The former Wrexham Labour MP and AM John Marek has joined the Conservatives, yes the Conservatives. Please note: This is not an early April Fool.
Marek, you might recall, left the Labour Party saying it had moved too far to the right and then was involved in setting up the left-leaning Forward Wales with former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies.
Now he has switched again and joined the Conservatives. When he finds what there real agenda is then he'll probably look for another party to join.
Marek is now very much a political has-been and joins Alison Halford and Mohammad Asghar in recently signing up to the Conservatives. What a threesome!
Monday, 29 March 2010
Monday, 15 March 2010
Why is Unite still funding the Labour Party?
Unite, if it is to remain credible to its members, needs to consider its huge funding of the Labour Party whose Ministers seem happy to kick it where it hurts most.
Yesterday, Lord Adonis, the Secretary of State for Transport described the seven days of walkouts planned this month by thousands of members of Unite who work as British Airways cabin crew as "deplorable” and “totally unjustified".
If I was funding the Labour Party I'd be asking questions about why should I continue and consider whether there are other political parties whose policies and support would better represent my members?
Clearly, Lord Adonis is trying to sound tough ahead of a General Election but siding with an employer - British Airways - that unilaterally cuts people's pay and conditions is a disgrace.
It does not take a genius to work out that BA boss Willie Walsh is determined to destroy the union - yet they continue to support a party where one of the Ministers seems happy to support that action.
Isn't it time many trade unions, and not just Unite, look around and see whether there are alternative parties worth supporting?
NB Gordon Brown steps into the row with similar condemnation of only one side in the BA - Unite. Please see headline!
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Nick Ramsay: A Hypocrite
Nick Ramsay, the Tory MP for Monmouth, is showing some brass neck.
He is reported as having complained when the Assembly Commission replaced his old office TV with a flat screen LG as part of the digital switchover. He's apparently trying to get the Commission to take it back.
Trouble is Nick Ramsay was the AM who claimed nearly £1,000 on expenses to buy a surroundg sound TV and DVD system for his Cardiff Bay flat. It is after all a long way from Monmouth to Cardiff - a distance travelled no doubt by many of his constituents everyday.
Perhaps he really out to ask the Commission to take back his flash TV.
Link to the Western Mail story
He is reported as having complained when the Assembly Commission replaced his old office TV with a flat screen LG as part of the digital switchover. He's apparently trying to get the Commission to take it back.
Trouble is Nick Ramsay was the AM who claimed nearly £1,000 on expenses to buy a surroundg sound TV and DVD system for his Cardiff Bay flat. It is after all a long way from Monmouth to Cardiff - a distance travelled no doubt by many of his constituents everyday.
Perhaps he really out to ask the Commission to take back his flash TV.
Link to the Western Mail story
Monday, 1 March 2010
Same Old Tories: Still Avoiding Tax
Despite all David Cameron's spin, the Conservatives really haven't changed.
Major Conservative donor and deputy party chairman Lord Ashcroft today admitted that he is "non-domiciled" in relation to tax.
That will no come as a surprise after years of questions from opposition politicians about his tax status.
But it is still a disgrace. Lord Ashcroft said that he expected "to be sitting in the House of Lords for many years", suggesting he would change his tax status if the law changed. How generous of him after years of ducking and diving to avoid tax on earnings and capital gains from overseas.
Quite how Lord Ashcroft could be recommended for a peerage without being resident in Britain for tax purposes only the Tories know. But I guess he was only recommended for it because of its financial backing for the Tories.
He and fellow Conservatives, including David Cameron, refused to say what his tax status was, declaring it was a private matter. However, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham has called for the full details of Lord Ashcroft's status to be made public.
Lord Ashcroft, who has given a reported £4m to Conservatives in recent years, because there is a general election just weeks away. Perhaps he ought to pay the tax on overseas earnings since the time be became a peer.
Major Conservative donor and deputy party chairman Lord Ashcroft today admitted that he is "non-domiciled" in relation to tax.
That will no come as a surprise after years of questions from opposition politicians about his tax status.
But it is still a disgrace. Lord Ashcroft said that he expected "to be sitting in the House of Lords for many years", suggesting he would change his tax status if the law changed. How generous of him after years of ducking and diving to avoid tax on earnings and capital gains from overseas.
Quite how Lord Ashcroft could be recommended for a peerage without being resident in Britain for tax purposes only the Tories know. But I guess he was only recommended for it because of its financial backing for the Tories.
He and fellow Conservatives, including David Cameron, refused to say what his tax status was, declaring it was a private matter. However, Information Commissioner Christopher Graham has called for the full details of Lord Ashcroft's status to be made public.
Lord Ashcroft, who has given a reported £4m to Conservatives in recent years, because there is a general election just weeks away. Perhaps he ought to pay the tax on overseas earnings since the time be became a peer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)