What would you do with a billion pounds

So there we have it. Lord Ashcroft, donor to the Conservative Party and mega rich Peer does not pay tax in the UK on his overseas investments. Not as big a shock as who killed Archie Mitchell but certainly brings to light some interesting issues regarding funding of political parties.


A Bill is going through Parliament at the moment which would force all MPs and Peers to pay tax in the UK – and not pretend to be a domiciled elsewhere for tax purposes. Lord Ashcroft has said that, should this become the law, he would comply.

The bigger question is how political parties should be funded. Labour replies on most of its funding from Trade Unions, but each party has a significant number of small donors that give large amounts. Does this mean individuals can sway the policies of the parties they are funding for their own benefit? Does it give the party with the biggest campaign budget an unfairly high chance of winning the election?

What is clear is that as personalities are becoming an important feature of this election campaign, parties must be careful with who they closely associate themselves with. By his own admission, Lord Ashcroft came clean in a statement today to prevent his tax status becoming a ‘distraction’.

Brings whole new meaning to the phrase ‘tax doesn’t have to be taxing’...

Poli-Chick xx