Are Liberal Democrats laundering taxpayer money?

Chris Paul of Labour of Love fame is nothing if not tenacious. In fact, if George Galloway met him he would probably salute his indefatigability.

Just as the Liberal Democrats appeared to “get off lightly” during the 2005 election campaign, so they have emerged from the expenses scandal relatively unscathed. Labour of Love has had knives out for “shameless fiddler” Paul Rowen MP (pictured above) and others for some time.

In response to a comment by the Norfolk Blogger, Mr. Paul has today posted a six-point distillation of Liberal Democrat shenanigans, which at best are untransparent and at worse looks suspiciously like laundering taxpayer money through to fund political activity. You can read the full thing here.

1. Arguably contrived office tenancies, with often unregulated office and equipment shares, and in Rowen’s case an independent valuation apparently coming from a Board Member of his Lib Dem supporting/owned ultimate landlord;
2. Generally speaking undeclared tithes on elected councillors and MPs which are neither registered as donations nor trigger party accounts though clearly eligible for both types of transparency;
3. Advertising surgeries and the like on political leaflets, at silly prices, which is poor value for money and which looks like tax money paying for party politics;
4. All sorts of gimmicks around printing. Ridiculous apportionment of costs. And “Printing Societies” which are unincorporated and unaudited “black box” schemes appear to be endemic;
5. A prevalence of street fighting agent types not caseworkers, apparently paid for by tax pounds but appearing to do party politics not casework.
6. Mysterious standard payments to Party Offices for who knows what. From Tax pounds not from tithe on earnings.

It is rumoured the big-boy press may finally pick this up and run with it.

Just when they thought it was safe to return to parliament.