Have just seen a story on LabourHome about how the Tories received donations from investment managers Fidelty. Besides the revelation being old news this time it seems the same poor reasoning is being applied to other funds that Fidelty manages.
Apparently Fidelty look after, amongst other things, the pension funds for Bromley, Haringey, Norfolk, Ealing, Greenwich and Buckinghamshire County Council. This, according to the post on LabourHome means "profits from trade union LGPS pensioners are being used to subsidise the Conservative Party!"
No it doesn't. Making the link between the specific investments and the specific donations is just silly. Especially given that last time Fidelty came up it was because it invested in a company which subsequently invested in Sudan. When that happened the line was "Tories funded by unethical in Sudan". The reasoning was wrong that time and it's wrong this time.
Let's throws the argument on it's head for a second. Am I, by shopping in Sainsburys, subsidising the Labour Party? Of course not, and to suggest so would be utterly absurd, but that is essentially the argument being put forward about Fidelty and it's donations to the Conservative Party.
8 comments:
You are subsidising Labour when you shop at the co-op though!
That's just silly, sorry.
Does this mean you wont ever use the phrase "I don't want my tax money spent on X" because to link a specific persons tax payments to a specific piece of government spending is just silly?
Well no, because the phrase you just used is about "tax money" in general terms, not the "a specific persons tax payments", as you proceed to state. You've basically outlined too positions.
The first is to say "I don't think taxpayers moneies shoudl be spent on X" which is not an inaccurate statement. Whilst "I don;t want my taxes spent single mothers" would be just silly.
The former is general, the second is specific.
I actually had a Fidelity ISA until about three years ago and cashed it in when I discovered the donate to the Tory party.
Firstly, I did not want to contribute my pennies to the actual donatione - but neither did I want to contribute them to the profits or shareholders of a company that donated to the Tory Party.
I realise you contest the logic, but sometimes its about feelings
The question that must be put and answered given the seven day wonder that is Tony Lit is:
- Have the Lit family given or promised to give any funds to the Tories to secure the sunrise sun a place in the House of Commons?
The Lit family are extraordinarily wealthy and the son's rise to membership and candidature was an absolutely meteoric.
Are these things in any sense related?
I'm just asking.
Go and look at the electoral commission website
I might refuse to pay my staff: they'll only pay union fees and their union gives money to labour party...
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