Mark Pack

Is a Labour MSP about to quit over donor scandals?

By | Wed 5th December 2007 - 8:23 am

Rumours abound that Labour MSP Charlie Gordon may be about to quit over the Wendy Alexander Scottish Labour leadership campaign’s illegal donation.

As the Daily Record reports:

LEADING Labour MSP Charlie Gordon looks set to quit Holyrood after the devastating revelations about illegal donations in yesterday’s Daily Record.

He will make a statement about his “political future” this week.

That fuelled speculation he is poised to quit Holyrood.

As he arrived for a crunch meeting of Labour MSPs yesterday, all Gordon would say was: “I’ll make an announcement about my political future later this week.”

His comments came after the Record revealed Gordon secured illegal donations from tax-exile tycoon Paul Green – despite being told two years ago he could not do so.

And the pressure on him mounted when Green himself said the MSP’s explanations were “a mystery” to him.

Meanwhile, photographers’ favourite Cabinet minister, James Purnell, has landed himself in a minor spot of hot water after it turned out he didn’t tell the truth on the radio at the weekend. Talking about the £650,000 in illegal donations from David Abrahams he said, “We’ve given the money back.”

One slight problem: Labour hasn’t. Oh dear James.

Although the Labour Party is in severe financial difficulties, there is also another problem with paying back the money. It’s not clear who Labour should repay it to: the intermediaries, David Abrahams himself or the Treasury (to whom impermissible donations are normally forfeited). Personally, I think they could play it safe and pay £650,000 to all three…

Read more by or more about .
This entry was posted in News.
Advert

One Comment

  • Simon 5th Dec '07 - 10:06am

    I think the law is quite clear if the donation is impermissable after the period specified for checking the legitimacy of the donation any repayment is to the ‘Consolidated Fund’ (i.e. the governments bank account).

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • Peter Martin
    “‘why can’t social care and NHS spending be treated as ‘investment’’. Of course, that wont wash”. I'd agree if were talking about re...
  • Peter Martin
    There's really only two fiscal rules that make any sense: 1) If inflation caused by an overheating economy is the main issue, then governments should tax mor...
  • Peter Davies
    @Kira Collins You seem to have missed the bit about raising tax allowances. That primarily helps those on low wages....
  • David Wright
    According to this well-argued article (by Lib Dem councillor Mark Ellis), a simple wealth tax wouldn't work, but tax on TRANSFER of wealth could, if current tax...
  • Kira Collins
    @Peter Martin “ We should be encouraging them to use less energy. To do that, you should put standard rate VAT on energy and use the money to raise pensions,...