Thursday 20 October 2011

The Welsh connection

The Western Mail reports today on the Welsh connection to the Liam Fox affair, in that one Stephen Crouch is one of those who appears to have been funding Adam Werrity’s little jaunts around the world.  The local MP, Simon Hart, is quoted as describing Mr Crouch as a former chair of the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Constituency Association.  The MP’s own website, however, still describes him as chairman as of this morning.  (Better get there quick though – I’d expect that to be changed fairly rapidly!  I'm sure it will be archived somewhere, though.).
(In passing, was I the only one to detect ever such a slight whiff of hypocrisy in Peter Hain’s call for Simon Hart to 'come clean'?  Presumably, just like he himself did over the donations to his ‘think tank’ when he was fighting for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party?)
I’ve referred to Mr Crouch previously.  He was the connection which led a rather colourful oil tycoon (and former mercenary boss) to donate £5,000 to the local Tories.  But he’s not a stranger to controversy himself.
In 1995, there were questions raised about his involvement in lobbying for the easing of sanctions against a certain Saddam Hussein, in order to make it easier for British companies to do business with the regime.  Never let anything get in the way of business, I suppose.  (Or perhaps I'm thinking of the Godfather there)
He was also the subject of somefishingquestions in the House of Commons about the extent of his own contacts with UK ministers (the last time the Tories were in power, as it happens).  It's the sort of thing that happens when MPs suspect that all isn't quite as it should be, but don't know exactly what they're looking for.  It’s an interesting parallel with the Werrity affair.  (And, like Mr Werrity, he seems to have had the ability to turn up in the right places on occasions.) 
I quite liked this one – a masterpiece of a non-answer if ever there was one:
Mrs. Clwyd: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when Ministers or officials of his Department last met Mr. Stephen Crouch.
Mr. Ian Taylor: Neither Ministers nor officials of this Department have met Mr. Crouch in his capacity as director general of the Iraqi British Interests Group.
There is, as they say, nothing new under the sun.

4 comments:

Boncath said...

John
20/11/2011 17.24 hrs yes Mr Crouch is still Chairman
I am a liitle surprised to see the range of things he claims to be advising on in Irag -- I take it he is still there but it all sounds a bit suspicious to me
What does concern me is the way funds are obtained for the Conservative Party You will no doubt remember the information that they had an alledged £100,000 to contest the Carmarthen West and South Pembs constituency election when the legal limit on spend was about £14,000
A donor of £5000 ie one third of the money needed to fund the campaign must have expected and may have even received a pay back

John Dixon said...

Boncath,

What people 'expect' when they make donations to political parties is a question to which there are a large number of possible answers. It could be that they expect a particular government to create an environment more favourable to their own business interests, or to push through a particular policy, or even that the candidate is a personal friend.

I don't know in this case which of those applies to the donations from Mr Buckingham. As far as the local £5000 is concerned, it may just be as simple as an overwhelming desire to chase foxes around the countryside on horseback - that appears to have been the connection to some other donations.

In any event, the exposure of the funding for Mr Werrity does, once again, underline the need for further reform of the funding of political parties.

Boncath said...

John
Donating large sums of money to any political party of any colour to satisfy an overwhelming desire to chase foxes borders on insanity in my book
However its not the amount that matters its the principle behind it
Was this payment to secure for this Party the vote of the pro foxhunting lobby in the Constituency if so its simply a thinly disguised way of buying votes.

John Dixon said...

Boncath,

"Buying votes" is of course illegal. It was outlawed after "Y Lecsiwn Fawr"