Lord Ashcroft and his non-domicile status
The Labour Party is set to make great use of yesterday's revelation that Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative party deputy chairman, is a non-domicile in the UK which means he does not pay UK tax on his overseas earnings. This has been a bone of contention for many years although quite why it has been revealed in the run-up to the election is rather bizarre. Lord Mandelson has already called for a review of Lord Ashcroft's position in the House of Lords although this has been refused by the appointments commission.
This would appear to be the next stage in a class war being waged by the Labour Party against the Conservative party and its supporters. Never before have UK voters been so polarised as they are today, on the verge of the next general election. There is no suggestion that any rules, laws or regulations have been broken by Lord Ashcroft but in reality this is a crushing blow for the Conservative party and will support fears that they favour the rich of society.
At a time when the polls show a narrowing of the Conservative party lead over Labour, this argument over the non-domicile status Lord Ashcroft could not have come at a worse time.
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