Ashcroft Law Won’t Work
Labour backbenchers are obsessed with Lord Ashcroft and he enjoys the “Dr Evil” status that they give him. Last night they forced the government to accept an amendment to the law on political donations that the government said was unworkable. It is unworkable. Still if it makes them feel better…Guido has said it before and he’ll say it again: Ashcroft should just publicly come clean on his status. If he wants to take a substantial role in public life that is the price he has to pay. A source claims that the Electoral Commission has glossed over the investigation of Lord Ashcroft. Perhaps, or more likely he is careful to act within the letter of the law. As previously when laws have been targeted at him, he will not be hampered in the slightest by this law change.
Labour’s backbench MPs might reflect on non-domiciled donors like Lakshmi Mittal (pictured), Ronnie Cohen and Swaraj Paul – who during the Blair years gave the Labour Party £10 million. Lord Paul’s status is very confusing, is he now UK domiciled? Does he pay UK taxes on all his income and capital?
so two sets of crooks bitching while the rest of us pay fucking great
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8148683.stm
In this instance, I was happy to contribute to the expenses as it was worth a try.
However, the Cohen name reminds me of something contentious.
Labour MSP Lord Foulkes complained to John Lyon that public money should not be used for “party political” purposes.
But that is Labour’s entire government strategy. Pledge to borrow and squander one trillion quid in the hope that the electorate will take leave of their senses and vote for them a fourth time.
Who pays for all the Government advertising (propaganda) on TV, at the Cinema etc. It wont be the ZanuLabour lot, they are as broke as the country. The Politics of envy methinks,
Yeah. government propaganda. I think I saw a ‘Benefit Cheats’ ad on the underground last week. Are the fuckers getting bold again?
Labour MSP Lord Foulkes complained to John Lyon that public money should not be used for “party political” purposes.
Quite.
Union modernisation scheme. Labour gives the unions £10 million to ‘modernise.’ Unions give £10,000,000 to Labour government as a thankyou for the modernisation grant.
Sadly, there isn’t enough left to ‘modernise’ as they have given it all away, so the one man no vote remains.
Quite so Bill. We all know how the government gave the unions money and got it straight back but come election time if Labour start chucking any Ashcroft shit around then I fully expect the Tories to respond in kind. Because I don’t think it is general knowledge how crooked this government is.
At the moment the public perception is still largely that they are merely liars and incompetents. Although the expenses scandal has planted the seed that they are in fact simply self-serving crooks. Highlighting the crookery of awarding themselves spending money by laundering it through the unions will add to that perception.
As the old saying goes “Be careful of what you wish for”. Labour may well have shot themselves in both feet over this.
As a matter of interest, don’t you think Labour will be relieved when they don’t get in? All those chickens coming home to roost.
Lord fucksake is a lickspittle, a TOOL of Brown and his Goons !
Foulkes should have another drink – and call a taxi (un-aided this time !).
Dear All
It is that time of years again, time for George Foulkes to cause trouble.
This time the noble Lord latest venture in stirring shit is a complaint to the Westminister sleaze Watchdog against First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond.
Foulkes has a history of wasting public money by asking a large number of parliamentary questions, the more meaningless the better.
Nothing is too stupid for Foulkes to ask the Scottish Government.
From Space hoppers to hairstylists, Foukles wants to know the cost.
Alex Salmond used of taxpayers’ money in a bid to force Tony Blair from office over Iraq.
Some might say that he was doing his duty holding the UK Government to account.
Last night, Foulkes was quick to crow Mr Lyon was to look into his complaint, which was limited to the First Minister “in the first instance”.
In other words, this is a party political complaint against Alex Salmond, could it be something to do with the fact there is a by-election in Glasgow North East?
The SNP response to what Foukles is up to is that the Nationalist parties had been “absolutely” right in their bid to hold Mr Blair to account for the war.
That war was illegal, achieved nothing and destroyed an entire country which caused lasting damage to the West.
Foukles is one of the most expensive clowns in public life.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
I fully support the use of public money to try and impeach Blair over the Iraq war.
Opposing the Government when it is lying to take the country to an illegal war is not a party political act, it is an entirely legitimate function of the opposition.
I hadn’t realised it cost so little money to bring an action aginst the government. I’ll bet Tony et al used public money to defend themselves. The murderous bastards.
Labour? Making laws just to target politically embarrassing individuals? No precedent for that then. And just like the law to target Brian Haw they will fuck it up.
As Guido says, Ashcroft will make sure he complies with the letter of the law (and he can afford good accountants and lawyers to make sure of that). Any knee-jerk legislation is almost always unworkable in practise (Dangerous Dogs Act anyone?) especailly when aimed at the well-off.
The problem is that the Liebour party has no money, and little prospect of getting much more to fight an election – so they legislate in a desparate attempt to make the playing field close to level…
Aye, that’s the story. They can’t even afford a conference. They didn’t have any money for the Euro elections or local elections. They’re hoarding what little lines of credit they have left for the big push at the General Election.
A tirade of lies financed with an overdraft.
The economics of the Labour party mirroring the economics of the Labour government.
Yes but the Labour Party have all the resources of the State, which they use to further the interests of the Labour Party. All Ashcroft has done is give the Tories a fighting chance. Good for him.
Shame Ashcroft can’t buy some of Labour’s outstanding debt and call it in at a suitably inconvenient moment
Resurgemus,
Splendid idea. Unfortunately I think the Labour party overdraft is largely with the bankr*pts favourite bank. The Co-op.
‘Cant afford a conference’
Is this true, tremendous! Tell me more. Could be a fantastic Autumn, but the rules will change and we will end up paying the bill, as always
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8148683.stm
did somebody say crooks?
I’d call the claim for £790 for legal fees in an attempt to impeach Blair a wholly legitimate expense. As long as we could all claim it when we try to bring impeachment proceedings.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/please-go/
Keep signing
I didn’t buy my title.
Honestly.
My massive donations to the Labour Party had nothing to do with it.
My children use the title ‘honourbale’ now which is very funny.
‘honourable’ of course.
Like all but Broon on the Labour side they know they’re on the way out and, true to form, they’ll just be plain nasty.
ashcroft is a good lad
leave him alone
is the speaker a wanker?
nope, he’s a weaker spanker
or a squeaking spanker?
The Golden Rule: “the one with the gold makes the rules”
and you couldnt get monty or jimmy for 69 balls lad ha ha ha
He who laughs last, laughs longest.
didnt see ricky laughing a lot lad you had your chance and choked couldnt even bowl out a no 10 or 11 lad wouldnt have happend with warne or gleen 5-0 mcgrath
See you at Lords Freddie (if you can make it, you big girl)
the lads are ready and on a high if you cant get monty out in 69 balls you aint got a hope in hell lad
He who whines loudest is Australian.
Freddie: maybe promote Monty to 7, then?
maybe he should open at least he knows where his off stump is unlike the top 4
@24 suspect you are not the real freddie – too literate (and logical)
eh lad not all fast bowlers are thick like mcgrath
not all fast bowlers are thick like mcgrath
Luckily for you lot, I sold half the UK’s gold reserves at a massive loss – and it was the Tories fault, they made me do it.
If Liebour had any gold left, then maybe they would be in a position to make rules. As they sold it for 25% of what it was worth they should shut the fuck up and play ball under the established rules – rather than trying to change them for their own ends.
When the Tories come in, do you think they will make block donations through trade associations illegal??
There should be no donations from corporations: whether unions or businesses. Individuals donations should be limited to say 2000 pounds a year. That way the corrupt political parties would have to listen to people on average pay rather than just the privately wealthy (like Ashcroft) or the publicly corrupt (like the Unions).
Capital idea.
Spot on.
They would also have to cut their coat according to their cloth, so hopefully fewer ’special advisers’ – though we would have to keep a beady eye on them to make sure they didn’t try sneaky ways to get their sticky mitts on taxpayers’ funds.
Budgie, this is similar to what happens in the US. Politicians are forced to campaign to the majority because they cannot rely on a few large donations.
People also become much more engaged with politics if they feel that the politicians are reaching out to them, that happens to a far grater extent than it does in the UK.
I think the figure was $1.6bn raised from people who could only contribute $4,000 max – that’s several million people caring enough to donate money to a party
Hey, you were just getting on with the job and it was the right thing to do, and it’s all about fairness and it started in America. And it was only gold anyway.
No corporate and or large donations – end of.
Why?
Because they cannot vote, so it’s obviously a bribe of some sort.
That’ll be Labour through and through. Blair introduced a law because he was embarrassed and ashamed having to drive by that chap complaining about the Iraq war every time he drove into parliament. And so yet again they have amended a law to attack one individual in the hope they’ll be able to make some ‘Tory foreign donor’ shit stick.
This government really are utter scum.
GUIDO THAT QUOTE OF THE DAY HAS GOT TO BE WORTH A BLOG OF IT’S OWN “PLEASE” .
to be honest lad it should be quote of a couple of days
No more tits, please FFS.
Already covered yesterday on http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jul/11/jacqui-smith-interview
Please try to keep up
‘It was back in February that she was fingered – the first of many politicians’
How revolting
I think Timney’s too busy watching ‘movies’ to pay any attention to his wife. Maybe she has to finger herself?
(Apologies to anyone still eating breakfast)
Steve!
steve lad bad darts
Okay okay, sorry for putting horrible pictures in your mind early in the morning NewGirl!
I was juuuuuuust starting to feel a tad sorry for her (only a tad mind), then she goes and says that Gordon Brown is the second best Prime Minister in modern times….after Blair! Section her, she’s fucking mental.
If the Tories want to start capturing our trust and be able to throw sleaze allegations at Labour, they have to sort this out.
Defending Ashcroft just looks bad as William hague found out.
Cameron has to be seen cleaning up areas of doubt and should act now, so most of us will have forgotten about it by the election.
Remove the stick that Labour will beat you with.
Not at all. Use your opponents imagined strength against him. For every Lord Ashcroft the Tories can flag up three or four Lakshi Mittal a-likes. Ecclestones etc etc. Multi-billionaire donors bunging Labour cash.
It won’t take any imagination or digging to reveal what Labour gave in return for those donations either.
This is just another tweaking of the law like their conflating ’second jobs’ with dodgy Tudor beams and porn videos in their latest comedy Bill in an attempt to spread the blame.
Meanwhile the economy continues its slide down the shitter.
If Cameron removes the Ashcroft stick and says “Look we’ve cleaned up our act, how about you” it would help with trust.
As for economy, you cannot spend on borrowing forever, you have to earn to pay back your debt.
The Brown/Balls/Mandelson triumvirate does not want everyone to know how bad it is and are trying to secure the hearts and minds of the non-producing/benefit classes that they are their champions, when in fact not dealing with collapsing government revenues now will make it worse in the end.
jgm2, you are correct, the economy is going to the dogs and no one in power is doing anything constructive despite Mervyn King trying to do the right thing.
Bizzarely, despite the widespread merriment at Tudor Beams and the ‘poster girl’ for sleazes porn films I can well believe Brown is delighted not to have newspapers and TV printing 24/7 that this government has so lost control of the economy that it is reduced to printing hundreds of billions of pounds.
Then showing us archive footage of the Weimar Republic and more recent economic lessons from Zimbabwe about how well this audacious and untried remedy has worked in the past.
Compared with the total economic destruction of the UK having folk laugh at you for putting porn vids on your expenses is a let-off.
jgm2, very true. Expenses are actually quite trivial in the grand scheme of things, the issue is actually one of trust in politicians rather than porn movies and mock Tudor beams. Neither main party came out smelling of roses, although DC handled it much better than Broon.
As you say, if the papers were saying that we were printing money “like Zimbabwe” then it might become more obvious what was about to happen – rampant inflation and a devalued currency. Did Hitler not plan to print Sterling forgeries himself, to try and destabalise the UK economy?
As I said to Master Baiter last week, Blair and Brown’s place in history will be the wholesale destruction of the UK’s relevance to the World.
What does the UK have that is of any priority importance to the USA, China or Russia?
We have huge debt’s, we do not control our government or our currency, we have no manufacturing and have an ageing population and a generation of benefit dependents.
Cue continual wholesale emigration of any ambitious young person with above average earning potential.
We are about to become Argentina
Economy recovering, house prices due to rise over the next three months, is what the press is now printing.
House price inflation returning, economy out of control, inflation rising, and another asset bubble in the making, is the true picture.
We need an honest press and inflation figures which include house prices.
Rapidly inflating house prices might have been Labour’s key policy, but we have all seen where it got us.
Has nobody learned the lesson?
The press is reporting “green shoots” based on things getting worse at a slower rate. That does not mean they are going to get better anytime soon. The UK will have to adjust to a “new normal” of significantly lower earnings and expendible income whilst repaying vast debt for a very long time.
Have a look at http://www.safehaven.com/article-13906.htm where the arguement is actually deflation ala Japan, rather than inflation ala Weimar Republic and Zimbabwe.
It’ll take a decade to clear up the mess.
It started in America and it’s continuing there and all around the world.
Thatcherite Union busting and dismantling of heavy industry is not the task at hand.
You people are so obviously clueless it’s a pleasure to watch you squirm.
CLue, the US banks and car companies are state controlled, just like in China.
Interesting article there McGroom.
To summarise, as long as the banks hoard the printed money and use it to reduce their lending multiples, then the money will not really be in the economy and will not cause inflation.
This is probably true for the initial money printed, but once the banks start lending again (as there is political pressure to do) and if the printing continues there is only going to be one outcome which is inflation, especially when combined with currency devaluation due to the increased money supply – we produce less than we ever have and are more reliant now on imports, which will be more expensive with a devalued currency.
In my own field of IT there has been rampant deflation for years due to technological advances – whenever you buy a computer it’s always going to be cheaper next week. Consumer electronics are the same. I think the general public are used to deflation in certain areas and will react differently to how they would have done 10 or 20 years ago.
At least Argentina win the World Cup every now and then.
Mittal & Paul will think like any prudent wealthy Asian businessman and try and ensure they have an entry to any party likely to be in power. Zanulab are likely to get the polite brush off next time they call.
Look forward to zanulab stoping the practice of councilors’ allowances being used for electioneering purposes.
163, interesting post. Some valid points from the article.
$1. spent by Government takes $1. out of private spending with no net influence on GDP. The only effect is a tax increase.
$1. in taxes removes $3. in private spending.
The conclusion is therefore that Brown’s current policy of increasing Government spending is wrong. It will make the situation worse.
Reduced Government spending and reduced taxation are both necessary for recovery.
That is the expert economist’s view.
Having had dealings with both Michael Ashcroft and Swaraj Paul in my time, I know who I’d trust. And it wouldn’t be Paul.
Read up on Tyco, and you might be careful about Ashcroft as well. Guido is right, if he wants to play in our political system he has to pay taxes.
Straw wanted to kill the amendment that intridouces the Law precisely because he and most of the Cabinet want to squeeze money out of any remaining Non-Doms.
So the Labour Whips tried the the horsesh*t spin about “unworkable” to try and scare them into submission.
The Labour backbenchers told Straw to go f*ck himself.
They had enough of the Blair years of grovelling to the rich dodgy arseholes as well as no doubt putting Ashcroft in the frame for his dubious status and strange Tax arrangements.
Camerhoon won’t muck out the stables. You know, I know it, they know it.
He wouldn’t be left with much if he did.
Heaven help us all.
Camerons only asset is that he isn’t Brown.
How quickly the public forget that they were all in it together.
As a member of the public I’m all too aware that we are all in this together. It’s the lying Labour politicians who seem to be content to pretend that there is no ‘in this’ at all. that there is in fact no problem to be faced up to and that even if there were borrowing one trillion quid and printing 150bn quid will sort it all out – no questions asked.
It is the lying Labour bastards appealing to their infantilised voters that there is no problem at all and we can keep printing and squandering money indefinitely that has got us into the shit.
We are best placed to deal with (insert current issue), but the Conservatives (please choose from attached list), they are the do nothing party! This week we will start talking about something we promised to deliver 2 years ago, our Grecian 2009 model Andy Burnham will tour the TV and Radio stations after having announced in HOC, as per new rules, but the tories etc etc For 12 FUCKING YEARS
Goodbye Nu Labour, Hello Blu Labour
OT
Ben Bradshaw now attacking BBC. Not clever after News International. Is NuLab’s aim to stick two fingers up to everyone before they go ?
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4953fa90-6ff1-11de-b835-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F4953fa90-6ff1-11de-b835-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fhome%2Fuk
A government Minister accuses the BBC of poor management. Pots and kettles sping to mind here, for some inexplicable reason…
Double think. Give the impression that ZaNu Liebour is ‘after’ the BBC and then the accusations of pro-Government bias just can’t be true.
Can they? Think the way they think. Bradshaw is simply not capable of doing anything upstanding. He has no backbone.
Lovely to see the marxist octopus gnawing its own propaganda tentacle.
You miss the point. NuLab wants to offer ITN the prospect of more cash so the newscaster can be brought closer into line with the government before the election.
So the BBC is fireproof, watertight, impervious to attack and only too eager to be publicly shafted for the cause?
And ITN is the great guardian of fearless reportage but not averse to keeping schtum if there’s a good bung on offer?
Anyone catch Jonathon Freedland comparing Mandelson flatteringly with Cardinal Richlieu this morning on the Long View?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00ln3tx
I had to turn it off. Blatant BBC propaganda, I could imagine Lord Pederast gloating over his cornflakes.
Sues E
Corr! Phew! Derry Paska, Osborne, Paranoid, LD Vans, political contributions, dripping with poison.
Bernard Madoff, Nat Rothschild
Which is worse – a BBC that instinctively leans to the left, or a BBC that supports Labour because it has to? The first is more honest but more insidious. I don’t think the BBC consciously supports a liberal/socialist/atheist/environmentalist/Arabist agenda. It genuinely tries to be impartial, but it fails because everybody in the BBC thinks along the same narrow channel. If it had to support the Government of the day because its finances were tweaked every time it stepped out of line, at least we could ignore it as the Government propaganda channel.
Perfect summary Sir WW – they know no better. Institutionally leftist.
I agree with a lot of what Bradshaw said.
If a million monkeys typing forever could eventually produce a Shakespeare play, (debatable), it follows that a Labour Minister might on occasions say something sensible.
It is important not to fall into the trap of partisanship where one feels it necessary to support everything one’s own party says, and condemn everything one’s personal opposition says.
Parliamentary democracy should, in the end, consist of taking and implementing the best ideas of every member of Parliament, whether opposition or Government.
Labour have created a situation where there is no moral obligation to pay tax, the only obligation now is a legal one.
To take money off the productive sector, divert it away from health & eduction and channel it into the politicalised public sector management is criminal.
There are too many gormless fat faces in lunchtime sandwich shops wearing local council id’s
There never was a moral obligation to pay tax.
Income tax was a temporary measure introduced to pay for the war against Napoleon. It turned out to be not so temporary, and now all it pays for is the dole.
everything brown and co touches turns to shit
The Faecal Touch
Can it be arranged for him to shake hands with Ponting and his team before Thursday?
good idea lad but we can beat the aussies without browns curse
Good to see Steve Harmison back in the squad. Harmison and Flintoff in tandem would be a bowling attack the Aussies would not like to face, especially if Jimmy Anderson can follow up with a bit of swing.
But please Fred, tell our batsmen to get their flaming heads down – they gave it away far too easily at Cardiff (Colly honourable exception).
The Andrex Touch
Perhaps he could have a group hug with his cabinet.
Oh, he already has.
I don’t eat veal
On recieving his elevation to the peerage, Lord Ashcroft promised to his tax status would be as a UK resident.
Why has he broken that promise?
Are the donations he provides the Conservitudes legal?
‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ young Bator.
0/10.
JGM2
he’s NuLab; politically incorrect to teach such things these days
To be fair the general rule seems to be more ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ except for about half the time when it is still ‘e’ before ‘i’.
Still, receive is definitely ‘e’ before ‘i’. Probably too busy working on a bad pun to pay attention to the detail.
Yes,
isn’t it funny though that his bad grammar is more interesting than the points he raises ?
He has a point?
Yes, its a small warty twisted affair, it was on C4 “Embarassing Teenage Bodies “
“isn’t it funny though that his bad grammar is more interesting than the points he raises ?”
Not very funny. A politician who says one thing, and does another. And makes william hague look like a git having to defend him.
I see your point, nothing novel.
That was not bad grammar but bad spelling.
TIK-TIK-TIK… OOZARPETTYBOYZEN! SQUARRK!
That’s fine then.
Presumably you’re happy with any other non tax payer funding political parties in this country.
How about massive funding for a Conservitude spoiler along the lines of Goldsmith’s Referendum Party?
Hey, you have the same trouble with your trousers as I do!
Waad are you on about?
An obscure reference that Mr Slater’s Parrot might understand.
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You are the Labour troll Northern Money and I claim my £5
Monkey*
“promised to his tax status”
Wot the fuck was that supposed to mean?
Funny that the BBC report only deals with donations to the Conservatives innit.
I’m just guessing here but I suspect that large donations to the Labour party are pretty much in the past. From what I have read donations beyond what they find down the back of John’s Parker Knoll have pretty much dried up.
I bet John has a Parker Knoll recliner. He looks the type. You can see it now, can’t you? Dark brown velour, beside the fire with the best view of the television. A real dad’s chair. Dent in the headrest from years of faithful service and the remote control which never moves from the arm. Poor John. All he wanted to be was foreman and now look at the poor sod.
John will be replacing his Parker Knoll every fucking year at our expense. Particularly this year. It might be a while before he gets his hands on an expense sheet again.
Although I believe he’s planning to hand on his hereditary seat to his son with the full support of the grateful voters of Hull. The town with the highest unemployment rates in the UK.
Vote Labour. So that you can vote Labour.
He wouldn’t replace his chair. Too comfortable. Pauline would replace all the other chairs in their lounge but John would insist that his stayed even though it clashed with the lovely floral print the little lady chose.
No, the most the man on the Clapham omnibus will have to fund is the regular replacement of the little covers that go over the arms.
I have a feeling that John will be a Lord John before too long. Mock tudor beams dont buy themselves you know.
Lord John will make sure someone else always foots the bill and we know who that will be, dont we.
“I suspect that large donations to the Labour party are pretty much in the past.”
Have you not heard of “Unions”?
What’s the position on the money paid by the USSR to unions and thus indirectly to Labour? Should that money be given back to nice Mr Putin?
People who go abroad for tax purposes should not be interfering in our elections.
If they don’t pay our taxes, why should they have any right in determining what those taxes are?
Ditto people on benefits.
Keep it up idiot.
May you be run over by a bus your assets be stolen by Madoff or similar and your dependents turned in to biltong for the chewing pleasure of nomadic tribesmen.
You are accusing indigenous peoples of cannibalism. A complete myth and the crudest racism.
Great rule – don’t pay nett tax, no vote
Labour would lose election deposits in hundreds of constituencies.
I don’t care about the views of people who have never had a job. Get a job pay tax (more than your benefits), then you can have a voice.
Hey, I agree with your philosophy, and for that you call me an idiot? Unfair. You are NOT getting a Winterval card off me this year.
Mr B: Mr A’s exposed your hypocrisy, so you call him names. How very New Labour.
Master Baiter has just dug the grave of nulabour – hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
What about people who live in the Uk and pay no taxes? The unemployed for example. What right have they to vote for higher taxes on hard-working families?
What about public service workers who only pay ‘tax’ as a paper exercise. What right have they to vote for higher wages?
They do pay taxes on their earnings at the applicable rate, nil.
Ashcroft does not pay taxes at the applicable rate.
Keep it up idiot, at this rate you’ll be back to 1830 in a flash, where you will be at home, you relic.
You are the epitome of a Conservitude, that is one who loves to hate and has to stigmatise to feed your out of control, perverse and twisted excuse for an ego brought about by your pathetic and servile station in life.
Freud would have a field-day with the weird scenarios you conjure to explain others people’s motivations.
I’m pretty confisent Ashcroft does pay tax at the applicable rate. But if you have evidence otherwise then by all means report him to HMRC if you feel that strongly about it.
Typical MB, completely avoiding Guido’s poser of “what about Mittal, Cohen, Paul, etc”….
What we’ve come to expect from this bunch of two faced Islington champagne socialist wankers.
You’ve nothing new to say MB and no new way to say it.
You may as well save yourself the effort. NL are going to be obliterated in 12 months. No matter how much you keep flogging that dead horse, its still dead. It aint gonna get up!
Noone will know becasue Ashcrust refuses to talk about taxes, saying they are private.
Let’s face it that person hasn’t even got any business interests in the UK. Why do you people support his involvement with the Conservitude Party?
Would you be ok with a similar foreign involvement with the Labour Party?
That’s the issue, you see, well maybe your too thick.
you’re = you are.
‘i’e before ‘e’ except after ‘c’.
0/10.
Do fuck off Archie. We know who you are and we know where you live.
Ashcroft ain’t the only one who refuses to talk about taxes saying they are ‘private’. You try getting Brown to explain how much tax will have to increase by after the election as a result of the biggest bonfire of cash by a UK government in recorded history.
Frankly I’m going to vote for whoever looks most likely to get NL OUT OF OFFICE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
I don’t care how it’s done, how much it costs or who pays… if there were a military coup led by Lord Ashcroft tomorrow, I’d cheer his tanks.
Tony Blair wouldn’t discuss personal matters, why should Lord Ashcroft? Non Doms do pay British Tax on their British earnings. If Labour think the Non Dom tax situation is so terrible, why not get rid of it? Could it be because their buddies, who have donated millions of pounds to them over the last 10 years, are Non Doms? I think so.
Labour are the ones putting up the tax rates on hard working British workers, to finance nappy co-ordinators amongst other things, while Russian billionaires live high on the hog.
Oooh errr – public sector workers don’t pay any net tax as it happens. So perhaps we should restrict votes in future to those who generate real net taxes in the private sector (would exclude benefits scroungers as well). Trouble is, Labour would get Brown’s infamous “0%” of votes.
Surely though, by 2014, their share of the vote would have grown by zero percent.
LOL, MB just royally owned himself again, how old is he 15?
Trinky Dinky, perhaps you should share your views on the right to vote with members of the armed forces and the police, they’d all be delighted to put you straight, particularly the comrades of those who recently died.
Alternatively you could withdraw the comment.
Is it now Labour policy to put people straight ?
I’m sure the armed forces, having read your comments yesterday, would be delighted to visit LGBT and assist.
“Is it now Labour policy to put people straight ?”
No one is going to put me straight ducky!
What if someone is both a full time student, and being employed with tax payers money at the same time. What should happen to them, or their vote?
They can vote in any case if they are a citizen.
You know democracy, one man one vote especially for the likes of Lord Ashcroft.
Regarding overseas funding of political partiesdo you really want North Korea or any other entity with no allegiance to the country to have the right to fund a political party here?
What? Like Russia funds Labour using money laundered by the unions?
Or EU funding for the pro-european case ?
Master Baiter, you are guilty of hate speak.
How do you define private sector? I recently worked for a private company whose main income stream came from outsourced government contracts – would you have let me a have a vote?
You mean the arms industry surely.
Could be education or pharmaceuticals or transport e.t.c.
FILTHY RACIST SCUM!!!
Of course they are. Why do you think they’re losing so much support in their traditional ’safe’ areas to the B&P and the SNP.
You mean like the EU, fully supported by ZaNu.
TAXPAYERS are shelling out £500m a year for an army of 29,000 professional politicians, according to figures released yesterday.
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/07/14/army-of-politicians-is-costing-taxpayers-500m-a-year-91466-24145111/
Or yesterday in England
Anyone watch the mugabe pmqs? Like ours but more honest!
Never forget. Lord Ashcroft has done a greater service to this Country than any of these time serving, expenses fiddling, Labour MP’s whose whole life, it appears, is one of avarice, greed and envy.
Lord Ashcroft created the charity- with donantions from his own pocket- which is now called CRIMESTOPPERS.
This has brought about an incredible number of successful prosecutions against thousands of criminals.
Measure that up against any of the Labour Party Donors. What have they created for the good of this country? What, it can be asked, have Labour created for the good of this country?
Cameron should just stand up and say he will repeal this stupid bit of legislation alongwith most of the nonsense brought into Law by Harman and Co. He should also say he will have a full judicial enquiry into both the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and prosecute anyone named as breaking the law!
That will shut the blighters up!
Brown just makes me puke! a weak weak man.
If he wants to be involved in the politics and running of this country he should pay taxes in this country.
Now go to the toilet and puke.
So all those on “benefits” should have no say either, MB??
What do you mean?
people on benefits DO pay taxes. They still pay for water, gas, electricity, all bills have to be paid with VAT.. a TAX.. so like it or not, everyone who pays VAT pays TAX, employed, unemployed alike…
We are not alone.
I’m sure Ashcroft pays VAT on whatever he buys over here so let that be an end to this Labour need to exclude him from making donations.
The other possibility is that Ashcroft is not being the one targetted. Labour is a teeny bit upset about losing Scotland to the SNP and the amount of donations made by that well know Scottish tax exile Sean Connery. They might just be trying to make things difficult for the SNP too.
Not like Labour to target laws at political opposition at all.
Same applies to the “I’ve got a hurty back” brigade, aka those who spend their disability benefits in the “boozer” every day, when they aren’t putting up scaffolding or working as roofers.
If you have names then report them ! if not then you are just swallowing the goverment line on ‘benefit cheats” Not one penny saved in benefits will come off taxes ,also you live in the uk so you will be receiving a benefit paid for though taxes road/rail/post/nhs/schools so i don’t see why i should pay to support you’r lifestyle !.
I did have names and I did name them. Do you know what? Someone – and it could only have been the benefits staff – told them they’d been reported, and by whom.
Great living under Labour, innit?
Baiter, you’re a genius! That’s Socialism AND Nationalism rolled into one – bound to go Viral! Err, what about illegal immigrant advocate groups?
National AND Socilalism – what a brilliant idea for apolitical party. We could call it the National Socialist British Workers’ Party!
Further evidence he is a toytown nazis stooge, rather than a true Labour supporter.
What is your problem with socialism?
The US has nationalised its banks and car companies, China is a global power house, get used to it fossil.
I’ll tell you what’s wrong with socialism.
You ignorant arsehole.
Hey – Let’s call it National Socialism!
Work makes you free!
So he’s encouraged curtain twitchers and copper’s narks. Thanks Lord Ashcroft. No, really. Thanks.
Ashcroft fucked that girl (Paula Hamilliton) who did the VW Gold ad in the 1980s
Top bloke
I wouldn’t say “top” bloke.
Maybe top 50 but not THAT good.
The only surprising thing about this story is that I’m not surprised.
The death throes of a vindictive and shitty Government.
Resident and ordinarily resident maybe; but to require political donors to be domiciled in the UK is unfairly discriminatory, if not downright racist. We all acquire our ‘domicile’ at birth and it is hard to change. One has to break all connections with one’s mother country in order to change domicile. It is too harsh to require somebody from, say, India to give up their heritage and snub the country of their birth in order to be regarded as ‘fully British’ for this purpose. Should we also check which side they support when England play India at cricket, as Lord Tebbit might like?
Labour MPs are worried about the tax advantages of domicile, but if that is the problem the solution is to amend the tax laws, not exclude people merely because they were born overseas.
Don’t you think it’s odd that somebody could stand for Parliament but not be allowed to donate to a political party? That’s how the rules now stand.
Don’t you think it’s odd that somebody could stand for Parliament but not be allowed to be a policeman?
Members of the Party that cannot Be Named on here, on pain of moderation, are barred from joining the police, too.
Why? Are they too short?
The Association of Chief Police Officers, that worshipful rag, tag and bobbytail private company limited by guarantee and elected by nobody (PBUI), dictated that no member of a police force may be a member of the Party in question.
And lo! it came to pass.
fuck u
It is a valid point Reverend but do you not accept that there is a role for the levies charged by the trade unions to be treated differently to other political donations? As far as I can see your analysis of the situation falls over when viewed in the context of many post modern interpretations of Pliny’s earlier works.
Pliny? Isn’t he famous for providing the only written account of Vesuvius? What does he have to say about Gordon Brown burying the country under a super-heated avalanche of debt?
Oh.
Although Pelean economics may be more appropriate. A pyroclastic flow of super-heated debt travelling at several hundred miles an hour and destroying everything in its path.
Named after mount Pele in Martinique.
Ironically the only recorded survivor was a crook. So Brown might actually survive.
cough-cough-cough.
Should have got an earlier boat instead of sitting round writing about it.
Italy has far higher national debt as a % of GDP than the UK, so do France and Germany.
But we are catching up and they have Berlusconi, Sarkozy and Merkel, whereas we have the Great Lump of Misery.
On 23 April 1945 I screamed to the German People, “we are winning the war”.
The next day the Berliners shouted to me “fuck off you daft twat, you’re surrounded by Russian Tanks in sight of the Reichstag”
Six days later on 30 April 1945 later Führer Adolf Hitler shot himself.
followed one day later when I arranged for an SS doctor to kill my six children and shortly afterwards took my wife, went up to the garden of the Chancellery and shot my brains out.
Back to bed, have a nice day the ghost of Paul Joseph Goebbels
That’s because they don’t do PFI in France or Germany or put their public sector pension liabilities of the books. The “National Debt” is simply a total of borrowings in the form of debt securities, but excludes other financial liabilities which are just as binding on the government but documented in a different form.
If we applied the same accounting standards as the US government we would have a national debt of 200% of GDP.
Yes but France, Italy and Germany actually manufacture clever stuff to sell abroad
It’s the economy, stupid
ERRKK! K-K-K-K… (chirrup)
Oi Prescott, step away from the internet…
The Guardian: “Labour Culture secretary Ben Bradshaw makes strong attack on Mark Thompson and Sir Michael Lyons over BBC licence fee”:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jul/14/ben-bradshaw-bbc-management
Labour versus BBC versus Labour and all reported in the Labour Cheerleading ragmag the Guardian.
Things must be that bad that none of them want to win next election.
This is real scorched earth! Not only destroy the economy in an orgy of borrowing, but piss off completely News International and the BBC. That leaves Labour with support from the Grauniad, the Mirror and 50% of the Independent. Now, consider that Blair cultivated good relations with most of the right of centre media and you can see the true extent of McDooms fingers of dooooommmm.
Does UK mean EU? Or are there borders for once?
Has Brown been talking to Shakira again?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3789174.ece
PMSL – is Broon going for a Burlesconi-style govermnent by surrounding himself with sexy ladies?
Really can’t think what he sees in her over, say Hattie, Hazel and Yvette?
New labour completely failed at “Education, Education, Education” and bred a generation that are so poorly educated they will never work.
Seeing as Balls is too busy ruining the economy, Brown is now getting his schools policy from a blonde Latin American pop singer because she is a Unicef ambassador on the Global Campaign for Education.
Brown will also be calling on the United Nations Population Ambassador, Geri Halliwell to advise Balls on Children and Families
Labour’s solution to the education problem is to take a good school and merge it with a sink school. What a fuckin’ brilliant idea. Soon every school in the country will be shit and everyone will be so thick they will vote Labour forever.
Want a better world? Be better people. And that’s not something to blame on the government, or your neighbour, or some trans-national corporation, or foreigners. That’s you staring back from the mirror, buddy. If someone is wrong headed or emotive, that influences the people around them. In turn, that ripples out into a wider community, and it feeds up the chain to big business, politics, and the media. Maybe you can’t change the world but you can change yourself. If nothing else it’s a start.
“[LabourList is] a mirror of a collapsing government being run over by an opposition with a free pass. Wake up.”
Charles Hardwidge @ 5:07 pm, Wed 8th Apr 2009 on LabourList
People are motivated, by fear, greed, pride, shame, altruism, love.
The emotionally incontinent that spout right wing clap trap are motivated by anger born of fear and shame.
They see nothing else.
Don’t tell me you actually read one of Draper’s books!
Stick to Hogwarts.
Are you a Conservitude?
i THOUGHT jackosn had carked it
Twat!!
There’s only one of me, how can I be a better people?
The normally labour-grovelling Times is giving Snotty some stick this morning….could it be that Rupert has at last decided not to back a loser?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6703569.ece
Though interestingly the on-line headline seems to have changed from “brown sent 700″ in the printed version…to “government sent 700″ in the online version…
The Sun is also sticking the boot in, with claims that we have just 13 working helecopters, which “flies in the face of PM Gordon Brown’s insistence that chopper numbers there had increased. ”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/campaigns/our_boys/2533889/Afghanistan-warzone-too-hot-for-helicopters.html
Come on, Rupert, you can do better….there’s plenty more shit if your hacks dig a little…what have you got to lose? NuLab is finished…time to cut a deal with the tories…..
Worth a read.
Civil Service quietly changing allegiance
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rachel_sylvester/article6702877.ece
Seems the mandarins of whitehall simply reflect what we all feel on here. Good.
Obviously Brown spouting on about spend spend spend and big bright new programmes after 2010 is just so much hot air – we know where he’s not going to be after July next year – change is coming.
Interesting article. Good to see that those in charge of implementing the policies are seeing some sense and slowing down.
If anything it stops more spending than necessary and work on projects such as ID cards which they know will be scrapped straight away by the incoming Conservatives.
There was another story last week about the civil service serioulsy planning for 20-30% spending cuts over the next Parliament, as they know how much shit we’re in!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/camilla_cavendish/article6676933.ece
This article is a prime example of why Brown/The Guardian/The BBC should not upset Murdoch.
Expect more of this stealth undermining of New Labour.
Gordon forgot about keeping his friends close and his enemies closer
Murdoch looks mad as a hatter in his new dyed hair, wassup wiv ‘im, has he been Madoffed?
Brown is still in denial up to his neck and Dr Kelly’s death has returned to haunt the Labour government
Obviously the Ashcroft law is intended to divert the minds of the public from such matters. It wont. But it will divert the attention of Labour trolls: “ooh, look at the bright, pretty Balls!”
Try looking in to the death of Paul Wellstone, the only US Senator who voted against the Iraq invasion and got flown to his death in a plane crash soon after.
This guy is a compulsiev message deleter, no wonder d’erek got pissed off
he should take a bath in Arial – soaks stanez away fast! :-))
Moderation in 3, 2, 1…
at least he had the Balls not to delete it it, that’s my kinda cobber mate, struth!
A little reminder of Brown’s wise words “A weak currency is the sign of a weak government”.
Could the deliberate devaluation of our currency using quantitative easing be regarded as treason?
You dim wit, even hard core monetarists like Tim Congdon admit that qunatitative easing is needed and has been a success.
Master Baiter, you are the Monty Panesar of Labour’s last innings. With a massive run deficit and with all your star players in the pavilion, you gallantly block, snick, pad, prod and leave. No googly can deceive you, no bouncer can knock you out, and no yorker can get beneath your feet. You are a national hero and treasure.
Would you like us to send on the team psychiatrist?
“qunatitative easing” is a tax on everyone who owns sterling.
Taxation is indeed needed. Giving away money does indeed keep people afloat.
Hooorah.
No one will know how bad Q.E. has been until they know how bad the tidal wave of inflation that follows, has been.
I meant to say Tsunami, but was distracted at the crucial moment!
which sole US Senator voted against the US invasion of Iraq?
No cheating now.
which sole US Senator voted against the US invasion of Iraq?
No cheating now.
Off Topic but!!!!
Whole world Needs A Leader Like This!
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – Australia
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks..
Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques. Quote:
‘IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians. ‘
‘This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom’
‘We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!’
‘Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.’
‘We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.’
‘This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, ‘THE RIGHT TO LEAVE’.’
‘If you aren’t happy here then LEAVE. We didn’t force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.’
Rudd
How about No, you round eyed freak, we’re going to buy your country and run it properly, you lot can clean the dunnies.
You’ve learnt Mandarin, now get the rest of your fly blown countrymen to do the same or else go back to Europe.
Lovely. most of Australia goes back all of three or four generations. I was transported there for three years a while back and noticed if they’re not obviously decended from convicts they’re on the run from their own country. Bless.
Superb Rudd.
Is this a hoax? It doesn’t sound remotely like Rudd.
That ain’t Rudd.
Sounds like some kind of American troublemaker.
There ain’t too many white Australians who would preach about immigration after what they did to my people.
Murdoch looks mad as a hatter in his new dyed hair, wassup wiv ‘im, has he been Madoffed?
189
perhaps he wants to look nice for when he joins Madoff in chokey
Thomas Jefferson had a premonition of some of the pimpweasels we hear of now. Speak up fella:
“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
The main thing to remember about ‘non-doms’ is that they don’t pay IHT to the British government.
That’s worth lobbing at Ed Balls and co. next time they have a go at Osborne’s plans to extend the same benefit to middle England that Labour’s rich donors enjoy.
“they have Berlusconi, Sarkozy and Merkel,”
My word. Stiff competition.
Merkel is excellent, Sarkozy average, Berlusconi surprisingly good if you can get past the sex stories. The point is that they are all about a million kilometres ahead of Brown
Barlusconi also has the biggest cock
If you discount Lord Rentboys
oooh, you are awful….but I like you!