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Cameron Shameron on the need for new laws to clarify Ashcroft tax status
2009-12-13 17:06:56
So David Cameron says a Tory government will pass a new law to ensure all MPs and members of the House of Lords pay taxes in Britain.
Two thoughts spring quickly to mind. The first is whether, given he keeps going on about Britain being a bust and broken nation, that is really where the country's legislative priorities will lie. I will assume, given he has been an MP for some years now, that he knows how the legislative system works. The government has to prepare a programme, drawn from many competing priorities which ought to be set out in his manifesto... (can't wait for that one) The Queen reads it out in the House of Lords. Bills then get introduced, debated, sometimes amended, often passed. So is he saying this 'new law' will be part of his first Queen's Speech? I doubt it. Yet he says it is going to be 'rushed through.' Oo er ... exciting eh?
The second thought relates to the reason he was being asked the question in the first place, namely the continuing lack of clarity concerning Lord Ashcroft, who is putting large sums of money into Mr Cameron's campaign to become Prime Minister, and Zac Goldsmith, his non-dom ecological advisor and fellow Old Etonian (oops sorry, there I go again, bringing up that boring old 'Cameon went to Eton but wants you to thinks he really cares about Back Street Comp' thing again.)
One plus two equals the fact that to avoid giving a straight answer to a straight question - namely whether Lord Ashcroft has abided by the undertakings given at the time he was made a peer to pay taxes in the UK - Cameron has to come out with this nonsense about passing a new law.
As John Prescott has said on Twitter today - why does Cameron need new legislation to clarify Ashcroft's tax status ... just bloody ask him!
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It was the internet wot won itPublish date: 2009-05-15 10:04:57
There now follows ... a good whack at CameronPublish date: 2009-05-14 17:21:28
They got their kit off - so you get your cash outPublish date: 2009-05-14 07:41:11
Expenses row must not obscure Tory intentions on minimum wagePublish date: 2009-05-13 16:12:08
We love you Burnley, we do ... what a nightPublish date: 2009-05-13 02:37:17
A tweet cannot express the wonders of TGVPublish date: 2009-05-12 08:48:31
It's Mind week - Get it off your Chest with me and Stephen FryPublish date: 2009-05-11 06:29:15
Hate the Mail, love ObamaPublish date: 2009-05-10 10:04:00
Burnley 1 Reading 0 - a biased reportPublish date: 2009-05-09 21:26:32
MPs expenses - time for party leaders to meet againPublish date: 2009-05-09 09:50:19
Should happiness replace prosperity as national goal?Publish date: 2009-05-08 08:43:23
Musings from a sleepless nightPublish date: 2009-05-07 07:33:49
Darren Fletcher - an injustice that has to be rightedPublish date: 2009-05-06 09:52:29
Maggie's legacy not as great as she thinksPublish date: 2009-05-05 08:33:02
Here's hoping Cardiff is metaphor for CameronPublish date: 2009-05-04 09:38:30
More Mr Benn and Co pleasePublish date: 2009-05-03 10:03:00
Going Fourth with JPPublish date: 2009-05-02 18:25:41
Journalism - print first, think laterPublish date: 2009-05-02 09:10:01
In praise of two poetsPublish date: 2009-05-01 10:26:36
JP hits the road againPublish date: 2009-04-29 18:52:11
My night with Eddie IzzardPublish date: 2009-04-29 10:53:25
Explaining the 50p top tax ratePublish date: 2009-04-28 09:22:53
George Best and Martin McGuinnessPublish date: 2009-04-27 09:02:35
Cameron confused over indepdendence and impartialityPublish date: 2009-04-26 12:20:56
Guide ro Marathon running part 2Publish date: 2009-04-25 11:01:34
Good signals on coal and the OlympicsPublish date: 2009-04-24 10:45:28
Tips for the London MarathonPublish date: 2009-04-23 17:29:27
Missed the Budget, saw why it matteredPublish date: 2009-04-22 23:09:31
Football good, politics bad. AllegedlyPublish date: 2009-04-22 00:00:24
The Great Wall gets greaterPublish date: 2009-04-21 09:55:22
Two sides to police storyPublish date: 2009-04-20 11:39:54
Budgets, Balls, billionaires and Susan BoylePublish date: 2009-04-19 12:31:45
Do muscles have memories?Publish date: 2009-04-18 09:44:44
Bring back standing at footballPublish date: 2009-04-17 14:50:22
When Facebook friends fall outPublish date: 2009-04-16 12:29:16
Guardian sightings and the email and bath plug agendaPublish date: 2009-04-15 11:32:16
The spin is all in the prismPublish date: 2009-04-14 09:22:41
A setback, not a crisisPublish date: 2009-04-13 12:55:19
The real lessons from Damian McBridePublish date: 2009-04-12 10:49:47
Will English always be the dominant language?Publish date: 2009-04-11 10:02:02
On the pipes and what makes a ScotPublish date: 2009-04-10 11:06:20
John Prescott lazy? NO WAYPublish date: 2009-04-09 09:11:31
David Frost is seventyPublish date: 2009-04-08 08:48:38
The Speaker, BBC2, tonight and tomorrow 8pmPublish date: 2009-04-07 14:25:31
Obama, colds and being woken by Korean missilesPublish date: 2009-04-06 11:59:24
When a call matters more than protocolPublish date: 2009-04-05 11:33:42
Green Cities Champions LeaguePublish date: 2009-04-04 10:19:53
Could Cameron have delivered the G20 deal?Publish date: 2009-04-03 10:11:59
Of Benn and BonoPublish date: 2009-04-02 08:21:16
Memo to Sarko - allez vite a LondresPublish date: 2009-04-01 08:46:17
Happy April Fool's DayPublish date: 2009-04-01 01:44:05
Eurostar, Le Monde and a thought for the G20 sherpasPublish date: 2009-03-31 09:17:22
Why Kevin Rudd made an impactPublish date: 2009-03-30 10:24:41
Pre-G20 hype matters less than post-G20 processPublish date: 2009-03-29 13:17:28
The Damned UnitedPublish date: 2009-03-28 10:37:04
A hobby horse, a plug and a bit of sportPublish date: 2009-03-27 10:22:23
Cloughie - he had a lot to be big-headed aboutPublish date: 2009-03-26 09:38:36
A sad sight of the old fearing the youngPublish date: 2009-03-25 17:03:07
Post-modern, post-structural, or bullshit?Publish date: 2009-03-25 08:18:02
Learning the right lessons from ObamaPublish date: 2009-03-24 08:53:15
Lazy Dave needs to keep an eye on lazy KenPublish date: 2009-03-23 11:16:14
Farewell favourite restaurant, hello hometownPublish date: 2009-03-22 08:18:09
Dave, Danny and have the Tories really changed?Publish date: 2009-03-21 08:55:13
Life beyond Dover ...Publish date: 2009-03-20 10:11:21
My friends in The New Statesman - Fergie, Fiona, Tony, Sarah, Kevin, 'Dacre,' and a great GB idea for the G20Publish date: 2009-03-18 10:38:22
Iraq, Iran, GB, Obama and diplomatic chessPublish date: 2009-03-17 10:07:13
The Age of StupidPublish date: 2009-03-16 08:27:13
Is all change good?Publish date: 2009-03-15 10:00:06
The pressure of being a post-modern sex godPublish date: 2009-03-14 10:00:55
Cameron still hasn't sealed the deal with businessPublish date: 2009-03-13 09:21:49
Stand up for social workersPublish date: 2009-03-12 08:31:17
Surely Malcolm Tucker could have told Armando Ianucci ... You can't spin a spinnerPublish date: 2009-03-11 10:58:25
Start of a new approach from Labour?Publish date: 2009-03-10 09:54:12
A peace process still strongPublish date: 2009-03-09 08:21:05
Day of destiny for the real footballer of the yearPublish date: 2009-03-08 09:21:06
Private advice to Peggy Mitchell - the leaked note in fullPublish date: 2009-03-07 08:17:21
Boris, the Tories and the tummy-tickling poodle pressPublish date: 2009-03-06 09:49:37
A day in the life of the self-obsessed TV reporterPublish date: 2009-03-05 07:55:47
GB - good speech, well deliveredPublish date: 2009-03-04 19:31:05
Notes on the environment, a role in EastEndersPublish date: 2009-03-04 10:58:56
She may be my 'wife' but it is time to rebut!Publish date: 2009-03-03 10:52:59
Some speeches matter more than othersPublish date: 2009-03-02 12:04:45
Mental health and the Carling Cup FinalPublish date: 2009-03-01 09:08:17
Inside the chocolate factoryPublish date: 2009-02-28 10:23:59
GB on the G20, JP on Jeremy KylePublish date: 2009-02-27 09:14:36
Charity and the credit crunch, please give generously!Publish date: 2009-02-26 08:55:12
Why oh why are the Tories not home and dry?Publish date: 2009-02-24 09:44:59
Me, Dermot and ten top songsPublish date: 2009-02-23 10:02:19
Names round-upPublish date: 2009-02-22 08:43:39
What's in a name?Publish date: 2009-02-21 09:58:14
Editing the New StatesmanPublish date: 2009-02-20 11:42:36
Salute Peter M’s proper use of the F wordPublish date: 2009-02-19 09:58:58
Labour's communications challenge for the NHSPublish date: 2009-02-18 10:34:39
In praise of KeighleyPublish date: 2009-02-17 14:33:57
A night at the EmiratesPublish date: 2009-02-17 00:06:51
When marriage is testedPublish date: 2009-02-16 13:36:35
Spare me the myths and the whiningPublish date: 2009-02-15 13:29:50
Dave Cameron - is that all there is?Publish date: 2009-02-14 11:11:55
Boris Johnson: F is for ...Publish date: 2009-02-13 07:55:10
The Cameron vacuumPublish date: 2009-02-12 14:48:33
Lincoln, Obama, Blair and the 24 hour media culturePublish date: 2009-02-11 10:28:47
Eighteen interviews later ...Publish date: 2009-02-10 19:24:45
Time to talk about Time to Change on NewsnightPublish date: 2009-02-09 22:47:49
So that’s what they mean by online community?Publish date: 2009-02-08 12:12:51
First blogPublish date: 2009-02-05 15:23:57
Andrew Williams
2009-12-15 16:52:22As the election draws closer and the gap narrows Labour still need to ask themselves who will come across better in a television campaign - Brown or Cameron? If Labour still had Blair there'd be trouble for the Conservatives, but Brown for all his arguable strengths, good presentational television skills aren't necessarily among them. The question is how do Labour plan to address this?
Hazico
2009-12-14 13:42:04Alistair- is it a foregone conclusion that the election will be in March, and not May?
I heard ? Phil Collins talking to Jon Sopel on BBC Politics Show yesterday, saying this is linked to the timing of a future Budget?
Some of us think it would be better to wait until May.
Regarding you comments on DC and this so called rushed legislation- it seems nothing but an attempt to reassure the public the Tories are not the party of privelege.(!!!)
Also- what about the fact this wouldn't be reformed until after the election? We've heard promises like that before ...
I expect to hear a great deal of this kind of "populist speak" to win votes pre election.(following announcements on tabloid driven/"politically correct" Health and Safety laws etc.)
It all seems blatantly obvious to me- is the electorate supposed to be a bit dim?
crookedmouth
2009-12-14 10:13:58I think Sir Ken Macdonald sums up TB's cosy Sunday sofa chat quite neatly really; interesting to see how softened up and compliant the BBC is these days when it comes to allowing old crooked mouth and his master on the box for a pr exercise. Bring back Greg Dyke.
Quietzapple
2009-12-13 23:42:49Alastair:
I have remarked before that to suggest you "sexed up" the documents we have seen published online alongside the originals was something of an exaggeration, but then you were a spin doctor and those who accept your phrase re this are either gullible or on tendentious bent.
Mostly the latter.
Recalls the saying: "Everyone's a comedian."
Had Tony Blair said: "We cannot prove that Saddam still has WMD materials, BUT . . . " he might not have carried a majority of the PLP, but I reckon he would have had a majority to support him in working with our principal ally.
dc
2009-12-13 22:52:52sounds to me lke cameron does not want to upset the man that is bank rolling the party in marginal seats! the audacity to say that if we want his party to have uk tax payers as members we have to vote for them...sorry what?!ask lord ashcroft and then that will clear the whole thing up!
It is another example, along with the inheritance tax, of who the tories are really out to protect.. people need to look beyond the media calls of class war because there is a serious point to be made. The only thing the tories can commit to is raising inheritance tax, to everything else they say they dont know what the economy will be like..come on!! the simple fact is they do not look out for the majority of people in this country!
I hear osbourne saying he would reverse the rise in national insurance. so he can commit to that then?! well tell me something, a tory government will reverse the rise in national insurance losing out on approx 3 billion and they plan to lose a further 2 billion in tax revenue through the increase in inheritance tax.. how do they plan to tackle this deficit? perhaps bye bye nhs, education, welfare? i dont think too many tories would object!
Alan Quinn
2009-12-13 22:44:59Willaim Hague ( who proposed Ashcroft be given a peerage) was asked six times by Andrew Marr to clarify Ashcroft's tax status; he fudged the answer on each occasion.
In our marginal the tories who were pleading poverty last year have sent out a glossy pamphlet and a direct mail already, our suspicions lead us in that they are being funded generously from outside the constituency.
AC, we have a fundraiser on January 21st, it would be nice if you could join us, I believe the invite is in the post.
Charlie
2009-12-13 18:52:25AC:
Tony Blair has recently said he would have invaded Iraq even without evidence of weapons of mass destruction and would have found a way to justify the war to parliament and the public.
In your professional opinion, in the same way as the "WMD" dossier was sexed-up, do you think it would have been possible to sex-up a "Regime Change" dossier sufficiently to get the House of Commons to vote in favour of going to War in Iraq ?
Grawnbar
2009-12-13 18:22:43now I stay tuned..
Patrick James
2009-12-13 18:10:57I think this issue with Lord Ashcroft will remain alive throughout the election campaign as will the funding for the Conservatives. I think the Observer did a good job with its analysis of donations given to the Conservatives showing that six companies and individuals who profit from the oil and gas industries have begun to give it money over the past year.
I think Labour should stick with a "core voters" strategy economically but obtain floating voters with Green issues.
I live in Hove which is very marginal and the Greens do very well indeed here as they do in the Brighton constituencies.
If Labour highlights its Green credentials and has a very Green election manifesto it will greatly benefit the Labour candidates in Hove and Brighton.
That these oil and gas companies have started giving the Conservatives money rather undermines the idea that they are interested in environmental issues.
Quietzapple
2009-12-13 17:47:34Chameleon hasn't been an MP for long -just 8 years.
But for most of the time since he has been an Ashcroft sycophant.
When Ashcroft offered Michael Howard his largesse with strings attached Dracul said: "No, we'll spend it our way thanks."
When it was Chameleon's turn he rolled over and said: "Tickle my tummy please Lord Cashcroft. Please can we ride in your jet, and of course you can have more office space at CCHQ than I have."
Prezza overestimates the cojones of likely the fourth tory leader in a row to fail to become PM. Chameleon would as like send Geo Osborne out for 20 Rothmans while the TV cameras were running . . .
Paula Martin
2009-12-13 17:15:31I live in a marginal in the Midlands and barely a day goes by that we don't get something through the post from the Tories, well maybe not every day but it sometimes feels like it. As we all know Ashcroft is paying for a lot of it, Cameron will want to make sure he keeps on paying for it. It might stop, but only if people do a better job of making it an issue
Carrie Jessop
2009-12-13 17:13:31Nice to see you pop up on the religious programme this morning, on Tony's interview with Fern Britton. I'm going to keep asking if you have found God too! I thought you both came over very well. So did she.
Graham W
2009-12-13 17:11:44And Prezza is right. And you are right, that it is all a little scam to get through his interview today and look like he is doing something when we all know that what he is doing is anything that allows him to be able to keep Ashcroft's money going into the marginals
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