If the Deripaksa affair persuades the Tories that they need to vet everyone from whom a shadow cabinet member accepts hospitality and that the shadow cabinet should be kept as far away as possible from the soliciting of donations then some good will have come of it. The Observer reports today that the vetting process designed to stop David Cameron meeting people who could embarrass the party will now be extended to ‘other senior figures’ and that senior Tories are pressing for all donations to be left to Feldman.
But there are still other potential pitfalls the Tories need to deal with. First, and most pressingly, there is the issue of Lord Aschroft’s tax status. The party needs to be able to state clearly that their vice-chairman is domiciled in the UK for tax purposes. Otherwise, they are just waiting for this issue to blow up at the worst possible time for them.
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