It could be the cover-up that kills Downing Street

For most of the cash-for-hours scandal the Conservatives have been quiet but Tory Chairman Francis Maude lets rip in an article for this morning's Telegraph:

"From Ecclestone to Mittal to PowderJect, allegations abound that donations and loans have resulted in privileged access, influence, legislative changes and honours. The Prime Minister of the day and his advisers have been interviewed by the police on allegations of selling seats in our legislature in return for keeping the Labour Party afloat. On top of that, according to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, electoral fraud is rife and the watchdog set up to police elections — the Electoral Commission — is guilty of "regulatory failure"."

The Tory Chairman's intervention coincides with news that is potentially deadly for Downing Street.  An alleged cover-up of computer records was revealed by ITN and Sky last night and is reported in today's Daily Mail:

"Police investigating the cash-for-honours affair have recovered sensational deleted e-mails from Downing Street computers.  They have unearthed potentially vital evidence that key figures close to Tony Blair openly discussed the possibility of Labour donors being rewarded with peerages.  Many of the e-mails were not voluntarily disclosed and may have been deliberately concealed, police sources say.  These internal communications are key to the file submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will make the final decision on whether to bring formal charges.  The Daily Mail can reveal that detectives are now increasingly confident that the ten-month investigation will end in a criminal court case - either over claims that peerages were traded for political donations, or an attempt to conceal evidence."

In addressing Labour's current refusal to agree to a cap on donations - because of its increasing dependence on funding from the big unions - Mr Maude appears to suggest that the Tories would walk away from a cross-party deal on extra state funding of political parties.  That would be good news for democracy and may be partly rooted in the Tories' recent fundraising successes.

Comments

[Mark McCartney]

More like a rather timid recital of facts than "letting rip" I would say.

Exactly why, I wonder, have Cameron and Co been so quiet about this appalling scandal?

[John Coles]

Agree with Mark McCartney.
With due attribution to Dennis Healey, "savaging by a dead sheep" seems appropriate.

[changetowin]

Francis has been very strong on this and he has the benefit of being right. Of course, the pro-flatlining ideologues and the UKIP-BNP trolls on this site will seek to attack our Chairman whatever he does. But this Chairman is working every day to rebuild our party and put it on an election footing. I for one applaud his efforts.

[malcolm]

I certainly hope you're right Editor about the Conservative party 'walking away from State Funding'.
I would love it too, if the ITN story is proved to right.

[Opinicus]

@Changetowin
Shouldn't you declare your interest?

[changetowin]

Jonathan,

My interest remains what it has always been: a Conservative Party that can actually win an election and begin to put centre-right ideas to the service of our great country.

Oh, and unlike some on this site, I do not, never have and never will so much as lean towards UKIP-BNP. I'm a Conservative.

[Simon]

Mark McCartney: "Exactly why, I wonder, have Cameron and Co been so quiet about this appalling scandal?"

What is there to say that the public don't already know? We should just let the Labour party hoist itself on its petard and throughly enjoy the spectacle from the sidelines.

[Editor]

Let's not turn this into a UKIP/ trolls discussion please. Try and keep on the subject of the thread everyone please.

[changetowin]

Oh, but it's so tempting, Editor! ;-)

[changetowin]

But I agree that an analysis of Francis' wonderful article in which he "lets rip" would be best on this thread. So come on fellow Conservatives: which was your favourite paragraph in Francis' article?

[Cllr Iain Lindley]

The only recent this might turn into a UKIP troll discussion, Editor, is because the UKIP trolls hijack every single topic.

[HF]

I like the idea that we have kept away from it and have a Blair Vs Police line with only SNP and a few Lib Dem comments.

That has prevented Labour from piling in and saying "you were as bad as us".

Whether Francis was wise to say something now or stay silent we shall have to see how the story develops.

[James Maskell]

The arguments still dont improve...The "I didnt start it" argument, used since primary school...For the love of God people, grow up.

The Tories should keep themselves out of this. Its a criminal investigation in which we should be keeping well away. Being mature is knowing when to pick the fights.

[Michael McGowan]

The usual garbage from Changetowinbutwhatsthepoint: in the Potemkin Village of the "new" Conservative Party tractor production is of course at record levels blah blah blah. If you had anything useful to do you might answer Jeff Randall's question in this morning's paper: will the Tories commit to ending Brown's raid on pension funds? All it requires is a yes or no answer.

Many of us object to Maude because, like a number of Cameron courtiers, he is a creature of patronage who has shown his anti-democratic centralising credentials. Bit like Tony Blair really except that he doesn't have a cheesy grin. He is right to point out the failings of Labour but the Tories do not come to this debate with clean hands. Maude's laughable attempt on TV last year to describe the loans to the Tory Party as "commercial" was an embarrassment. Come on Francis, you used to work for an investment bank: where can I refinance my mortgage on those terms (and my credit rating is better than the Tories)?

[Scotty]

"The Tories should keep themselves out of this. Its a criminal investigation in which we should be keeping well away."
James, I totally agree.
Francis Maude should simple focus on the issue of fund raising in regard to the present review taking place.

[Scotty]

"The usual garbage from Changetowinbutwhatsthepoint: in the Potemkin Village of the "new" Conservative Party tractor production is of course at record levels blah blah blah."
Michael McGowan what was the point of your post?
Because apart from insulting another poster, and then demanding an answer from them on a failure by Gordon Brown on an entirely different subject I can't see any point in it!

[matt wright]

Editor, it is hard to keep anything on thread on thi site becaue of known UKIP people using the site to dismiss everything that is said,

Matt

[James Maskell]

"known UKIP people using the site to dismiss everything that is said".

Isnt that known as debating?

[Scotty]

"known UKIP people using the site to dismiss everything that is said".

"Isnt that known as debating?"

Sorry James, but the contribution from Michael McGowan was not "debating" the issues raised by the editorial on this thread. I agree with Matt on this, you can't foster an interesting debate or discussion with that type of unhelpful post. If you have been reading any of the recent thread's you will have seen how unhelpful this has been and the amount of thread's derailed or at times just an unedifying read.

[Londoner]

Grow up children please. I notice that the UKIP crowd are now also focusing on the D Tel letters columns. Is nothing sacrosanct? (That was a rhetorical question, i.e. it does not require a UKIP answer on a Conservative site, thank you.)

[Tory T]

I want to say how delighted I am that ConHome is covering this vital story.

I particularly enjoy FM's mention of Mittal, whom it is rumoured Blair wants to ennoble in his resignation honours.

If there is a second email system and NuLab did not hand over and in fact deleted emails on cash for honours on the secret system then they are bang to rights on peverting the course of justice.

The stink of sleaze and patronage rises around them.

[Tory T]

I want to say how delighted I am that ConHome is covering this vital story.

I particularly enjoy FM's mention of Mittal, whom it is rumoured Blair wants to ennoble in his resignation honours.

If there is a second email system and NuLab did not hand over and in fact deleted emails on cash for honours on the secret system then they are bang to rights on peverting the course of justice.

The stink of sleaze and patronage rises around them.

[Tory T]

I want to say how delighted I am that ConHome is covering this vital story.

I particularly enjoy FM's mention of Mittal, whom it is rumoured Blair wants to ennoble in his resignation honours.

If there is a second email system and NuLab did not hand over and in fact deleted emails on cash for honours on the secret system then they are bang to rights on peverting the course of justice.

The stink of sleaze and patronage rises around them.

[Mark McCartney]

Seems Tory T's comment is so good he made it thrice.

When you add up all the spookily similar comments from the spookily similar cheerleaders Tory T, Scotty, and changetowin the "UKIP-BNP" (ie Traditional Conservative) comments are actually very heavily outnumbered, despite their tedious yelps.

I suppose ole shake eyes Maude is having to strike out on his own now that he is reportedly being elbowed out of the charmed circle by Dave's closest courtiers.

[changetowin]

Mark,

Are you suggesting I am Francis Maude now?!

How amusing! Clearly when Francis takes a break from rebuilding the Conservative Party he goes onto ConservativeHome and posts as Changetowin! ;-)

[Michael McGowan]

Scotty, sorry to hurt your feelings but I was responding in kind to Changetowin's post at 9.52: a combination of gratuitous abuse and sycophantic veneration of Francis Maude.

The point about pensions is the point that applies to the Conservative Party in general at the moment, including in relation to party funding: it is long on disjointed criticism and short on convincing alternatives. Presumably this explains the hysterical denunciation of dissenters by Cameron's Red Guards as UKIP trolls and closet members of the BNP. With no real answers, they can only resort to weapons of mass distraction. n

[Jake]

I think that Francis Maude's approach is correct . Tread carefully , stick to the generalities of Labour's corrupt record - I particularrly like his reference to
" regulatory failure " of the electoral Commission which is entirely appropriate .

Above all do not get involved in the police investigation . Keep a dignified silence from the sidelines as to the details of the investigation . This Labour government has always been corrupt , it is now old and corrupt and will unerringly destroy itself .

There will be plenty of time to move in for the kill - when that moment has arrived , which it hasn't yet .

[Mark Wadsworth]

New Labour have actually stumbled across a fine strategy for staying in power. It's consists of generating at least one controversy, scandal, headline (positive or negative) and so on.

What have we had this week?
- Home Office to be split in two
- Catholic gay adoption row, Cabinet split
- teaching Britishness
- Ruth Turner arrested, allegations of perverting course of justice
- Jock McConnell interviewed on loanations.
- Nicholas Purnell/Newsnight saga
- Tony Blair's non-attendance at Iraq debate
- Prisons full (yet again), "paedophile" avoids custodial sentence
- loony tax proposals from Brownite think-tank Compass

I've probably overlooked some others - no doubt somebody can fill in the gaps. And it's only Friday afternoon...

[Mark Wadsworth]

... and by the time the Opposition has worked out a line of attack, the public have lost interest in that particular matter because the headline of that morning is something jsut as awful but on a completely different topic.

[Denis Cooper]

And, Tory T, the maximum sentence for perverting the course of justice is life imprisonment and/or a fine:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section22/chapter_a.html#05

Did you get that, or shall I repeat it? :-)

[George Hinton]

As Nixon found it's not the original crime but the attempt to subvert due process (i.e. cover up) that got him.
Similarly whatever Yates finds and proves regarding the loans for peerages, what will be remembered, is the manner and way that NuLab sought to deflect and prevent the investigation from proceeding and the bare faced use of disinformation and spinning and leaking to give the impression that there was nothing, and the police were creating a mountain from nothing.
One hopes that Yates has a shedload and it will be used and bodies wil go down.
NuLab need masses of money, they are unhappy that the old link with the unions has had to be resurrected, and the unions are going to use this opportunity to bleed them dry with quid pro pro's. I don't think that it is happenstance that the unions have flexed their muscles with British Airways and the threatened strike, knowing that a good high profile strike and union resolution, without NuLab sticking an oar in, will look good and send the right messages to the leftie faithful, that normal service is about to be resumed.
Funding of political parties by taxpayers is a no-no, there is in fact enough already, with existing mechanisms. Let the parties find their own money. Let the party faithful dig deep. If there are caps then they apply to the unions as well. Union funding must be very tightly overseen, the membership must agree to donations. Do not forget the union leaders who sit in the Lords or who have titles, what reason was given there......services to subverting the economic well-being of the country and holding good non-unionsed people of the country to ransom and intimidation? and funding a political party?
Ware left.

[Valedictoryan]

State funding gives Labour a way out of this mess and their financial crisis. We should be shutting the door on it.

[Mark Wadsworth]

Well, here's this afternoon's example of New Labour's total and staggering incompetence in either deciding on a sensible policy or enforcing it

[Mark Wadsworth]

Nulab scandals are like buses, there'll be another one along in fifteen minutes.

[Tory T]

Sorry guys, posting from a Blackberry on the road and it didn't show up

[TomTom]

will the Tories commit to ending Brown's raid on pension funds?

I doubt it...The Treasury has found a new drug and it will keep needing a fix. Pensions are finished and will be raided on a regular basis.

[Michael McGowan]

I agree with you. I certainly do not regard my pension as safe in the hands of George Osborne. As for my children's pensions, God help them.