Thursday 2 February 2012

DANNY DANNY DANNY, OUT OUT OUT, AS THEY SAY IN INVERNESS, NAIRN, BADENOCH AND STRATHSPEY

What on earth was Danny Alexander thinking about when he agreed that the head of the Student Loan Company could avoid tax?


Indeed who did he think he was agreeing to this arrangement? Dave Santa Hartnell?


And when one member of the Cabinet (Pickles) is horrified that some people for example those running English councils are paid more than the prime minister (well, more excluding the country estate and desirable town residence, with generous expenses available to spend on both of them, of course. Not to mention a wide range of free transport from Queen's Flight to chauffeur driven cars, personal photographers, image consultants and staff for the wife), why is another member of the same Cabinet agreeing to a man who only has a little loan company to run, having a bigger salary than His Prime Sinisterness?


Ed Lester, for that is the bloke involved, managed to get himself a deal from Alexander that meant he could avoid around £40,000 a year by paying tax at 21% instead of up to 50%, and avoiding National Insurance altogether by being paid through his own private company. 


Isn't this a little embarrassing for a government that promised that as well as making life hell on earth for the poor in the UK, they would also be coming down hard on the tax avoiders and evaders?


This deal has now been rescinded and Lester is back in the land of the rest of us, paying tax and NI, but how many others are there getting away with diddling us on a government minister's say so? 


Needless to say, no one knows.


*******


I'm not sure that this can be true, but I just read it on Facebook. If it is, I would have to wonder if Mr McArthur is the full shilling, as my Granny would say:


SCOTTISH PARLIMENT MOTION
Date of Lodging: 02 February 2012
Short Title: Hands off Groundskeeper Willie
S4M-01921 Liam McArthur () (Scottish Liberaldemocrats): 



That the Parliament notes that it has been confirmed that Groundskeeper Willie of The Simpsons fame hails from Kirkwall, Orkney; understands that the revelation is made in an episode entitled The Daughter Also Rises, to be broadcast in America on 12 February 2012, where Willie confides in Bart that his father was a ‘doonie’ and his mother was an ‘uppie’, in reference to the two teams in the world-famous ‘Ba game’; understands how the tension created by this modern day version of Capulets and Montagues tore his family apart but welcomes the fact that the long-running debate over Willie’s heritage is now at an end, and calls on Glasgow City Council to renounce its claim to Orkney’s Groundskeeper Willie as a son of that fair city.

20 comments:

  1. Tris

    Do not forget "we are all in this together" well some of us are, but most of us! well.

    Dont worry Danny Boy is toast at the next election, put your money on him losing his deposit.

    Did you see the latest opinion poll in NNS on the Holyrood voting intentions, Labour at their lowest rating ever and would loose a further eight seats, including Gray and Lamont. Happy days.

    Bad news for teaching though.

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  2. Lovely to see Margaret Hodge, chairperson of the public affairs committee, working tirelessly to chase this story down and hold ministers to account.
    Apart from the fact that she was one of the chief troughers in the expenses scandal, including having PR advisers paid thousands to make her look good. All at taxpayers expense. Even the Unions said she was a disgrace to her party and the workers.
    Shit always floats to the top I suppose. Just look at Keith Vaz, Mandy. Balls etc.......

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  3. I never forget, Dubs, just how I'm right in it.... erm...together with Dave and Danny, Nick and Gideon... all suffering equally ...ish ...sorta ... erm a bit.

    That's good news on the poll.

    I imagine though that our Iain wouldn't go back to teaching... He'd be off to London like Dick Whittington, because the streets there are paved with gold... doncha know?

    Is that what Lamont does, or did for a living?

    BTW did you notice that Eck pronounces her name properly?

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  4. tris

    Just reveals the character(an old fashioned word that younger viewers may not recognise) of Danny Alexander.

    Danny is never ever ever coming back to Scotland after the next election which he loses.
    A job in the City Of London has been arranged and with his notion of morality he will slot right in.

    Failing that Butlins at Bognor beckons in his nice new redcoat like wot the English invaders wore.

    Wanger big fecking wanger

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  5. How many others are on this sort of deal. I suspect it is happening outside the public sector? Declare yourself self employed, ask to be paid gross - bob's your uncle?
    Questions must be asked???

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  6. Margaret is another one of the snout in the trough brigade, throbber.

    It's the odd one who is not!

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  7. You're right Niko. He's done here. Now that he has managed to climb to a position that he never, in his wildest dreams imagined he would ever hold, he can kiss goodbye to Inverness and all that boring stuff.

    He certainly won't be welcome back there by the looks of the reception he got on the strike day...

    Jeez Niko, have you no taste? These jackets would clash horribly with his hair. It looks like he'll just have to accept a job in the City.

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  8. Fourfolk:

    Yes, it's a handy wee wrinkle to get out of paying tax and NI.

    I think a lot of the BBC presenters do it, rather than be paid directly by the BBC.

    It would be interesting to know exactly but I think I read that that old dear with the blonde wig on Reporting Scotland Jackie Bird has a production company to which he fees are paid... The other old dear from Newsnight, Wark, close bosom friend of the retired first minister and spitter of hate at the SNP almost certainly does.

    How gratifying it was to see that she had to apologise to the current first minister for her unprofessional treatment of him on tv.

    Amateurs...

    But you're right, questions must be asked, although this will be seen as anti-business!

    It seems to me that unless you let people rob you blind you have created conditions that are anti business...

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  9. I've been trying to join NNS, but every time I fill in the form it tells me that I have the wrong captcha code... I don't. I've checked and every time it has been correct. Any suggestions...Dubs or CH?

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  10. tris..
    Good luck with NNS. I didn't last long lol
    You've probably got your cookies turned off or they already know about you.
    You haven't slagged off St Alex or the windmill scam have you ?

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  11. No Anon, I haven't.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tools - options - custom settings - select 3rd party cookies.
    or

    ask for a new code and try again

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  13. Tris

    Re NNS send an email to admin and they will sort it. Just a thought are you blocking "cookies" using noscript or something similar.

    Lamont was indeed a schoolteacher, she said at one of the hustings for the Kamikaze post AKA Labour branch manager (North British Branch) that facing AS at FMQ would be easy after facing a class of 15 year olds.

    Niko

    Great picture of you on the right in your nice blazer. Bet you sing a lot higher these days after your operation in May.

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  14. Thanks for advice guys... I'll let you know what happens.

    In further amazement at the Liberal Dumbocrats, I've just made an addition to teh text of the article... You're gonna love this one.

    Dubs: I can't believe the daft old bat actually said that. I mean, Eck's been reasonably kind to her so far, but even then he's wiped the floor with her.

    If she was even less able with a class of 15 year olds, then all I can say is that the Labour party's loss is the education systems gain.

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  15. PS... the one on the right was out of tune....

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  16. I see yesterday's promise to get rid of these deals has been U-turned upon even more quickly than normal.

    Even by this government's standards that's pretty amazing.

    How is it that these tax dodgers manage to get a contract that is watertight for them and does the government of the greatest union of countries ever to exist down should the fiddle be rumbled?

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  17. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/public-sector-chiefs-could-keep-tax-dodge-pay-deals.16658034

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  18. Tris

    Re Herald article.

    Always remember "we are all in this together"

    Makes you proud to be part of such a fair and equitable union does it not!

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  19. Tris

    Re Herald article.

    Always remember "we are all in this together"

    Makes you proud to be part of such a fair and equitable union does it not!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I see you're so proud, you said it twice Dubs...

    I know I'm in it together...are you...?

    ReplyDelete