Bollitics: VT General Election Poll #3 - GE Week One

[drat01]

You try and defend Ashcroft Tony but the facts are there. The instances you mention are for people who are / were in Gvmt. Ashcroft has funded millions to the Tory party with private jets and the like, while avoiding taxes in the UK despite his assurances and his "boy" Hague that he would pay them.

EDIT: Plus Tony if you looked past the headlines of the Mail from that time and the usual BS spouted by Redwood - you would have seen that the monies spent for the Mther Theresa funeral were for all of the party including part of the Royal family to attend the funeral

[tonyh29]

Where did I defend anybody ? I'm just pointing out that donations are not unique to one party ..£400k from Sir Alan this week ..wonder if that was part of the deal for becoming a "Sir" ? ..Tax avoidance is not unique to Tory donors either as you very well know

Thing is not only can't labour run an economy , they can't run their own party finances either , hence the reason they are having to go around on a push bike whilst moaning that it's not fair that they can't have a plane as well ... The rules say here is the budget that you are allowed to spend (the same rules that say you can't use an NHS hospital for election campaigning i might add) so what's the problem ? Labour were happy enough to accept private jets from Sir Evelyn de Rothschild for years .. they can't start whining now just cause they have lost most of their backers and things are tough

Mother Theresa funeral were for all of the party including part of the Royal family to attend the funeral

it was from the BBC (a fav source of yours btw) and it was one other person on the trip with him (Sophie)

[Jon]

Mods,

Can we start a poll. simple yes or no

We'd all rather see Tony and Drat on a televised debate than the 3 we're going to get tonight (tonite for our American chums)

he he.

wiganvillain FTW!

we've got the red and blue spokespeople/spin-meisters sorted.

who's yellow? :winkold:

[mykeyb]

Three pages I have read and I now remember why I dont drop in very often.

I will pop in tomorrow to posters extremely balanced and not at all biased reviews on tonights debate.

[drat01]

who's yellow? Wink

Carson Yeung

[drat01]

Tony you keep trying to make an issue here from the Mother Theresa funeral and make out as though it was some sort of Jolly. The deputy PM at the time and a member of the Royal family attended what was an event where the country was being represented. As with all of those things for state events they don't come cheap.

That has no relevance at all to the dodgy funding that Ashcroft and his infamous shredding of documents. The Tory party have and continue to make massive use of free jets courtesy of Ashcroft and his "satellite" companies. He has pumped in directly and via these companies millions into the Tory party all while hiding his tax records and conveniently disposing of details of these donations. This is is no way similar to other political donations to other parties and the influence that the Tax avoiding man has on the Tory party is there for all to see. From Cameron and Gideon again this week we have seen how product placement is rewarded for backing them.

[snowychap]

the same rules that say you can't use an NHS hospital for election campaigning i might add

It's a good job that wasn't an NHS hospital then. :winkold:

It doesn't become one for at least a couple of weeks.

[tonyh29]

Tony you keep trying to make an issue here from the Mother Theresa funeral and make out as though it was some sort of Jolly.

well in view that we the taxpayer paid for Prescott to go swimming in the Maldives that time my guess is it probably was ...

anyway thankfully Prescot is no more ,he's now busy living off his £1.2 m working mans pension

so back to the important issue at hand

I'll only do the TV debate if Ian promises to wear his Womble outfit

[tonyh29]

From Cameron and Gideon again this week we have seen how product placement is rewarded for backing them.

And "Sir" Alan and his £400k donation was just a mere coincidence ??

Sugar remains a major shareholder of Viglen a computer company which won a £30 million contract to supply Government departments, such as the NHS, with 70,000 computers just last month.

or of course we have Amscreen, a business installing digital screens and advertising in surgeries and NHS waiting rooms .. oh look it's owned by "Sir" Alan Sugar

who'd have thought it , Still £400k seems cheap at half the price

[drat01]

Tony you are really clutching at straws there - Sugar is a very successful businessman and has been for many years. He has supplied gvmt departments for year after year.

The "businessmen" who supposedly support the Tory stance on NI are then rewarded immediately by glorified ads and product endorsements by Cameron and Gideon. Cameron an the Tory party are fed and led by dodgy donations

[tonyh29]

Cameron an the Tory party are fed and led by dodgy donations

aren't you over looking just one tiny thing there ...

You can't just ignore the last 13 years cause it doesn't suit your argument you know

Tony you are really clutching at straws there - Sugar is a very successful businessman and has been for many years. He has supplied gvmt departments for year after year.

and been rewarded with a knighthood and large government contracts as a result ,i know , I know

his £400k donation is merely a coincidence , just as was David Abrahams donations followed by a shit load of planning applications :shock:

nope , it's def only a Tory thing

[drat01]

Ashcroft’s company, Bearwood Corporate Services, donated £4,131,995 over the four-year period, in 27 separate chunks of cash or services in kind, such as focus groups or printing costs.

link

add to that the tax avoidance, the "shredding" of documents, etc - you can see who is the main player for them. No wonder Hague conveniently forgets what was said and agreed

[tonyh29]

Oh and talking of Sir Coincidence Sugar . how do VT members feel about their part in paying his £400k donation to the labour party ?

If you were not aware , donations to any political party qualify for tax relief.... so when Sir Alan gets fired and leaves this world his estate will almost certainly exceed the inheritance tax threshold of £325,000.At that point, all his political donations over the years – a total of £750,000 so far – will qualify for IHT relief, reducing the tax on his estate by £300,000 – or 40pc of the total at time of death.

So indirectly the tax payer has funded his donation ... of course Labour , nor any of the other parties for that matter appear to have done anything to remove tax relief on political donations .. but it's further proof why no party should start using donations in part of it's stone throwing

[Clarry]

Peter I attended a meeting yesterday which explained that there are over 250K civil servants in Whitehall. I'll dig out my notes and clarify

And I am not suggesting cutting jobs.

You do it by doing what they do in the USA, put different departments in different cities (states in the USA), reducing London costs, spreading the wealth and talent around the country and not just London!

Happens here to some extent. A lot of the DCSF (education) team are in Darlington.....but then people will only moan about the expenses when they have to travel to other parts of the country for Conferences.

[Clarry]

Even the compere, Alistair Stewart, is not permitted to press the leaders on their answers, AFAIK.

Sounds like the interview in the first episode of the new version of "V".

[drat01]

Tony what utter drivel and deflection - the point being raised again was Ashcroft and you try and justify that by mentioning Sugar and Prescott and then to throw in some random figures

Booo Hisssss young man

The simple question to Cameron would be who's playing for your plane - maybe Ashcroft's "bitch" Hague would answer

[mykeyb]

The simple question to Cameron would be who's playing for your plane

Is it a new tory competition?

[Jon]

Peter I attended a meeting yesterday which explained that there are over 250K civil servants in Whitehall. I'll dig out my notes and clarify

And I am not suggesting cutting jobs.

You do it by doing what they do in the USA, put different departments in different cities (states in the USA), reducing London costs, spreading the wealth and talent around the country and not just London!

Happens here to some extent. A lot of the DCSF (education) team are in Darlington.....but then people will only moan about the expenses when they have to travel to other parts of the country for Conferences.

many of the DWP lot are in Sheffield too

[tonyh29]

The simple question

your new to this politics debate stuff aren't you :-) ..nobody ever answers a question with an answer , just another question ..so on that basis ... What colour tie do you think Sarah will chose for Gordon to wear on the TV debates tonight ?

But as an early Christmas present ...

Cameron has 19 wealthy donors on call to provide him with plane or helicopter flights worth up to £9,000 a day. ...they include a steel magnate, a financier, a hedge-fund manager, a philanthropist and a Premier League football director.

So Ashcroft doesn't appear to be bankrolling the flights , other donors are

Blair used similar methods of transport, as do other politicians across the globe. Brown just doesn't have the right support or enough money to be able to do likewise, at least until Unite buy a plane for him to use!

[LJRM050389]

Peter I attended a meeting yesterday which explained that there are over 250K civil servants in Whitehall. I'll dig out my notes and clarify

And I am not suggesting cutting jobs.

You do it by doing what they do in the USA, put different departments in different cities (states in the USA), reducing London costs, spreading the wealth and talent around the country and not just London!

Happens here to some extent. A lot of the DCSF (education) team are in Darlington.....but then people will only moan about the expenses when they have to travel to other parts of the country for Conferences.

many of the DWP lot are in Sheffield too

Every department with the exception of Home Office, Foreign Office and Treasury, as they have historic links of being in London should be in every city across the UK.

And as for travel expenses for meetings? Video Confrencing?