Ian Lavery...

[hampsteadclaret]

- oh oh...looks like trouble this one..

- just a brief mention from me, before the BootBoys arrive in force..

[ElectroClaret]

On Newsnight now.

Oh dear.

[hampsteadclaret]

Looks like £165,000 worth of trouble [if there is anything in the story]..[Newsnight]..

[LeadBelly]

All within the rules blah blah...... nothing illegal blah blah...... Tories plot blah blah..... stuff my snout in the trough blah blah.....

[ElectroClaret]

Once John Sweeney gets his teeth into something like this,
he's like a terrier with a rat.

[john'sroseyspecs]

Some animals are more equal than others?

[Funkydrummer]

Thin end of the wedge ?

Or is it wadge ?

[claretandy]

well, well, well, what do we have here, its the Labour way, do as i say, not as I do.

[Chobulous]

Got that @rse about face there I think

[Chobulous]

Received nearly £90k redundancy payments from the NUM when he was leaving to take up his seat in parliament. Got a loan from the NUM for about £72k to buy his house only for it to be written off 13 years later. Sells part of the equity of his house to the NUM and then buys it back at over £8k profit. All of that above board and totally legit - honest.

Of course it was.

[Ashingtonclaret46]

These allegations are just a small part of the alleged collusion between a current MP and the ex-MP who, to all intents and purposes, swapped jobs, even though one had to win an election to do so. Mind you, in this constituency, it would take something really drastic for a Labour candidate to be defeated.

[Chobulous]

So are you saying that the ex-MP has taken over the Lavery's old job in the NUM, the one he was made redundant from after he was elected to parliament or have I misread it?

[Ashingtonclaret46]

So are you saying that the ex-MP has taken over the Lavery's old job in the NUM, the one he was made redundant from after he was elected to parliament or have I misread it?

The inspector's report is shown below addressed to Mr D Murphy, who was previously the Labour MP for Wansbeck before Ian Lavery became MP.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... T-8-16.pdf

[Buxtonclaret]

Wonder how much they've given Dr Murphy as a mortgage loan...?

[Corky]

These allegations are just a small part of the alleged collusion between a current MP and the ex-MP who, to all intents and purposes, swapped jobs, even though one had to win an election to do so. Mind you, in this constituency, it would take something really drastic for a Labour candidate to be defeated.

I used to think that about Burnley; but it happened.

[evensteadiereddie]

Is what the bloke's done illegal or just a clever way of making money ?

[Chobulous]

It is totally outrageous. He is elected to parliament and instead of handing in notice he is made redundant with a payout of 90k. In the meantime the honourable member leaving parliament takes up the job that is supposed to redundant. All of this paid for from.the compensation payments paid out to miners who became sick or injured at work.

[evensteadiereddie]

"All of this paid for from.the compensation payments paid out to miners who became sick or injured at work."
True or your interpretation ?
Just asking because if there's nothing illegal about it, there's not a lot can be done, however "outrageous" this behaviour is and should be filed under "Tax Avoidance" and all the other legitimate dodges that take place.

[Sidney1st]

It's probably legal, but I suspect it's frowned upon and a clever way of making money.

[claretandy]

For the many, not the few.

[thatdberight]

It's probably legal, but I suspect it's frowned upon and a clever way of making money.

What's alleged almost certainly is illegal but time has elapsed so the trail has gone cold and the accounting and other records don't exist. One can only surmise that the publication of the detail (which is unusual as stated in the report) is meant to hint that it smells bad but nothing can be done. That many people in positions of power, regardless of which organisation, are in it to get as much out of it for themselves as they can, surely doesn't surprise anyone?

[Sidney1st]

It shouldn't surprise anyone.

[Rowls]

... if there's nothing illegal about it, there's not a lot can be done, however "outrageous" this behaviour is and should be filed under "Tax Avoidance" and all the other legitimate dodges that take place.

It's good not to conflate morality and legality because it's a slippery slope.

However, there are a few important differences to point out.

People who legally avoid paying tax are simply keeping their own money. This bloke isn't doing that - he is claiming donations for himself.

Nobody has a choice about tax laws - they apply to whoever they apply to. However we all have a choice whether we pay into political union funds. Therefore this is union members money which was voluntarily donated that he has taken. Not mandatory tax collection.

You won't see me getting uppity about this (despite the obvious moral dubiousness of it) because I haven't ever paid into a political union fund. However, if I were a member of trade union and had paid into the fund I would be fuming about it.