Wednesday, 3rd of March 2010
MPs in trouble again thanks to Ashcroft
Déjà vu. Our pesky politicians have hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again. This time it’s down to billionaire Tory Lord Ashcroft, who has landed his party in hot water after finally admitting he has been dodging tax payments on his overseas fortunes for more than 10 years.
Funny that the revelation hasn’t gone down too well, when it transpires that the £127m tax bill for Ashcroft’s lavish lifestyle has been paid for by the public – money which could have been spent on schools, hospitals and frontline police officers.
With the elections looming, it’s not surprising that David Cameron is panicking, and has been attempting to explain the nasty mess away. But with the pressure on to sack Lord Ashcroft Cameron might want to remind himself that actions speak louder words.
This latest financial scandal only acts to further dent the reputation of our MPs following expense-gate. It’s clear they have a long way to go to restore public trust and support.
For Ashcroft, his behaviour and tone has only added fuel to the fire. We haven’t seen much in the way of an apology from him, which is always the first step to making amends in light of a scandal.
As for Cameron, his attempts to paint his party as a ‘new improved’ version of the old Tories is left to look a little tarnished. But as he needs the funds to bankroll an election campaign his reluctance to bite the hand that has been feeding him is tarnishing the new Tories with a very old style dodgy looking brush!
