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Stacks O’Money

August 30th, 2008 · Posted by Skuds in Life/Politics · 9 Comments · Life, Politics

According to Snowflake 5’s analysis of the wealth of the Tory shadow cabinet (19 out of 29 being millionaires) Francis Maude is worth £3 million.  It shows the scale of the challenge I have standing in Horsham because according to some rough calculations I have done that makes him worth about £3 million more than me…

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9 Comments so far ↓

  • skud's sister

    But surely the tories don’t buy votes?
    I can’t decide if I’m too naive or too cynical for politics – is it possible to be both at once?

  • Richard

    It makes me wonder what the combined fortunes of WSCC’s Deputy Lieutenants add up to (you know, the ones who pull Henry ‘Wannabee MP’ plonker regarding Pro-Huting and Anti-National Park) :

    Duke of Norfolk (Arundel Castle)
    Earl March – future Duke of Richmond (Goodwood House)
    Viscount Cowdray – Pearson (Cowdray Park & Parham House)
    Lord Leconfield (Petworth House) etc etc

    Methinks Francis Maude’s £3 million is loose change…and makes me feel…very poor – financially speaking.

  • Gordon Seekings

    Not all of West Sussex’s Deputy Lieutenants are Tory (or not when I last looked) as one of them is Lord Navnit Dholaki – the recent past President of the Lib Dems!

  • skud's sister

    But it does sound as if they are all comfortably wealthy (or stinking rich…) at the very least.

  • Richard

    Oh, come on Gordon, you can do better than that surely ?!

    Of course there are a couple of non-Tory’s like your Lord Dholakia & Margaret Collins, and Labour’s own Doug Mayne, but the vast majority of WSCC Deputy Lieutenants are die-hard Tory, crypto-Tory and Fellow-Travelling Tory.

    The Lord Lieutenants Office is a major ‘portal to power’ – probably Freemason-based – and its (undemocratic) influence should not be under-estimated.

  • Skuds

    Doug Mayne is the only Deputy Lefty I know and he would be surprised to be called comfortably wealthy.

    I don’t think the job is a portal to power, as Richard puts it. Most seem to do it as a hobby after a career rather than a as a stepping stone to anything else, and often at some personal expense.

  • Richard

    I didn’t think prospective Labour MP’s could be so naive 😉

  • Skuds

    I’ll take that as a compliment as I am making a conscious effort to be less cynical… I still think that Deputy Lefty is more a reward for past achievements (or favours) in much the same way as the honours system.

    And like most of the obscure honours it means nothing to anyone outside a little self-contained, inward-looking group.

    I don’t think it brings any power, except a little deference from some quarters. The post is a harmless anachronism, and there are bigger things to worry about.

  • Richard

    Indeed, Skuds, “there are bigger things to worry about” – but if there are future street riots in Broadfield because of house re-possessions, council tax hikes etc, just remember from where the call is made to call in the tanks and troops.