Tax evasion and lying about residence in elections are serious
So YOU'VE always updated informed the authorities to enable them to update the Electoral Roll the minute you've moved house? Don't lie, none of us do.
And "tax evasion", CGT is bloody complicated and worse case £1500 would've been taken from her Tax Code over the following year.
And for both these 'offences' she wasn't an MP, just an ordinary person.
Did we also miss your outrage at this, don't remember it at the time?
"Presumably if the evidence chain was really simple and clear there would have been a charge long before now – it’s not like this case has been sitting at the bottom of some overworked PC’s in tray."
There will be a mountain of electronic records. Imaging the devices, getting records from third parties under subpoena, dumping it into a platform, deduplicating it, agreeing search terms or setting the parameters of AI search, actually reading the stuff, understanding the stuff, presenting it to various managers and case handlers (of whatever title), presumably going through the whole process again with COPFS (idk if they're involved in charging decisions in Scotland)...it takes absolutely ****ing ages even when there's limitless money to spend and an infinite supply of drones. And being in the political realm it'll be more complicated that the normal story of Middle Manager Michael at Wernham Hogg plc faking invoices and inventing suppliers and buying personal goods on work orders.
It doesn't surprise me at all that this has taken 3 years so far.
"So YOU’VE always updated informed the authorities to enable them to update the Electoral Roll the minute you’ve moved house? Don’t lie, none of us do...Did we also miss your outrage at this, don’t remember it at the time?"
I'm surprised to hear you say you don't update your details on the electoral roll. I mean, apparently you seem to be organised enough to maintain a database on what every STW poster has said on every political topic in the last couple of years... 🤣
He wasn’t technically a politician
But he was married to the leader of the party while being in charge of the bank accounts. It stunk at the time and it stinks still further now.
And trying to tie Rayner's massive £2000 - £3000 potential tax avoidance to actual theft is just shouting "squirrel!"
My guess is it's centring around the campervan. Bought with party funds, kept at a private residence, have they been using it for personal holidays? I highly doubt they've been syphoning money off to their own banks but I'll be incredibly disappointed if they have as I had huge admiration for NS as a politician and first minister.
“the latest ‘arrest’ I reckon is for the local elections.”
What? The Scottish local elections in 2027?
I’m surprised to hear you say you don’t update your details on the electoral roll.
And neither do you until the form comes thru the door.
Well the campervan, as reported, was highly suspicious. Who knows what else they found when they started digging something of that scale is unlikely to be a one-off mistake - possibly there is a trail of other little whoopsies with accounting, we will find out in due course
I also respected NS, when she suddenly retired and wasn't honest about the reasons she sadly proved that she is no better than the current bunch of lying * we currently have running the country
My guess is it’s centring around the campervan. Bought with party funds, kept at a private residence, have they been using it for personal holidays? I highly doubt they’ve been syphoning money off to their own banks but I’ll be incredibly disappointed if they have as I had huge admiration for NS as a politician and first minister.
I don't get the feeling Sturgeon or her husband would go on holidays in a campervan, they'd have access to as many freebie first class trips as you could shake a stick at (same as any leader), so a week in a campervan sounds a bit depressing if your first minister 🤣
Personally, i just think it'll be a mix up at best, a la father ted, if the evidence is there, it'll more than likely end up with a fine and move on, the police bill however, well i'd love to hear how much that will be.
The campervan was "discovered" during the investigation. It wasn't the reason for the investigation.
What? The Scottish local elections in 2027?
This is on the national news. Getting people to think "they are all at it, and all as bad as each other" helps the Tories because they are definitely at it and thoroughly bad. Doubt it'll help much but I've seen the "They are all at it" line on social media quite a few times recently.
"Personally, i just think it’ll be a mix up at best, a la father ted, if the evidence is there, it’ll more than likely end up with a fine and move on,"
I would put money on it being jail time if there is a conviction. There is a precedent after all. A previous SNP MP got custody for having her fingers in the till.
The premise of the Father Ted joke is that Ted has been dishonest, that it's not an innocent mixup, and that his explanation is painfully unconvincing...
Its right and proper this is all investigated properly
The timeline laid out here does cause some concern. Almost £700k raised, yet only £97k in the bank and PM had to give the party a huge loan to help with cashflow. Something isn't adding up there
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65310664
It's all a bit of a mess.
Who would have thought it - politician and/or senior staff member involved in financial shenanigans.
I'm absolutely stunned by this revelation.
