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…
skud's sister // Aug 31, 2008 at 1:57 pm
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 // Sep 2, 2008 at 9:02 pm
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 // Sep 4, 2008 at 1:43 pm
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 // Sep 4, 2008 at 9:36 pm
But it does sound as if they are all comfortably wealthy (or stinking rich…) at the very least.
Richard // Sep 4, 2008 at 9:43 pm
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 // Sep 5, 2008 at 1:48 am
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 // Sep 5, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I didn’t think prospective Labour MP’s could be so naive 😉
Skuds // Sep 5, 2008 at 7:22 pm
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 // Sep 5, 2008 at 8:43 pm
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.