Dinner with the PM for £100,000? Do they never learn?

[ladybirder]

The Conservative Party has denied it but .......?

http://www.itv.com/ne...selling-access-to-pm/

[bellazella]

Cough splutter, i think mrs overall might lol

[MarkRae]

They'd have to pay me at least ten times that to have dinner with the current PM.

[ladybirder]

Watching it reminded me of the Fergie video when she was selling access to Andrew. This is going to cause one helluva stink. I can't believe they have been so stupid. Sh*ts really gonna hit the fan tomorrow, they'll get slaughtered.

[shooty]

I'd rather have a mug of tea

[jno]

he's already quit, so that'll take some of the sting out of the story. It'll still be interesting to hear Cameron swear he never knew anything about it, though.

[Quizmonster]

Lord Ashcroft was a previous party treasurer, wasn't he? He, too, was involved in somewhat dubious financial arrangements, so I can't imagine why we would be too outraged now. Shenanigans of this sort seem to go with the post.

[ladybirder]

Well I suppose I shall just have to do with writing to my MP as I can't afford £100k-£250k for lunch.
As an aside, just watching David Milliband on the Andrew Marr Show, so much more likeable and presentable than his brother.

[DTCwordfan]

Given the current funding system of parties, any donor making any party over, say, £250k is likely to have access to the party seniors and leader. And yes I include the Labour Party in that viz. their benefactors and the access/undue influence of the major Union leaders...

The system needs to change to being supported out of tax revenue if undue representation is going to be reduced.

[anneasquith]

have just viewed the tape, and people wonder why we mistrust/have no respect for politicians !!

[EDDIE51]

This is the way politics work and ways will be.
It is only relatively recently that MPs have been paid. The old system was that you bought your seat in parliament and took as many bribes as you could get to do 'favors' , very little has changed.
In most countries it has not changed at all, you can still buy your way into most governments of the world.
One of the most obvious current examples being the old USSR or Russian Federation as it is now called.

[Philtaz]

Steve,
I'll help you with the re-loading..........

[Kromovaracun]

As Eddie points out, given that this kind of thing has long been a fundamental institution of politics, and given that David Cameron (like Blair) is almost the perfect caricature of the career politician, I find his protestations of being completely innocent about all this extremely unconvincing and not a little sickening. But then I doubt I'm the only one.

[EDDIE51]

kromovaracun exactly, what did Cameron think these 'diinner guests' were there for ? He is as you say a career politician , if he didn't know he is too stupid to be in charge of a market stall never mind a country.

[joggerjayne]

I would only pay that for dinner with ...

NOOO ... what am I saying ??

[DTCwordfan]

They all do it, Labour, Liberal, Tory........and it needs to be terminated - but are we tax payers willing to fund them out of our earnings?

[Sqad]

Too bl00dy right i would if i thought that the "dinner party" would guarantee an extra £100,000 + injected into my business.

[jno]

actually, I wouldn't bet that Cameron knew what was going on. Deniability is a key word for politicians: staff deliberately keep them in the dark about messy details so they can truthfully say, if push comes to shove, that they didn't know.

All Cameron will have needed to know about dinner guests is that they were wealthy Conservatives who gave money to the party. That's not improper in itself. In fact, I'd expect a Tory PM to dine with rich Tories. If he's held responsible for any of this it will be in his position as party boss rather than personal responsibility; the latter almost certainly will never be proved.

The issue here is more to do with the mercenary approach: not "The PM always likes to meet supporters" but "Give me a quarter of a million and I'll give you dinner with the PM". It gives the impression - as does the budget - that the government's intention is make the rich richer and ignore those who aren't. This is at odds with their claims that we're all in it together.

[rov1100]

If Cameron had audience with a few more wealthy individuals maybe the deficit could be quickly erased.

[modeller]

Oh they learn all right but can't help themselves it's in their genes. They are still fiddling and hiding their expenses.