Liberal Burblings

…Well it’s only a quick calculation.

The Times states (in a question) that:

…the Conservative Party accept(ed) more than £5 million from Lord Ashcroft after nominating him for a seat in the Lords while his overseas earnings stayed exempt from British tax…

And the Daily Mirror states:

Tory peer Lord Ashcroft has deprived the public of more than £127million in a 10-year-long tax dodge, it was claimed last night.

While I’m at it, here’s a quote from the Information Commissioner:

Since Lord Ashcroft’s ennoblement, the question of where he lives has continued to be raised, leading to speculation that Lord Ashcroft has not satisfied the undertaking he gave. Statements by senior politicians concerning Lord Ashcroft’s undertaking have been evasive and obfuscatory and have served to compound this speculation.

Note the words:

evasive and obfuscatory

And who could these “senior politicians” be? The Guardian thinks they are “The Conservative leadership”.

This brings back memories of umpteen interviews with William Hague, normally on Sunday mornings, where he broadly said that he’d been assured that Ashcroft kept within his commitments on becoming a peer (which Mark Valladares in an excellent post confirms he has – within the letter of what was written) and saying that he did not know what precisely Ashcroft’s tax situation was. An excellent formula and now the Tories have managed to “sort it all out” within days of the Freedom of Information act revealing very little and within a few weeks of the election.

I will leave The Times Leader to have the last word:

Lord Ashcroft has done much for the power of the Conservative Party, but absolutely nothing for its reputation. He is an effective political force, but an enormous political embarrassment.

Related posts:

1. Guardian logs anger in the Tory ranks over Ashcroft paralell HQ
2. New Guardian archive – first mention of the "liberal party" I can find
3. Lord Ashcroft's hold on Tory party threatens a rift
4. Going for £1 million
5. Lord Ashcroft’s hold on Tory party threatens a rift