Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet?


by Guest    
1:02 pm - June 30th 2009

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David Cameron may have given the impression he intends to reprimand MPs who made seriously large expense claims, but in fact this has not applied to his close coterie of chums in the shadow cabinet. Of these, shadow chancellor George Osborne is perhaps the biggest offender.

And even though Cameron’s has talked tough, as the timeline below shows, he has done nothing about Osborne. And yet our media fails to ask him why Osborne still remains in office.

  • 12th May 2009 – “David Cameron orders Tories to pay back claims” says a Daily Telegraph headline. The Telegraph informs us that:

    Mr Cameron, who will return £680 paid for repair work at his Oxfordshire house, said it was “time for MPs to start setting an example”.
    …
    Mr Cameron has gone further by establishing an independent scrutiny committee to investigate expense claims made by backbench Tory MPs. Those who refused to co-operate with the committee and repay expenses claims deemed to have been excessive would be expelled from the party, said Mr Cameron.

  • 31st May 2009 – The BBC News Website reports:

    The Tory leader said any of his MPs guilty of it would be punished by the panel he has set up to examine claims.

    “I don’t think it is right to get money from the taxpayer for what you nominate as a second home and then to sell it and not pay capital gains tax,” said Mr Cameron.

    “I put a stop to that immediately, even before the House of Commons, with my MPs.

    “That applies for the future. For the past we go through the scrutiny panel and if people have got it wrong then money will have to be paid back.”
    …
    [Cameron] said: “Where appropriate, others will be removed from the front bench if they do not behave appropriately. I want to very tough [sic] but I also want to be consistent and fair.”

  • 10th June 2009 – Tory MP’s who will not contest next general election:

    Douglass ‘Moat Clean’ Hogg
    Sir Peter ‘Duck Island’ Viggers
    Anthony ‘You’re All Just Jealous of My Big House’ Steen
    Christopher ’215 trees on expenses a necessity’ Fraser
    Andrew McKay
    Julie Kirkbride
    Sir Nicholas Winterton
    Ann Winterton

  • 11th June 2009: “George Osborne ‘flipped’ second home to claim for £450,000 loan” reports The Times:

    The arrangement also enabled Mr Osborne to reduce the loan on his London home, which he later sold for £1.45 million, to less than £200,000.

    Mr Osborne said last night that he had made no personal gain from the flip and that there was no impropriety or suggestion of wrongdoing. He said that after being elected an MP he had been advised by the Commons’ Fees Office to declare the London house as his second home so that he could claim expenses for his mortgage interest payments until he was able to change his loan arrangements.

    However, the disclosures will lead to further questions for the Shadow Chancellor after David Cameron said that it was “not good enough” for MPs simply to claim that they had abided by the rules on expenses. The Conservative leader has banned the practice of “flipping” and of avoiding capital gains tax. Since his election Mr Osborne has claimed close to the maximum limit for MPs’ second homes under the Additional Cost Allowance (ACA).

  • 12th June – Daily Star and Daily Mirror report the Osborne flip story. The Mirror says:
    David Cameron’s right-hand man claimed the move, which allowed him to avoid capital gains tax, was “entirely reasonable”.

    The Shadow Chancellor claimed mortgage interest on his London pad for two years before selling it for £1.45million.

    But because he “flipped” his second home allowance to his Cheshire farmhouse before the sale, he avoided paying the tax.

    The multi-millionaire had already reduced the London mortgage to £200,000, billing taxpayers for the interest.

  • June 13th – The Telegraph reports:

    The Liberal Democrats argue that Mr Osborne should pay £54,948 in capital gains tax, which they say he should have been under a moral obligation to pay had he told the tax authorities that for two of the eight years he lived in his London home it was designated as his second residence. They base their calculation on the claim that under the spirit of the rules, Mr Osborne should be liable for capital gains tax on a quarter of the gain of his house sale profit.

    Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: “This is a real test of Mr Cameron’s leadership. He blackballed his country gentlemen with their moats and duck houses before their feet could touch the ground. But will he make his shadow chancellor pay back this tax?’’

  • June 19th – The Times writes that:

    George Osborne was the target of a complaint to the office over his claims for the mortgage on his constituency home. The Shadow Chancellor was revealed by The Times as having “flipped” the designation of his official second home after taking out a £450,000 mortgage on the Cheshire property.

    John Lyon, the Standards Commissioner, confirmed yesterday that he was considering a complaint that Mr Osborne had claimed interest payments on a debt greater than the cost of the home. The Shadow Chancellor’s spokesman dismissed that allegation, however, insisting that Mr Osborne’s mortgage had included costs of essential repairs to the property.

  • As yet – David Cameron has as yet made no public statement about George Osborne’s alleged second home “flipping”.

    George Osborne is still Tory Shadow Chancellor.

    Two Questions for Tory Backbenchers and grass-roots activists:
    1) Has Mr Cameron been consistent in his claim that: “I don’t think it is right to get money from the taxpayer for what you nominate as a second home and then to sell it and not pay capital gains tax”?

    2) Has Mr Cameron honoured his declaration that: “Where appropriate, others will be removed from the front bench if they do not behave appropriately. I want to very tough [sic] but I also want to be consistent and fair.”?

    ———-
    Article written by a contributor who has to remain anonymous for professional reasons.

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Reader comments


1. cjcjc

Article written by a contributor who has to remain anonymous for professional reasons.

Damien McBride?
Ed Balls?

Come out, come out, whoever you are…

2. James

I am a little perplexed at why copying and pasting newspaper articles requires anonymity.

Although it takes quite a lot of skill to take concise, engaging, newspaper text and agglomerate so much of it as to create a blog of such utter tedium.

3. Paul

Tedium?

Perhaps.

But as so often in life, the boring is important.

4. James

That’s why god gave us double-entry bookkeepiing.

It’s not why blogs were invented.

5. Daniel Hoffmann-Gill

Because he has a nice face?

6. CTerry

Cos he and Cameron are bezzie mates.

7. ejh

Because he actually wants to appoint Ken Clarke as Chancellor but can’t do it until after the election because Clarke’s not popular in the Party?

8. Will Rhodes

Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet?

Because his mate Dave is leader and the Tories, as they will prove in government, are worse than the New Labour Tories.

Dave wants power – no matter what, much like his idol Blair – the only problem there is; is that New Labour are wanted out, and the people do not care who gets in as long as Brown et al are gone. More’s the pity, but still, that is how people feel.

The Tories will be full of sleaze coming IN to power.

9. Charlieman

cjcjc: “Article written by a contributor who has to remain anonymous for professional reasons.”

Maybe the author works for an NGO who may have to work with the Conservatives in the future. Or the author is a civil servant or local government employee. Or the author is an academic. Whatever.

The 7/7 conspiracy programme is on the TV in 30 minutes. Watch it and look in the mirror afterwards.

10. JohnH

I have to say that this seems to be a matter of limited interest to his constitiuents. I am a former constituent (and can proudly boast that Martin Bell is the only person I have ever voted for who has ever been elected). If you look on the local paper http://www.wilmslowexpress.co.uk/ and the articles on Gorgeous George, there are virtually no comments (and those that there are are from me).

I find it objectionable that:

He “geared up” his second home just before the rules changed, allowing him to claim more.

His second home is 10miles and 20 minutes from the North East corner of his constituency. Lets be blunt its a Peak District holiday home that we are paying for.

That apart, his expenses are clean, looked at individually. But wow – what a taxi fetish! Has this man not heard of oyster cards?

He is one who doesn’t “get it” his defence “Flipping is defined as….” still suggests that they set the rules.

I alos find objectionable the idea that with the retiral of the Wintertons (say what you like. Dinosaurs have their fans). 2 more cheshire safe seats are likely to end up with Smith Square carpetbagger placemen.

Cheshire MPs:
Tatton – Gorgeous george
Crewe – Edward Timpson (Uppingham & Durham but does have a Cheshire mansion)
Macclesfield – Dave’s mate 3 to be announced
Congleton – Dave’s mate 4 to be announced

People of Cheshire who will represent you? Get off your knees and let your voice be heard.

11. Strategist

People of Cheshire who will represent you? Get off your knees and let your voice be heard.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man: it’s got to be David Soul.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Article: Why is George Osborne still in office? http://bit.ly/1AuRov

  2. sunny hundal

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  4. Tim Ireland

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  5. Mark Thompson

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  6. Mike

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    [Original tweet]

  7. Real Estate Flipper

    Liberal Conspiracy » Why is George Osborne still in office?: He said that after being elected an MP he had been .. http://bit.ly/qaPwz

    [Original tweet]

  8. Liberal Conspiracy

    Article: Why is George Osborne still in office? http://bit.ly/1AuRov

    [Original tweet]

  9. sunny hundal

    Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet? http://tr.im/qiW5

    [Original tweet]

  10. unslugged

    RT @pickledpolitics Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet? http://tr.im/qiW5

    [Original tweet]

  11. Tim Ireland

    RT @pickledpolitics Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet? http://tr.im/qiW5

    [Original tweet]

  12. Mark Thompson

    RT @libcon Liberal Conspiracy » Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet? http://bit.ly/1AuRov (via @tweetmeme)

    [Original tweet]

  13. Mike

    RT @libcon Liberal Conspiracy » Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet? http://bit.ly/1AuRov Un-fucking-believable.

    [Original tweet]

  14. Real Estate Flipper

    Liberal Conspiracy » Why is George Osborne still in office?: He said that after being elected an MP he had been .. http://bit.ly/qaPwz

    [Original tweet]

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  17. Real Estate Flipper

    Liberal Conspiracy » Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet? http://bit.ly/qaPwz

    [Original tweet]

  18. Candis Luther

    Liberal Conspiracy » Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet?: They base their calculation on the claim th.. http://bit.ly/yMGI5

    [Original tweet]

  19. Real Estate Flipper

    Liberal Conspiracy » Why is George Osborne still in shadow cabinet? http://bit.ly/qaPwz

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