The Conservative Party sent out an update making things sound all under control and sunny. But they need money. (Don’t they all?)
A political party asking for donations isn’t remarkable, but in the case of the Conservative Party, this may actually be a bit of a problem.
Colin Craig had the party indebted to him to the tune of $315,500, and had the Debt of Deed signed by party officials without the knowledge of the full board. (Which board? I know, but that’s not relevant right now). The fact is, the Conservative Party is indebted to Mr Colin Craig.
And here are the conditions under which the Conservative Party was to pay back this debt:
There was a statement by Mr Craig during a press conference where he said he would be forgiving this debt to the party.
The current board should officially inquire into the status of this debt. Mr Colin Craig should be asked to deliver a written statement as to how much the debt was, the payments made and on what dates, and any residual amount on 17 October 2015. It should also show that the remainder, if any, was written off and no further funds are required to be paid by the Conservative Party to Mr Craig.
In the event the Debt is still active, and accruing interest at 8% per annum, the Board needs to know the outstanding amount still due. This is important, because any party donations made to the Conservative Party by members with the intention to rebuild the party will then not go to the Party at all but straight into Mr Craig’s pockets.
If that is the case, the membership should be clearly told what the outstanding amount is, and at which point the debt has been cleared so that further donations will actually go to the true operating expenses of the Party.
Whaleoil contacted the Conservative Party for comment but had not received a response by the deadline. An offer to furnish feedback was extended and this article will be updated if it is received.
The following was received from the Conservative Party around midday:
Thank you for your enquiry about the Conservative Party. When Colin Craig stepped down as the leader of the Conservative Party he stated his intent to forgive all outstanding loans or debts between himself and the Party. Now that a new Board is in place, this matter will be attended to in due course. The Conservative Party has complied with the Electoral Act and reported on all financial matters that require disclosure.
We will not be commenting further on this matter.
Kind regards,
Kevin Stitt
Party Secretary
As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.
They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.
He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.
Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.
To read Cam’s previous articles click on his name in blue.
