Paul – re the overseas travel exemption – as long as the travel, accomodation and subsistence is in connection with the donees political activities while overseas then it qualifies for the exemption – I suspect that there is little mileage in saying that the style of travel/accomodation was over lavish – unless Lion Air were in the habit of leaving nice gifts on the plane.

Firstly, there are parlimentary rules in respect of advocacy – and not voting/speaking when MPs are financially conflicted more than certain amounts. I’m not sure about the details – but there is certainly a limit on how much trade unions can provide to the individual MPs (either directly or through their constituencies) – not sure why the same shouldn’t apply

Secondly, during the one year period prior to General/European elections there are national campaign expenditure limits (and these include amounts spent by accounting units/constituency associations in promoting the party or attacking another party – so all the Tory spending on posters in constitiencies etc should count to the limit) – and my guess is that an awful lot of expenditure is incorrectly being included from the reported totals by the Tories. It was pretty clear that the Tories were outspending Labour at the last General Election – yet they reported about the same national campaign expenditure.

The problem is I find it difficult to understand why someone like Ashcroft would not ensure that the costs are declared properly considering how much he is loved by Labour.

I think it is probably as you state ‘One cannot, however, rule out the possibility that MPs have been specifically advised to cite the costs of scheduled commercial travel in lieu of the actual costs of these flights and this is one area that the Electoral Commission should investigate given the size of the discrepancies in reporting involved.’.

Clearly the rules have to be redrawn and discussed before implementation.

Have to go: three flying pigs just landed in my backyard and are knocking the teeth out of the chickens.

Good luck on the hunt.

STB.

True… but then where are the recorded donations to the Conservative Party that relate to travel provided to staff accompanying MPs on these flights?

In certain cases, its clear that the notional cost of scheduled flights for bag carriers travelling with Shadow Ministers have been incorporated into donations booked against individual MPs – one such flight is recorded in the parliamentary register of MPs’ staff interests and the elevated cost of Cameron’s trip to the Sudan (£16,000) compared to similar trips taken by Hague and Ancram, which were booked in at £5,400, can best be accounted for in terms of Cameron having taken a larger entourage.

Of course,that still leaves the notional value of the trip coming up a long way short of the cost price.

I would also imagine that Ashcroft would be supplying at wholesale rather than retail.

STB.