March 2006 Archives

Journalist David Ostler has posted a chapter of his 2002 book "Labour Party Plc: New Labour as a Party of Business" with some interesting details of how the NuLabour fundraiser Michael Levy operated, the dubious blind trusts etc. which led to the current legislation on Party Political Donations. Rremember the previous Labour donor funding scandal involving tobacco sponsorship and Formula 1 racing supremo Bernie Ecclestone's £1 million donation which had to be refunded ?

These blind trusts apparently funded Tony Blair's private office, including spin doctor Alistair Campbell and Jonathan Powell, the chief of staff., whilsy Labour was in opposition.

Given how long Lord Levy has been raising funds for the Labour party. it doe seem strange that Jack Dromey the official Labour party Treasurer and husband of Cabinet Minister in charge of Constitutional Affairs Harriet Harman kept in the dark about the £ 14 million of "loans". Especially since Harriet Harman's portfolio of responsiblities included Electoral Law and reforms, including those dealing with political party funding.

As he says, David Ostler hardly got any media attention when his book came out in September 2002, but on the basis of this chapter entitlef "Taking it on trust", it looks to be required background reading for people who are interested in the current "loans" scandal.:

The chapter is split into part one, and, apparently due to a post length limition in Blogger, also a part two which contains references to sources.

The BBC reports that the Labour party has finally named the list of the people who were tapped for "loans" rather than declarable donations to the tune of nearly £14.

Unveiled - Labour names lenders

Labour has published details of the almost £14m in secret loans from wealthy businessmen. The list was unveiled after it emerged that some of the lenders were later recommended for peerages.

Rod Aldridge - £1m
Richard Caring - £2m
Gordon Crawford - £500,000
Professor Sir Christopher Evans - £1m
Sir David Garrard - £2.3m
Nigel Morris - £1m
Sir Gulan Noon - £250,000
Dr Chai Patel - £1.5m
Andrew Rosenfeld - £1m
Lord David Sainsbury - £2m
Barry Townsley - £1m
Derek Tullett - £400,000

Total £13,950,000

Lord David Sainsbury (£2 million) - what on earth is a Government Minister (for Science) doing donating or lending lots of money to the Government party ?

Would this supermarket businessman, have kept his ministerial job, or even have been appointed to it in the first place, had he not been a financial backer of the Labour Party ?

Rod Aldridge (£1 million), is the chairman of Capita Group plc, who have been given Government contracts for repressive NuLabour mass surveillance and database projects such as the Criminal Records Bureau, the London Congestion Charge, both of which which have gone over budget at the taxpayers expense, but shich Capita had the taxpayer over a barrel, and could not be kicked off the projects. They also collect the controversial BBC TV Licence fee.

With so much of his personal fortune and that of his company dependent on fat Governemnt IT contracts, perhaps it was a "forced" loan ?

It must really hearten traditonal working class Labour voters to see that their party is funded by the likes of Richard Caring (£2 million) who owns, amongst other things, The Ivy and Le Caprice, some of the most expensive and snobbish restaurants in London, which, of course, have been "reviewed" by Ken Livingstone.

Another round of NuLabour sleaze stories in the Sunday newspapers:

  • Loans rather than donations to evade the Election Commission disclosure rules on political party funding.

  • Would Cherie Blair really be able to command such a large fee if it were not for her No. 10 Downing Street connection ?

  • More details of other mortgage application forms which Tessa Jowell signed.

  • No Sunday would be complete without the notorious David Blunkett yapping away for media attention.

According to Guido Fawkes, the notorious ex Cabinet Minister David Blunket may actually now have moved out of the "Disgrace and Favour" Government owned £3 million (?) house in South Eaton Place in Belgravia , London.

This is only a mere 5 months after his latest Ministerial resignation, in an area of London where similar houses are rented out for at least £2,000 a week i.e. at least £32,000 worth of free accomodation since early November 2005..

The death of John Profumo, aged 91, the former Minister for War in the Conservative Government of Harold Macmillan, is a reminder of just how dishonourable contemporary politicians have become.

The Profumo resignation scandal in 1963 was a massive media circus, of the kind which we are nowadays all too familar.

What is different with todays politicians, is what they have done after having been forced to resign.

None of them have spent 40 years doing charity work to atone for their betrayal of public trust.

Neither Tories like Archer, Aitken, Hamilton, Mellor, Norris, nor the LibDems like , Thorpe, Kennedy and Oaten, nor NuLabour's Robinson, Byers, Hughes and especially the recidivists such as Mandelson and Blunkett, deserve a fraction of the respect which is due to the way in which John Profumo CBE conducted his post political career.

The BBC

Within days of his political departure, Mr Profumo turned up at the refuge centre Toynbee Hall and asked to help with the washing up.

He stayed for nearly 40 years, using his political skills to raise huge funds, and expanding the charity's activities to include social programmes and youth training.

His wife also gave her time to helping others, working until her death in 1998 for the leprosy charity Lepra.

John Profumo was awarded the CBE in 1975.

The whole Tessa Jowell / David Mills affair is sleazy.

Who cares if the marriage separation is a political stunt or not ? Tessa Jowell is not a respected and competent Minister, as the mounting costs of the Sports infrastructure projects she has meddled with e.g. the Wembley Stadium and the London Olympics shows. Her other duties involving Telecomms and Broadcasting regulations etc. are also hardly stunning successes either.

The allegations in the Daily Mail of obstruction of the Italian investigations by the Home Office seems to be the most serious aspect.

It will be a further scandal if both Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berluscon and David Mills evade a court case because the deadline for charges being laid expires on Tuesday, and the Home Office / Metropolitan Police etc. have unprecedentedly allowed David Mills to select which of the seized computer evidence is "relevant" or not. The strange delay in seizing this evidence, which was requested over 9 months ago by the Italian authorities is also suspicious.

Why is David Mills being treated so differently from any other suspect under investigation by EU authorities ? The fact that he is married to a NuLabour Cabinet Minister does appear to have some bearing on this.

All this Tessa Jowell related publicity is distracting the mainstream media from analysis and discussion of NuLabour Government's controversial Identity Cards Bill, Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill, Terrorism Bill, Police and Justice Bill and Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Bill, all of which are currently being rammed through Parliament without any concessions or iimprovements of this badly draughted "must be seen to be doing something" legislation.

About this blog

This weblog comments on NuLabour's anti-democratic and authoritarian policies and political manipulation. We will try to deconstruct some of the NuLabour propaganda, disinformation, media spin and leaks.

Nothing has changed with the unelected Gordon Brown, who took over as Labour Party leader from Tony Blair, and became Prime Minister, without being elected, not even by the Labour Party, let alone with a political mandate from a General Election.

Now that there is a Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition government, this blog will continue to watch out for any NuLabour creepiness and control freakery, attempting to ooze back into political power and influence, under the unpopular Ed Miliband, who personally shares the blame for all of NuLabour / Labour's policies. .

Email

Please feel free to email us your views about this website or news about the issues it tries to comment on:

blog @ NuLabour.org.uk

If you have confidential information about NuLabour that you want to share with us, feel free to make use of our PGP public encryption key or an email account based overseas e.g. Hushmail

Hints and Tips for Whistleblowers and Political Dissidents

Please take the appropriate precautions if you are planning to blow the whistle on, or even peacefully campaign against, the shadowy and powerful people in Government or commerce, and their dubious policies. The mainstream media and bloggers also need to take simple precautions to help preserve the anonymity of their sources e.g.

Stop Tony Blair !

Stop_Tony_Blair_150.jpg - Stop Tony Blair from being appointed as the unelected President of Europe

Stop Tony Blair from being appointed as the unelected "President of Europe".

Campaign Button Links

Watching Them, Watching Us, UK Public CCTV Surveillance Regulation Campaign
UK Public CCTV Surveillance Regulation Campaign

NO2ID - opposition to the NuLabour Compulsory Biometric ID Card
NO2ID - opposition to NuLabour's plans for Compulsory Biometric ID Card and National Identity Register centralised database.

asboconcern logo
ASBO Concern - alliance of organisations and individuals who are concerned about the abuse of NuLabour's Anti Social Behaviour Orders.

0800 789 321 free, confidential, Anti-Terrorist Hotline (use 999 or 112 to report immediate threats)
0800 789 321 free, confidential, Anti-Terrorist Hotline (use 999 or 112 to report immediate threats)

MI5 encrypted contact web form use 999 or 112 to report immediate threats
Encrypted MI5 web response form NuLabour's "Climate of Fear" is not the same as the real fight against terror.

gamesmonitor_logo_150.gif Games Monitor - "Games Monitor is a network of people raising awareness about issues within the London Olympic development processes. We want to highlight the local, London and international implications of the Olympic industry. We seek to deconstruct the 'fantastic' hype of Olympic boosterism and the eager complicity of the 'urban elites' in politics, business, the media, sport, academia and local institutional 'community stakeholders'. "

Peaceful resistance to the curtailment of our rights to Free Assembly and Free Speech in the SOCPA Designated Area around Parliament Square and beyond
Parliament Protest blog - resistance to the Designated Area resticting peaceful demonstrations or lobbying in the vicinity of Parliament.

Save Parliament: Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill (and other issues)
Save Parliament - Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill Act

Syndicate this site (XML):

November 2018

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
        1 2 3
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30  

Recent Comments

  • NuLabour: Sunday Telegraph: Tony Blair widens his web via the stock read more
  • NuLabour: Charles Clarke has also been voted out. read more
  • NuLabour: Ed Balls and Hazel Blears have been re-elected - why read more
  • Steve T: I am so satisfied to have found a blog that read more
  • Dan Plunkett: Hi, can you please supply the Email address for David read more
  • mark guard: MY name is mark guard, i am the spokes person read more
  • NuLabour: Squatters in 62 South Eaton Place ? http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2010-01-28a.312445.h Official Residences read more
  • J Ellis: Blair/Brown have reached new depths. UK politics are just rotten read more
  • John Pedler: No one who voted for the Iraq war should be read more
  • james tasker: how this lying feather nesting man and his odious wife read more