Category: Scottish Referendum

The Tory Government – Peerages for the Boys & Girls who Matter – The Nonsense that is Westminster.

David Cameron & the Tories wrested power from a disgraced and incompetent Labour party in 2010 and returned to government promising a 5 year fixed tenure free from sleaze and secrecy,– Whoops!! Open Government. But as usual they failed to deliver. Many billions of taxpayers money has been written off against abject mediocrity and incompetence. Peerages have been granted willy nilly’ resulting in a so called, “upper chamber” larger than the Peoples Republic of China. Enough is Enough. Come the September Referendum and a “Yes” majority vote Scotland will be able to break free from the overpowering corruption that is the Westminster System of governance.

To substantiate the foregoing read the following account;

David Cameron wrote an article for the Telegraph in June 2011 entitled “We are creating a new era of transparency”. he made reference to the many virtues of transparency within government and expressed the desire to increase the amount of government information available to the public. This at face value appears to be a fine example of leadership and positive change. This incredible demand shows the power of transparency, and why we need more of it. Information is power. It lets people hold the powerful to account, giving them the tools they need to take on politicians and bureaucrats. It gives people new choices and chances, allowing them to make informed judgements about their future. And it lets our professionals judge themselves against one another, and our entrepreneurs develop new products and services.

Sometimes in government you do things knowing that if another party came to power they might try to reverse them later. Sometimes, you do things knowing that the changes you make are here to stay. In the years to come, people will look back at the days when government kept all its data – your data – in vaults and think how strange it was that the taxpayers – the people who actually own all this – were locked out. But this whole process isn’t something government can do alone – you need to play your part too. Use this information, exploit it, hold your public services to account. They are there for you, so make them work for you.

Francis Maude echoes and embellishes Mr Cameron whilst engaging with the British public in the Telegraph on the 4th of August 2011. In the last year, we have done a great deal towards the ambition that the Prime Minister set out: being the most transparent government in the world. We have brought a new openness to all areas of government, radically challenging the damaging idea that public data is owned by the provider, not the public. Together, we will make real our vision of more open, accountable and trusted public services. Inspiring words indeed a noble stated common purpose of achieving greater openness and accountability, a harbinger of positive transformational change should Mr Cameron and his colleagues be true to their stated intentions and goals.

However Mr Cameron seemingly has issues with sustainability of his stated purpose when his own actions as they pertain to party funding come under scrutiny.
It had been hoped that Mr Cameron was turning a new leaf following his role in an operation that resulted in the loss in transit of three nuclear weapons built jointly by Apartheid South Africa and Israel and the unexplained arrival via offshore bank accounts of some £17.8 million pounds into Conservative party funds.

Full Story. Excerpt from Hansard 22nd June 1993. Tory funding of their 1992 General Election Campaign – Origins of Mystery Donation of £17.8 millions – Column 197: I repeat: in 1992, the Tories received £20.7 million. When the records were checked by Companies house, only £2.9 million was shown in company accounts. That means that there is a deficit of £17.8 million. We want to know where that £17.8 million came from.

The other person is perhaps someone to whom my right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Mrs. Beckett) referred–Sir Brian Wyldbore-Smith. He is apparently a director of the Conservative Board of Finance–a curious name, but a curious job, too. Apparently, Sir Brian used private addresses to receive cheques–they were not sent directly to central office. They were made out to him personally, eventually passed on and often paid into an offshore account in Jersey, a tax haven. They eventually landed at central office with Lord McAlpine, whose office, I understand, was always kept locked except when he was in it, so that the secrets could not be given to the rank and file or to members of the Cabinet. Therefore, my hon. Friend the Member for Warwickshire, North (Mr. O’Brien) is right to say that Conservative Members do not know where the funding came from.

Notwithstanding the above and the still unexplained reluctance to engage the public with full information transparency in respect of the suspicious death of Dr David Kelly we note that both Mr Cameron and Mr Maude have seemingly failed to achieve the goals they aspire to as recently as this week. Following the revelations regarding party funding and access to the Prime Minister albeit whilst he was “off duty” but nevertheless ensconced in his taxpayer funded private residence.

The Daily Mail reports. Donors’ secret No. 10 dinners: How Dave and Sam’s meals with millionaires forced Tory treasurer to quit. Peter Cruddas offered access to PM in return for cash. He suggested donors who agreed to give £250,000 a year would have their ideas ‘fed in’ to Downing Street Undercover reporters told they could dine with Mr Cameron, George Osborne and senior ministers, ‘Bigger donors’ visited David and wife Samantha’s apartment, he claimed David Cameron was engulfed in a sleaze storm last night as it emerged he and wife Samantha have hosted secret dinners in their Downing Street flat for millionaire Conservative donors. Government sources were forced to admit the existence of the intimate dinners after Tory Party treasurer Peter Cruddas was secretly filmed boasting that he could provide direct access to the Prime Minister for ‘Premier League’ donors. Sources insisted that guests at the secret No 10 dinners were not invited because they were donors and they had no influence on policy.

According to the Guardian. Cash-for-access: Cameron meetings with donors would remain private. Government says demand for a list of visitors to 10 Downing Street is unreasonable but insists Tories have nothing to hide. Francis Maude says 10 Downing Street is David Cameron’s private residence, making demands for lists of meetings there ‘a nonsense’. Obsequious and evasive neither transparent or open. If the Tories as stated “have nothing to hide” then surely the smartest way to dispel public disquiet is to come clean and provide a full list of all visitors. This full visitor list will of course be available from those responsible for security at number 10 the information is but a cut and paste away from the public eye. As regards Mr Cameron he should consider his own personal skeletons, his “transparency”, his position and ask himself whether the interests of the nation might be best served by an alternative leader

Under pressure the list was eventually released, (nearly 2 year’s after);

27th March 2012. 10 Downing Street FORCED to reveal the full list of guests to dinner with the Prime Minister & his wife. In a U-turn from Francis Maude’s dismissal of the scandal as, “a bit of nonsense”, details of the PM’s “private” guests have been placed in the public domain, together with the amounts of contributions the esteemed guests coughed up.

July 14, 2010: A “thank-you dinner” inside Number 10 itself, while flat was being refurbished.

a. Anthony and Carole Bamford (£101,249) (and a further £2,425,066 from their JCB Ltd) Anthony Bamford: Chairman of construction equipment business JCB.
b. Michael and Dorothy Hintze (£1,453,280, and a further £2,500,000 in loans) Michael Hintze: The 913th richest billionaire in the world.
c. Murdoch and Elsa Maclennan (£33,925 for Telegraph Media Group)Murdoch Maclennan: chief executive of Telegraph Media Group
d. Lord John and Lady Sainsbury (£910,000) John Sainsbury: president of supermarket chain J Sainsbury
e. Andrew Feldman (£84,270 through company Jayroma) Andrew Feldman: Family owns Jayroma, a multinational textile company. Awarded a Knighthood 2010.
f. Jill and Paul Ruddock (£20,000) Paul Ruddock: Hedge fund chief. Awarded a knighthood 2012.
g. Mike and Jenny Farmer (£2,641,046) Michael Farmer: Runs London based RK Capital Management LLP, a metals-trading hedge-fund firm
h. Michael and Clara Freeman (£325,400) Michael Freeman: Successful property developer. Wife Clara: Marks & Spencer’s first female executive director

February 28, 2011: Downing Street flat

a. David Rowland and his wife. (£4,420,515.52) David Rowland: Property multi-millionaire
b. Andrew Feldman also attended (as above) David Cameron’s Mr Fixit.

November 2, 2011: Downing Street flat. Described as a “social dinner for strong and long term supporters of the party, with whom the PM has a strong relationship”.

a. Henry and Dorothy Angest (£9,950) (and £110,093 from Arbuthnot Banking Group plc), Henry Angest: Chairman and Chief executive of Arbuthnot Banking Group.
b. Michael Farmer and wife (£2,641,046, as above)
c. Ian Taylor and wife (£50,000) Ian Taylor: Chief Executive of the world’s largest oil trader Vitol. Funding the, “Better Together” and other associated campaigns in Scotland.

February 27, 2012: Downing Street flat. Said to have been a “social dinner”.

a. Michael Spencer and partner (£304,989.59) (and a further £3,637,642 from their IPGL Ltd) Michael Spencer: Chairman and Chief Executive of multi billion pound financial transactions company.

lunch at Chequers 2010-2011

a. Lord Ashcroft and wife: Lord Ashcroft – who has donated more than £10m to the party – visited Chequers for lunch on 6 June 2010. In December 2005 he became deputy chairman of the Tory party – a role he gave up in September 2010. Non-Domiciled in UK for tax purposes.

b. Howard Leigh and wife: The couple visited Chequers for lunch on 6 February 2011. Mr Leigh is also the chairman of the party’s The Leader’s Group. This organisation gives donors the chance to join Mr Cameron and other senior Tory party figures at events. He is also a senior partner at finance company Cavendish. Mr Leigh has donated to the party via his company Cavendish Corporate Finance. He has given the central Conservative Party more than £77,000 since 2006

WWW Links;

a. http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/407066/Andrew-Davidson-interview-Clara-Freeman—Its-challenge-inspades-Marks–amp-Spencers-first-female-executive-director-sheattempts-dig-retailers-stores-trouble-continuingher-efforts-build-level-playing-field-fo/%3FDCMP%3DILC-SEARCH
b. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-11/red-kite-evangelicals-reap-47-sowing-bet-on-china-copper-market.html
c. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8999852/Lansdowne-Partners-chief-Sir-Paul-Ruddock-shocked-that-New-Years-Honours-List-knighthood-was-controversial.html
d. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120821/How-PM-gave-Oxford-chum-job-peerage.html
e. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-17512814