Tag Archives: lord laidlaw

And another two peers quit the Lords rather than pay full tax

By Mark Pack | Published 6th July 2010 - 8:54 pm

I’d mentioned previously that Conservative peers McAlpine and Laidlaw have chosen to quit the Lords rather than have to end their non-dom tax status. With the deadline for making a final decision approaching they have been joined by a third Conservative peer – Lord Bagri – and a crossbencher – Baroness Dunn.

A fourth Conservative peer, Lord Ashcroft, has instead given up his non-dom status as has the Labour peer, Lord Paul.

UPDATE: Lord Foster has also quit the Lords in order to preserve his tax status, though from the Parliamentary records it doesn’t looks as if he was ever …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Two Tory non-doms quit the Lords

By Mark Pack | Published 11th June 2010 - 10:29 pm

A footnote to our previous coverage of Lords McAlpine and Laidlaw, two non-dom Conservative members of the House of Lords. They had both for a long time been unmoved by criticism of their tax affairs, but ahead of changes to the law they have both decided to give up their seats in the Lords.

Lord McAlpine’s case was relatively straight-forward, but Lord Laidlaw’s case had the added twist that he broke a promise he made on being appointed. Indeed, the Lords Appointment Commission was subsequently moved to say that they would not have authorised his peerage if they had known …

Continue reading »
Posted in Opposition watch, Parliament | Also tagged , , , | 4 Comments

What will the political fallout from the peers lobbying scandal be?

By Mark Pack | Published 1st February 2009 - 1:03 pm

An intriguing report in today’s Sunday Times:

PEERS who avoid tax or have criminal convictions – such as Lord Archer and Lord Black – are to be expelled from the House of Lords in the wake of the lords for hire scandal.

The reforms are being drawn up by Jack Straw, the justice secretary, in an attempt to restore the Lords’ battered reputation after last weekend’s revelations in The Sunday Times. He plans to enact the legislation necessary to expel them before the general election…

Lord Ashcroft, the billionaire Tory donor, has repeatedly refused to confirm his tax status, while Lord Laidlaw,

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Parliament | Also tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Conservatives continue to take money from peer who broke his tax promise

By Mark Pack | Published 3rd January 2009 - 11:18 am

The Conservative peer Lord Laidlaw was criticised by the Lords Appointments Commission last year for failing to keep his promise to stop being a tax exile if he was appointed to the House of Lords:

The commission said it had informed the prime minister of Lord Laidlaw’s situation and said it would not have approved his peerage if it had known that he would not honour his promise.

And how have the Conservatives reacted to this broken promise and public criticism? By continuing to take money from him, as today’s Daily Telegraph reports:

In March, June and

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Opposition watch | Also tagged , | 1 Comment

Conservative peer named and shamed over non-payment of tax

By Mark Pack | Published 7th June 2007 - 2:12 pm

As the BBC says:

A leading Tory donor has been publicly rebuked by the Lords appointments commission for taking his seat without giving up his status as a tax exile … The commission said it had informed the prime minister of Lord Laidlaw’s situation and said it would not have approved his peerage if it had known that he would not honour his promise.

In other words – he promised to pay tax if he got his peerage, he’s got his peerage and, er… he’s not paying the tax he promised.

And here’s a fun twist for those who have been following …

Continue reading »
Posted in News, Opposition watch | 2 Comments

Lib Dems up pressure on tax exile Laidlaw

By Mark Pack | Published 22nd April 2007 - 9:47 am

Conservative peer Lord Laidlaw is a major donor to the Conservative party, and he has a problem. He pomised before being appointed a peer to stop being a tax exile, but several years on he still hasn’t kept his promise – and has saved himself large sums in tax in the meantim.

Liberal Democrat Matthew Oakeshott has now reported him to Revenue and Customs.

Posted in Opposition watch | Also tagged | Leave a comment