Labour’s candidate for Sefton Central, Bill Esterson has called on the Conservatives to hand back the money they have had from Lord Ashcroft. Bill has written to the Conservative candidate Debi Jones to ask her if she will comply now that Ashcroft has finally admitted he does not pay the bulk of his tax in this country.
“Instead of paying tens of millions of pounds in tax – money that could have helped pay for schools and hospitals – Lord Ashcroft has chosen to spend the money on David Cameron’s campaign.
That money could have rebuilt or refurbished every secondary school in Sefton Central or paid for a new hospital wing at Aintree, Fazakerley, Ormskirk or Southport hospitals. The money could have paid for a bobby on the beat in every neighbourhood in Sefton.
Sefton Central Conservatives have spent tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds trying to buy the election. Much of that money has come from Lord Ashcroft. Sefton Central voters have a right to know how much money Ashcroft has given the Tories here and whether they will now pay the money back. It is a disgrace that a man who does not pay tax in this country, and who is a member of the House of Lords, is trying to decide who runs the country because he has more money than anyone else. Is this really the way that elections should be decided in Britain? Is it really right that the man with the most money is the one who chooses the Prime Minister and the government?
The slogan of the American War of Independence was ‘No Taxation without Representation’. I think the people of Sefton Central have every right to say no representation without taxation.
Instead of paying fair taxes, like everyone else has to in Sefton Central, Lord Ashcroft has been channelling millions into the Conservative Party to help them buy this election. So next time people in Sefton Central see glossy Conservative leaflets or letters, they have a right to feel these expensive Tory campaigns have come at the cost of a new school or a new hospital wing in Merseyside.
I have three very simple questions for the Conservatives in Sefton Central in relation to Lord Ashcroft: Was David Cameron right to conceal the truth about Lord Ashcroft’s status? Will they pay back any money they got from him directly or indirectly? And will they rule out any future donations from him or his companies?
I can’t rely on the millions of Lord Ashcroft’s money. But I can promise you that I will fight this election on the issues that matter. I won’t allow my fight for a fair future for people in Maghull, Aintree, Lydiate, Melling, Crosby and Formby to be bought off by a billionaire from Belize.
This is precisely what you’d expect from the old Tory party of the ‘80s and ‘90s. It just goes to show that rather than having really changed his party, David Cameron has kept it as it was. David Cameron has said he has changed his party. Lord Ashcroft has shown us how little they’ve changed.”
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Candidate: Bill Esterson
Seat: Sefton Central
Currently held by: Labour
Majority: 5542 (notional)
Candidate website: www.billesterson.org.uk/