LibDems Get Donation From Oil
DIZZY looks at party funding for the LibDems:
The Lib Dems, as many will know, love to be holier than thou. Thus when the scandal about their dodgy criminal donor broke it caused them huge embarrassment. This week in Brighton they have called for the hammering of non-domicile status residents of the UK, and railed against those that use offshore havens.
This morning their breath-taking hypocrisy has been laid bear in the Times which reports that one of their biggest single donors, Alpha Healthcare – the Jospeh Rowntree Foundation is the biggest should you be wondering – is actually a company controlled in the offshore tax-haven of the British Virgin Islands.
Of course it’s not just on matters of tax that they play this hypocritical game. We already have their environment spokesman Chris Huhne owning shares in environmentally destructive mining companies after all. And yet, after a week in Brighton they persist in telling us how they are the true party of the environment. Why, they’ve even gone so far as to say they want to scrap petrol and diesel cars to tackle climate change.
What I’m having problems with is how this squares with a couple of pertinent point. First up is their Scottish leader’s demands for a share in North Sea Oil revenues. If you’re going to beat the drum about how green you are then demanding that you have a share in revenue for something you believe to be bad might not be the best way to go about it?
Secondly, and another thing that might show you up to be mildly hypocritical on such matters would be if you accepted political donations from an oil company. Yes, you know what is coming next. Not only do the party that hate non-doms accept donations from them, but the party against petrol cars also accepts donations from petrol producers.
OK, so it’s not massive amount, but back in April the Scottish Lib Dems (who seem to be quite vocal at the moment about North Sea Oil) accepted a £10,000 political donation from First Oil Exploration (North Sea) Plc. I wonder how they feel about the news they want to remove part of their market?
Posted: 20th, September 2007 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
