Ashcroft vs Whelan

Alex

This supposed equivalence between Ashcroft and Whelan has been cooked up by the Tories because Ashcroft was causing embarrassment and the wanted a diversion.

The difference is that Whelan in his role with Unite has done nothing immoral, unethical or illegal, whereas Ashcroft has done things which fall into at least two of those categories.

As for Hague....

Boudicca

Whelen has done nothing immoral!

He was involved in the smear campaign planned by McBride. He was one of Brown's Forces of Hell unleashed against Darling - and various other Ministers in the past.

The Unions are granted £millions of taxpayers money by way of the 'modernisation fund.' They take that money and at the same time, hand vast sums over to the Labour Party. Unite has funded Labour to the tune of £11million. That, in any other walk of life would be considered money laundering. If the unions were handing it over to the Tories, Labour would be in uproar.

Ashcroft is spending his own money - not taxpayers - and so is Labour donor non-Dom Lord Paul.

Labour has had 13 years to ban all non-Doms from donating to Political Parties. They haven't - because they have benefitted massively from non-Dom donors.

Catesby

It is difficult to imagine two more unappealing characters than Michael Ashcroft and Charlie Whelan.

I've never met Lord Ashcroft, but everyone I know who has done (and whose opinions I trust) says he's a really nice bloke. Nice wife too, I gather.

I have met Charlie Whelan. (Enough said?)

Ben Wright

The donations scandals turn everyone off - who can we trust?

Our politicians need to show they are fit to be running our country!

It doesn’t matter whether it’s Whelan, Ashcroft, UNITE, or whoever – all the BigBad3 parties have been tainted by the donations scandals.

Caps on individual donations should be put in place immediately, and The Jury Team sets this at £50k.http://www.juryteam.org/p23-cap-donations.php

Then there will be no party claiming to take the moral high ground.

Maybe it's the election for Independents to shine through?

Hawkeye

"How is it possible to weigh up the relative awfulness of these two individuals?"

Ashcroft is not attempting to **** up my holiday plans. Nor is he plotting a takeover of the UK through his Labour proxies.

Liz Brown

but aren't the differences that where Ashcroft matched the money raised locally, Whelan uses money given by the taxpayer (Union Learning Fund or whatever weasel words are chosen) to support Liebour.
Ashcroft was instrumental in establishing Help for Heroes and Whelan is instrumental in the BA strike
That in my eyes makes a world of difference between the two

Tigas

When will it end? One party has a go at the other about their rich funder, and then they have a go back about unions funding and how that influences voting. Look the Tories have always had big donations from rich capitalists, and Labour has always got millions from the socialist unions. Nobody gives money for free!! Face it, they're all in on the act, buying influence and peerages etc. The only person you can entrust to Parliament who doesn't get stuck in the party system (eg. party whip voting etc) is an Independent MP. ie Someone who wants to support local interests on a national platform. Thanks @BenWright for leading me to www.juryteam.org .... I'm seriously looking at refreshing my vote this election. Cheers!

De Rigueur

But hang on a minute Mr Bright. There's a huge difference going on here that surely even you should be aware of:

Whelan/Unite are working for a supposedly elected government. Taking Taxpayers money and sending it straight back into the Labour Party. That's corruption on a monumental scale.

Ashcroft is working for and helping the Conservative Party using his own money. (Ok. Maybe some of that money should have been paid into the country's coffers in the form of tax)

The government - confusing what it's responsibilties are to the general public - with the responsibilties of the Labour Party to its members - is at the root of this stinking pile of ordure that is the Labour Party.

paulg

The difference is that Whelan in his role with Unite has done nothing immoral, unethical or illegal, whereas Ashcroft has done things which fall into at least two of those categories.
Well seeing that immoral and unethical are the same thing and, lord ashcroft has not done anything illegal, we can only assume that your post is a smear.