Daily View 2×2: 12 October 2009

2 Big Stories

MPs’ expenses row re-ignites as MPs question findings of independent inquiry

In case you thought the row had blown itself out, here comes the sequel:

Gordon Brown has urged MPs to repay expenses claimed up to five years ago if asked to do so following an audit ordered after the furore. There are reports that some MPs plan to defy calls to repay money and may challenge the request in the courts.

The PM is among hundreds of MPs expected to be asked to repay sums following a review of all claims by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg. …

The BBC understands he has set retrospective limits for some items and annual limits on what he believes they should have claimed. These are £1,000 a year for gardening, and £2,000 a year for cleaning. It is believed to have angered some MPs who say they will not repay the money.

Saturday’s Telegraph reported the following snippet:

Last night, the Lib Dems, who are confident that they avoided the worst excesses, stepped up pressure on the Conservatives by calling on George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, to pay an estimated £55,000 in capital gains tax which they claim he avoided.

Lord Oakeshott said: “George Osborne’s catchphrase at the Tory conference was ‘We’re all in this together’. Perhaps he should make that ‘except Conservative shadow chancellors and founder members of the Cameron club who flip their million-pound properties to dodge a £55,000 capital gains tax bill.’”

Vince attacks Labour’s fire-sale of public assets

The Guardian reports:

The prime minister is to mark the first day of the new political term by detailing an asset sale worth £16bn, in what the Liberal Democrats have called the “largest sell-off since the 1980s privatisations”. … Though a headline figure of £16bn from asset sales had been included in this year’s budget book, Brown will use a meeting with business leaders today to fully itemise the assets, earmarking infrastructure for sale that has so far proved tricky for the government to sell off, such as the student loan book and the betting company Tote.

By attempting to sell these assets, as well as the Channel tunnel rail link, the bridge and tunnel crossing over the Thames at Dartford and its 32% stake in the uranium processing company Urenco, the government hopes it can raise £3bn. Brown will also in effect put up for sale a proportion of local government real estate – a portfolio worth £220bn – which it hopes will bring in £13bn over the next two years, above the £30bn already set out in the Lyons report.

The Lib Dems’ shadow chancellor Vince Cable is unconvinced:

It may well be that the sale of some assets is a sensible thing to do but this is not the time to do it because markets are very depressed, the land and shares, not a good time to do it and all our previous experience of government is that they sell off at the wrong time.”

2 Must-Read Blog-Posts

Controlling the message? (Peter Black AM)

This morning’s Independent on Sunday poses the question as to whether Tory donor and tax-exile, Lord Ashcroft has been buying up online influence in a bid to “shore up” his own position with David Cameron’s party and ensure that he is not frozen out once the Conservatives are installed at No 10.

Surely the Lib Dems should be doing better than this? (Mark Thompson)

… in the run up to polling day we could well find ourselves in terms of percentage of vote share, roughly where we were in 2005 (around 22% or so). … If all this does pan out like this then the biggest question I think my party will have to answer is how the hell did we allow the best opportunity for electoral advance in a political generation to slip through our fingers?

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2 Comments

  • Does not bother me anymore I’ve given up voting, I will only get bothered when the BNP get big enough to worry me, thats not going to happen in my life time.

    Labour Tory even the Lib Dem’s have been chasing the winds of change of late, one minute going to the left then when the Tories look like winning going to the right.

    Think I’ll just sit at home and can say do not blame me

  • leekliberal 13th Oct '09 - 2:24pm

    Robert says ‘Think I’ll just sit at home and can say do not blame me’ – if he does and the BNP gain in power and influence I for one will blame him!

    As an activist I say to him if you can do better than us, then join your party of choice and try to make a difference!

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