Should Lord Ashcroft lose his peerage?

[Tony]

And can you find anyone supporting them or thier actions?

 

Ashcroft isn't accused of corruption, abuse of parliamentary regulations or of breaking any law.

 

His actions may be distasteful to many but they are in no way comparable to offering to change the laws in exchange for a bung. Never mind being chucked out of the Lords, they should be in front of a judge and jury with the expectation of jail. Has Gordon Brown even suspended the whip from them?

[Rioja]

Do I take it that you think the 3 of them should be chucked out of the House of Lords?

 

I don't even think there should be a House of Lords but seeing as you asked then yes I do. Along with all the cronies who've bought their peerages either by donating to party coffers or filling envelopes with cash.

 

This isn't a party issue, it cuts across party boundaries, it's about accountability and democracy.

[Rioja]

Bad timing by Lord Ashcroft of Belize. His admission has completely overshadowed Honest Dave's conference speech.

[truman]

And can you find anyone supporting them or thier actions?

 

I don't actually see anyone criticising them either..should they be expelled from the Lords too?

[sharrowman]

Just more evidence of the insidious manipulation of the political system by our friends with money in their pockets.

 

Don't vote, it's silly.

[Rioja]

I don't actually see anyone criticising them either..should they be expelled from the Lords too?

 

Well then you aren't looking. I answered this point only four posts ago, you can't have been looking.

 

Here it is again, just for you.

[mj.scuba]

I'm a little confused by what tax liabilities non-Doms have?

AFAIK, non-Doms DO pay UK tax on their UK earnings/business interests, but do not have tax liability for money earned abroad or foreign business interests. Is this correct?

[Tony]

That's right. So the profits that they earn on their interests in say Balize (topical eh?) are taxed by the government in Belize who can use the revenue to pay for services in Belize.

 

Now put a bonnet on me and call me Lucy, but I'd say "clever Belize"

[mj.scuba]

That's right. So the profits that they earn on their interests in say Balize (topical eh?) are taxed by the government in Belize who can use the revenue to pay for services in Belize.

 

Now put a bonnet on me and call me Lucy, but I'd say "clever Belize"

 

Thanks Tony.

 

I really don't know what the furore is about then. If I worked six months in the UK and six months in the USA, I'd expect to pay tax on my USA earnings to the USA tax system, and pay UK tax on my UK earnings, seems only right and sensible to me.

[Tony]

It's interesting to see how Labour are putting so much effort into making Ashcroft a major political issue. Harriet Harman couldn't get off the subject in PMQ's yesterday even when it wasn't the question. Today's line of attack is that Ashcroft didn't keep his promise to William Hague from ten years ago. Well whoopie do - hold the press - a politician didn't keep a promise, what a revelation.

 

But, I detect that pretty much nobody outside political circles really gives a stuff about it and this thread is hardly brimming with indignation since it was started over two weeks ago.

 

It seems that that the real reason that New Labour are so uptight is that they don't have a Michael Ashcroft to fund and manage the Labour Party campaigns. I wonder why.