page and make "largely unflattering" edits to articles about other politicians ...

... the Financial Times reported that it had discovered a "secret pay deal" between Shapps and OpenBrix, a British blockchain property portal company. The story alleged that Shapps would have received a payment in cryptocurrency tokens with a future value of up to £700,000.

Stonehenge is a temple, and one of the most ancient. It was one of the first pieces of real magic, worked to map the movement of the cosmos and know the proper times of the changing of seasons, mixed with who knows what other things real and imagined.

The reason I have not made pilgrimage there is that such pilgrimage is unnecessary and itself degrading. Were I to be a decision-maker in this, I would make it not happen. Were I to find myself living adjacently and have the privilege or lack so as to afford doing so, I would commit to peaceful protest.