The third-biggest overall donor to individual MPs is a
company registered to an office in Hertfordshire that has no website
and, according to its accounts, has no employees.
MPM Connect Ltd
has given £345,217 to three Labour MPs: shadow home secretary
Yvette Cooper (£184,317), shadow health secretary Wes Streeting
(£60,900) and former mayor of South Yorkshire Dan Jarvis (£100,000).
"The proposed £5,000 cap is 10 times lower than that previously put
forward by David Cameron, but Miliband told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show
that the cap should not affect the system under which three million
union members individually make a £3 payment to Labour's coffers, a
payment which is automatically debited from members."
Despite initially resisting pressure to publish the names of those who have dined with him in his flat at Number 10, David Cameron has now changed tack and said that he will publish details of all donors he has had dinner with in his Downing Street flat.
Given that this was inevitable, why on earth the the Tory party spend so much time resisting this?
The government is currently refusing to disclose details of
private meetings between David Cameron and Conservative party donors, following the Cruddgate debacle.
Francis
Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, has stated that demands for lists of visitors
to Cameron's flat in Downing Street are unreasonable. The Tories are sticking to the line that Cameron's flat is used as his family home and the prime minister foots the bill, not the taxpayer, therefore these dinners etc are private.
That is fair enough IF the people who visit Cameron in his flat are visiting him as David Cameron "friend/acquaintance", rather than as David Cameron leader of the Tory party/Prime Minister.
It's not just what you do, but what your are seen to do and who you do it with that counts.
BTW, who paid for the renovation of the flat that Cameron and family occupy rent free?
The BBC reports that David
Cameron has criticised Peter Cruddas, the party's former treasurer, for boasting that a
big enough donation could lead to high-level access.
He said Peter Cruddas' claims, filmed by undercover Sunday
Times reporters, were "completely unacceptable". Mr Cruddas quit hours
after publication.
The PM pledged a "party inquiry" into the claims that £250,000 would get donors a private dinner with him.
".. if you go to the Tory Party's own website you will see that they openly offer dinner with Cameron, and others, in exchange for monetary gifts eg:
The Leader's Group
Annual membership: £50,000 Chairman: Howard Leigh
The Leader’s Group is the premier supporter Group of the
Conservative Party. Members are invited to join David Cameron and other
senior figures from the Conservative Party at dinners, post-PMQ lunches,
drinks receptions, election result events and important campaign
launches.
The only difference being that the site does not ask for the £200K that Cruddas was allegedly soliciting."
The media are leading with the story about the resignation of the Tory Party's co treasurer, Peter Cruddas.
His crime?
Allegedly he was soliciting for donations of £200K or more, in exchange for dinner invitations with the Prime
Minister and George Osborne.
He was filmed allegedly telling undercover reporters that making a
large donation would be "awesome for your business", and that "things
will open up for you".
All very spivvy maybe. However, quite why the media are so excited by this "revelation" is rather baffling me.
For if you go to the Tory Party's own website you will see that they openly offer dinner with Cameron, and others, in exchange for monetary gifts eg:
The Leader's Group
Annual membership: £50,000 Chairman: Howard Leigh
The Leader’s Group is the premier supporter Group of the
Conservative Party. Members are invited to join David Cameron and other
senior figures from the Conservative Party at dinners, post-PMQ lunches,
drinks receptions, election result events and important campaign
launches.
The only difference being that the site does not ask for the £200K that Cruddas was allegedly soliciting.
Here is the text of his resignation statement (which ignores the fact that the Tory Party does offer paid access to Cameron et al):
“I only took up the post of principal treasurer of
the party at the beginning of the month and was keen to meet anyone
potentially interested in donating.
“As a result, and without consulting any politicians or senior
officials in the party, I had an initial conversation with Zenith. No
further action was taken by the party.
“However, I deeply regret any impression of impropriety arising from my bluster in that conversation.
“Clearly there is no question of donors being able to influence policy or gain undue access to politicians.
“Specifically, it was categorically not the case that I could
offer, or that David Cameron would consider, any access as a result of a
donation.
“Similarly, I have never knowingly even met anyone from the
Number 10 policy unit. But in order to make that clear beyond doubt, I
have regrettably decided to resign with immediate effect.”
