Well at least he should know how to pay the Fixed Penalty Notice – it won’t be his first one.

for what is Toryism, except organized spivery?

Sunak will be under huge pressure assuming the local elections go as badly as it looks.  The tories problems tho are many fold on this.  I don’t think he will resign easily.  He will need to be defenestrated like Johnson was

Its going to look even more chaotic to change PMs again

I very much doubt we will get another “coronation” like when Sunak was appointed.  I cannot see a candidate that could command the support of the paliamentary party to do this.  I’m sure Johnson will chuck his hat in the ring again

The infighting and backbiting will be spectacular and highly entertaining

The only candidates that have the ability are hated by the membership and some of the MPs

The membership will not elect a brown person unless given no choice  they want a hard right white person.  The country will not support any hard right person and Johnson is electorally toxic as well as hated by a large part of the party

Oh its going to be fun They really look like a terminal downward spiral now like the conservative party in Canada.  This could be the end of them

So the Beeb now have the Zahawi tax story, but it’s Sunaks seatbelt as main story.

Which makes you think…

The infighting and backbiting will be spectacular and highly entertaining

It would be utterly hillarious if it wasn’t for the fact they are knowingly destroying our country, and millions of peoples lives, some of whom haven’t even been born yet, in the process.

Tally ho!

I don’t nessesarily have an issue with MPs getting rich(er) and lining thier pockets, as long as they are doing a good job.. these seem to be hell bent on death and destruction.

Which makes you think…

Nadhim Zahawi – the whole story

15 January 2023. Everything changes. An absolute scoop from Ashley Armstrong in The Sun on Sunday. Zahawi paid millions in tax to settle a dispute. There’s a hilarious non-denial denial from Zahawi that he “never had to instruct any lawyers to deal with HMRC on his behalf”. Later that day, that line is dropped – he doesn’t deny the story, he just refuses to comment.

yes but the more time they spend on internal turmoil the less time they have to eff things up.  and it will be fun to watch especially as now looks possible they could be heading for a complete wipe out Canada style.

the more time they spend on internal turmoil the less time they have to eff things up.

True, but look at what we have become… there’s no accountability and we are hoping they are too busy fighting each other in order to minimise the damage they would otherwise wholeheartedly and proactivley reign upon us all.

I don’t nessesarily have an issue with MPs getting rich(er) and lining thier pockets, as long as they are doing a good job..

I do.  its corruption pure and simple and robs the rest of us of money as they act in the interests of their paymasters.  this lot have trousered many billions of public money

Yes, thinking about it, I agree 100%.. I just phrased it poorly. I guess what I was saying is that if you are excellent at your job then you should probably enjoy a reletivley good pay package. But that certainly does not apply to anyone on the front bench at the moment, far, far, far from it.

MPs get rich by being MPs.  The whole cesspit needs cleaning up from subsidised booze to generous expenses to second jobs to the bribes they take

Yeah, Mp’s should be banned from having any outside interests, if you can’t get by on 80K a year or whatever the pay is these days, well it speaks for itself.

Labour seem to have set Raynor after Zahawi.   Looks like they are going after him big time.  My bet he will have to resign in the end as he has been proved to have lied over his tax, been caught out and paid a penalty.  There will b plenty of folk looking for dirt on him now.  A nice attack line as well – the party that protects tax cheats

BBC had some further info on a crowdfunder company he’d set up offshore as well

And we still have the Raaaaaab bullying inquiry and the Johnson lying inquiry to come

This makes the end of the Major government look like nothing happened

Yet another scandal (re)surfaces

Not only Russians buying influence in the tory party but MI5 refusing to investigate

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/21/mi5-refused-to-investigate-russian-spys-links-to-tories-says-whistleblower

“Conservative Friends of Russia”

Can you imagine if there was a Labour Friends of Russia what the Tory press reaction would be? I find it surprisingly easy.

Still, according to the current Tory Foreign Secretary the reason the Russian oligarchy pumped so much money into his party is because they hated Jeremy Corbyn so much:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/russian-oligarchs-tories-cleverly-corbyn-b2022242.html

“Russian oligarchs who bankrolled Tories wanted to stop Jeremy Corbyn getting to power, minister claims”

Which is strange as according to the Tories and their press stooges they said the complete opposite when Corbyn was leader.

Yup, some Russian interests wanted the “get Brexit done”, “break up the EU”, “deregulate and ask no questions” Conservatives to win. Suited them for sure.

see he’s going with “it was just a few coppers I carelessly overlooked m’lud”

I don’t nessesarily have an issue with MPs getting rich(er) and lining thier pockets, as long as they are doing a good job.. these seem to be hell bent on death and destruction.

You know where this leads to don’t you?

Based on places I’ve worked, Coppers stopping you on the way to work and taking your cash as a ‘fine’. If it’s good enough for those at the top, it’s good enough for the rest of the ‘establishment’. And taxes become ‘optional’, oh…

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/15/nadhim-zahawi-to-pay-millions-in-tax-after-dispute-over-family-finances

#BananaRepublic

“Conservative Friends of Russia” predates any referendum, it’s based on a shared idealogy.

But it clearly was a device to pump money to the conservatives illegally by the Russian intelligence services and there are plenty of indications that this was used to bolser support for brexit.

Oh FFS we’re back to blaming everything on brexit! 🤣

Looks like HMRC has also made a ‘careless mistake’ in fining poor Nadim so heavily for his error.

Even more weird that HMRC charged a 30% penalty for a careless error, which their published guidance says would generate a much lower percentage. 30% means serious and deliberate.

— Doedma (@doedma) January 21, 2023

Honestly, every time the Tories drag out the sacking and claim that ‘the matter is closed’, it just gets worse for them with fresh revelations. You’d think they might be learning by now.

And he then says
“So that I could focus on my life as a public servant, I chose to settle the matter and pay what they said was due, which was the right thing to do,”
How self sacrificing of him. Choosing to settle in order to serve the country.

You’d think they might be learning by now.

There were questions being raised last year but he had gone for the minimal misleading responses (plus a few legal threats) changing each time some new facts came out and the story had petered out. So I assume he was hoping the same would happen again.
Its happened several other times as well. So its not a bad tactic as such (if you lack any semblance of honour and integrity). I think once its in the headlines, across multiple papers, for several days then its normally game over though.

(plus a few legal threats

I find these most telling. Legal threats towards journalists always make me assume the worst. And I have respect for those who ignore them and post anyway, when it comes to probity in politics and and government (less so when it’s the kiss and tell stuff).

Oh FFS we’re back to blaming everything on brexit! 🤣

Its the other way around.  One of the significant factors in Brexit was the amount of dirty money pumped into brexiteers by russia

The statement from  Zahawi.still containes provable lies

he has admitted some of it but there are still lies in it most notably he is proven to have benefited from the offshore trust

As someone who in the past had a limited company/ self employed I can honestly say a “careless error” in tax affairs is utter bull. It’s code for got caught on the fiddle.
But then it’s standard practice for the rich

Sunak should be paying the maximum amount of any fine, by the time has has paid it on his phone he will be made way more in interest for those 2 mins it would take.

Looks like HMRC has also made a ‘careless mistake’ in fining poor Nadim so heavily for his error.

Penalties go on a scale. 30% is the high end of careless, which suggests little cooperation from the customer.

His alternative would have been to run it to tribunal, which he decided not to.

pumped into brexiteers by russia

Just to repeat my point, not that it will make any difference mind, Russian oligarchy support for the Conservative Party predates any referendum, it’s based on a shared idealogy :

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/27/david-cameron-russian-oligarchs-donations-ed-miliband

And to remind you, David Cameron was a staunch Remainer.

yes – thats not the point.  The point is the russians pumped money into brexiteer parties and politicians in order to get brexit to destabilise the EU and the UK.  Of course it predates the referendum not much point in doing it after once they had got what they wanted

not much point in doing it after once they had got what they wanted

So why did they carry on doing it?

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/feb/23/oligarchs-funding-tories

Even after the start of the Ukraine War?

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/conservative-party-russia-donors-ukraine-invasion/

Because its useful to them to have a UK that is favorable to them.  Do you really think they pumped all that money in in return for nothing?

We put sanctions in late allowing the oligarchs to get their money out of the UK.  thats a decent return if nothing else.

Do you really think they pumped all that money in in return for nothing?

Eh, no, why would I think that?? Obviously the Russian oligarchy and the Conservative Party share much in common. Mostly based on money. A close relationship benefits them both.

Penalties go on a scale. 30% is the high end of careless, which suggests little cooperation from the customer.

His alternative would have been to run it to tribunal, which he decided not to.

I’d be interested in the timing of the toing-and-froing between HMRC and him over this investigation. Is there a possibility that he was being less than entirely cooperative with the tax authorities during the brief period that he was the man in charge of raising and distributing tax?

Also – FFS

EXCLUSIVE🚨w/@HarryYorke1

The BBC chairman helped arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800K for Boris Johnson weeks before then PM selected him for the role

Johnson was told to end Richard Sharp’s involvement in his financial affairs by Cab Office 1/7 https://t.co/H8Vk3pd0V4

— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) January 21, 2023

spivs is under selling it we are governed by “the Mob”

His alternative would have been to run it to tribunal, which he decided not to.

Only because he wanted to serve the country and going to tribunal would be a tad awkward given the job he had/was aiming for (not sure how it overlaps with his chancellor role).
Really we should be thanking him for his sacrifice.

Speaking of which I am thinking of a crowdfunder for his horses since he cant claim their heating on expenses now and after the fine money might be a bit tight.

I would agree with MCTD interpretation of the penalty, if being correctly reported as 30% then that is definitely at the heavier end of Careless behaviour. Which implies something less than fully cooperative and tardy in disclosing.
Remember, we are talking about a fine that is likely to be close to £1m and interest still being added up until the package has been paid.
Slimeball.

Just read this article too, if true this is horrifying and another total failure of the government
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/21/revealed-scores-of-child-asylum-seekers-kidnapped-from-home-office-hotel?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other