GREAT BRITISH VALUES...AN OCCASIONAL SERIES

There a seemingly endless list of things we can't find the money for in the UK, many of them relating to the welfare of the poor, the sick and the old. But one thing we can always allow is that the super-rich can get away with whatever kind of crap they want to.

"His Grace" wouldn't miss £3.6 billion, but I guess there are people suffering for horribly illnesses who could, with that kind of money, be given treatment.

I suspect then, that one of the Great British Values, about which they never cease to go on, must be GREED. 

IT'S NOT MUCH, BUT IN FAIRNESS, IT'S A START...

According to reports in the Independent, Britain is entering into talks with three tax havens which could help raise £10 billion for the Treasury by 2015.

And George Osborne said that the UK was discussing tax arrangements with Switzerland which could mean that their government would help to tax British citizens' assets in the infamous Swiss bank accounts.

Switzerland may introduce a withholding tax on new deposits without giving up its banking secrecy laws.

Meanwhile an arrangement for banking transparency which was recently agreed with Liechtenstein may be out performing the £1 billion predicted in the Budget.

Now a further three unnamed tax havens are reported to be going into talks with Britain to discuss the same sort of arrangements. The Treasury anticipates that over £10 billion could be pulled back if the three new countries, get on board along with Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

So credit where it is due, this is a small move in the right direction. So well done for that Mr Osborne.

It is nothing like the vast amount of money which is fiddled every year one way and another by selfish greedy thieves, every bit as guilty as the benefit cheats we have heard so much about this week. So let’s be as patronizing about them as we were about the dole scroungers. We aren’t persecuting them, we’re just helping them to lead a more community oriented life... It’s for their own good. And if they don’t pay up then we’ll maybe have to insist on them doing community service along with the terminally lazy ... oh and the criminals we can’t afford to put in jail any more.

Needless to say when asked about it George, like a wee parrot, said: "We are all in this together."

Of course we are George, of course we are....

I’m sure he’ll learn some new slogans soon. This one has already bitten him on the butt.

Pics: The Princely Palace above Vaduz, and a glass of water with George Osborne