Labour Party furious with refusal to investigate Lord Ashcroft
The Labour Party has reacted with fury to confirmation that the House of Lords will not be investigating Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft's position in the House. This comes after the revelation that he is a non-domicile which means that he pays tax on his UK earnings but does not pay UK tax on his overseas earnings.
Lord Mandelson in particular is furious about the refusal to investigate Lord Ashcroft and in particular a condition on his appointment to the House of Lords in 2000 which many believe should have led to him becoming domiciled in the UK. There is some confusion as to the exact wording of the pre-condition but the fact of the matter is he is a non-domicile at this point in time. It is also worth remembering that he has broken no laws, he has no tax issues with the government and his UK tax affairs are very much in order. After initially looking as though this could have been a significant problem for the Conservative party it has also been revealed that Labour and the Liberal Democrats have also accepted political donations in the past from UK non-domiciles. This story will surely die a death very soon?
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