tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post4988501256024982592..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: Ashcroft Accuses Labour Minister of Being "Cowardly"Iain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-7433564388847428182007-10-28T16:10:00.000+00:002007-10-28T16:10:00.000+00:00ADT is not the whole story by any means. However ...ADT is not the whole story by any means. However it's amusing that he sold ADT not once, but twice. Now that shows talent.Unsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08307116169498533047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-77217458498206083022007-10-28T12:48:00.000+00:002007-10-28T12:48:00.000+00:00In connection with donations to the Labour Party. ...In connection with donations to the Labour Party. Barbra Follet, Labour MP for Stevenage,this year claimed £130,000 in allowances. Her husband, millionaire author Ken Follet is proclaiming on 3 Counties Radio that she does not have one penny of it in wages,and likewise for the ten years she has been an MP.Furthermore,Ken claims he subsidises her to the tune of a further £100,000 a year. Let's hope it is all documented and accounted for then.Perhaps some of it finds it way into the Emily's List coffers? What a generous husband Ken is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-42574413329277594272007-10-28T08:52:00.000+00:002007-10-28T08:52:00.000+00:00Mike Ion says that "In 2005 Lord Ashcroft and frie...Mike Ion says that "In 2005 Lord Ashcroft and friends targeted over £1 million on 93 marginal constituencies".<BR/><BR/>Forgive my ignorance, but is this really such a big sum? I vaguely remember that the average constituency has 68,000 people? If so, £1 million spent on 93 x 68,000 people = 16p each! Not even enough for a second class stamp to send a letter to everybody, let alone the cost of the letter or anything else.<BR/><BR/>So please - let's get some perspective. It's easy to make figures sound large but then when you are dealing with over 6 million people (as in 93 constituencies) what do you expect?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-35142897682488232572007-10-28T07:42:00.000+00:002007-10-28T07:42:00.000+00:00I'm sure I did mention Sainsbury only this Thursda...I'm sure I did mention Sainsbury only this <A HREF="http://www.order-order.com/2007/10/sainsbury-v-ashcroft.html" REL="nofollow">Thursday</A>.Guido Fawkeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15091277669318213298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-75317813611317127472007-10-28T07:34:00.000+00:002007-10-28T07:34:00.000+00:00Perhaps Baron Ashcroft could answer whether or not...Perhaps Baron Ashcroft could answer whether or not the spending of his donations (well Bearwood Securities - Ashcroft hasn't made any donations himself) in marginal seats in the 12 months prior to the 2005 General Election was included in the Tories National Campaign Expenditure return? And if not - why not?<BR/><BR/>Could he also explain whether he is on UK Electoral Register? <BR/><BR/>And perhaps others could ponder whether it is correct for someone who is not on the Australian Electoral Register and possibly not the UK Register to interfere in UK and Australian elections as in the Baron's case?tory boys never grow uphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11172736984147732661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-41103468156517759012007-10-28T00:17:00.000+01:002007-10-28T00:17:00.000+01:00Lore Ashcroft always fills me with hope and confid...Lore Ashcroft always fills me with hope and confidence .He seems to combine unlikely qualities like power and sanity , intellect and modesty <BR/><BR/>Mike Ion SAID<BR/>This should be of concern to anyone who really does value democracy.<BR/><BR/>How can you dawdle though that lengthy sattement of the obvious without metioning that £50000 cap is on the table . Labour will not give up their Union funding and they , not the Consevatuive Party are the cause of the problem. They always have been on this subjectNewmaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11922161971821380803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-17080629759651070492007-10-27T21:55:00.000+01:002007-10-27T21:55:00.000+01:00Iain - you may have cut and pasted the quote, but ...Iain - you may have cut and pasted the quote, but as it appears, a word IS missing. The word "cowardly", which appears in your headline, should appear between "is" and "for" in the quote. As this item currently appears, it looks like Michael Ashcroft is saying that sitting MPs SHOULD have an advantage!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-39141206612139927122007-10-27T20:10:00.000+01:002007-10-27T20:10:00.000+01:00Out the bastards. I note that the BBC web site has...Out the bastards. I note that the BBC web site has no mention of the Lord Hoyle farrago <BR/><BR/>http://tinyurl.com/2sfswx<BR/><BR/>whatosever<BR/><BR/><BR/>Odd.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65017780975746422772007-10-27T20:06:00.000+01:002007-10-27T20:06:00.000+01:00Mike ion: "who governs Britain could be decided no...Mike ion: "who governs Britain could be decided not by who wins the political argument or even the most votes but by a handful of Tory millionaires in a handful of marginal seats".<BR/><BR/>Complete tosh. It can only be "decided" if Labour decides not to contest those seats as strongly. Each party has its own resources and has been pointed out Lord Sainsbury has contributed at least as much to Labour and Lord Ashcroft has contributed to the Conservative party. It is up to each party to decide where to spend their money (and Lord Ashcroft's funding is allocated by a party committee not by Lord Ashcroft). If the Labour party choose not to match the Conservatives targetted funding for campaigns in marginals that is their problem. To try to restrict spending in vulnerable seats is prima facie undemocratic - the amounts at issue (pennies per national vote) are small enough that Labour could raise and spend that amount of money if they could get themselves organised, but they may prefer to (ab)use their power instead.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775753218753337766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-65739642666971097382007-10-27T19:07:00.000+01:002007-10-27T19:07:00.000+01:00Lord Ashcroft/ Sainsbury- like for like. People a...Lord Ashcroft/ Sainsbury- like for like. People are forgetting that MP's in marginal seats can already leaflet their constituents with expenses and stationary costs which the tax payers foot the bill for. If a wealthy individual wants to contribute to 'even things up' in my opinion- I see no problem with this. Labour have sainsbury, and let's not forget trade unions who pump millions of pounds into funding, and conservatives have lord ashroft. Seems fair do's to me, after all politics is about trying to win the hearts and inds of people, and people in marginal seats like me are fed up of labourAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-84499602532291813032007-10-27T17:24:00.000+01:002007-10-27T17:24:00.000+01:00Iain - you know, as do I, that in the marginals lo...Iain - you know, as do I, that in the marginals local campaigning can make a decisive electoral difference. You also understand that a lot of money buys a lot of campaigning. <BR/><BR/>In 2005 Lord Ashcroft and friends targeted over £1 million on 93 marginal constituencies. In some, the objective was to protect Conservative MPs with slender majorities; in others it was to soften up relatively safe Labour seats for the next election; but in key seats it was to skew the result in the Tories’ favour. 24 of the Conservatives’ 36 gains in 2005 had been targeted by their localised funding strategy. <BR/>In fairness Ashcroft has been quite open about his plans to repeat the exercise at the next election and as things stand there is nothing to stop him. <BR/><BR/>One way for Labour to counter the Tory threat is to match their cash in the key seats. In the circumstances, that might be regarded as an undesirable but unavoidable short term solution. But I sense that many political activists and the public at large, want an end to the funding race and a return from US-style campaigning to more traditional forms of voluntary activism. <BR/><BR/>However the stark fact is that the Conservatives need to win fewer seats than they did last time to wipe out Labour’s majority and, if they do, who governs Britain could be decided not by who wins the political argument or even the most votes but by a handful of Tory millionaires in a handful of marginal seats. This should be of concern to anyone who really does value democracy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-61904856730415976902007-10-27T12:51:00.000+01:002007-10-27T12:51:00.000+01:00Politaholic, why don't you live up to your name?! ...Politaholic, why don't you live up to your name?! Michael A made his fortune in large part through his business ADT. You should read his autobiography, DIRTY POLITICS, DIRTY TIMES.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous, I cut and pasted the quote so I can't see how I could have missed a word out. And it's Lord Ashcroft to you! :)Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-44286903742147050282007-10-27T12:20:00.000+01:002007-10-27T12:20:00.000+01:00How exactly did Ashcroft make his millions, and wh...How exactly did Ashcroft make his millions, and where was that? Just a question.Politaholichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00787923053839036543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-21271531681575950462007-10-27T11:37:00.000+01:002007-10-27T11:37:00.000+01:00You omitted a fairly important word in your quote ...You omitted a fairly important word in your quote from Mr Ashcroft's letter. Perhaps coincidentally it's an appropriate adjective for Gordon Brown, our sub-prime minister.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com