A business transaction
We must admit we’re quite jealous of National Collective’s media management. We told Ian Taylor’s lawyers to sod off over a week ago and nobody put US all over the news. But in amongst all the brouhaha around the site’s welcome return, one aspect of the coverage stood out rather startlingly.
After a week of stonewall silence, it seems the No camp has finally come up with its defence line (the Tories, Lib Dems and various tame columnists have also been faithfully parroting it all day): there’s no difference between Ian Taylor investing his doubtless-legally-obtained wealth in Harris Tweed and investing it in “Better Together”.
Except there rather obviously is, isn’t there?
Ian Taylor, we’d presume, invested in Harris Tweed to make a profit rather than out of the kindness of his heart. That is, after all, what successful businessmen do. But political donations are – theoretically at least – meant to be for the good of a cause, not a bank balance. When there’s a suspicion that donors have received financial benefit in return for giving money to politicians, there tends to be something of a stink raised, because nobody likes the idea of democracy being bought by the rich.
(And more often than not, the end result is the “donation” being returned.)
Ian Taylor’s own published explanation of the reasons for his contribution to the anti-independence campaign barely attempts to conceal his direct financial interest in the outcome of the referendum:
“We are a big company with lots of employees. It would be reckless of us to risk their livelihoods by gambling big stakes on what the future might hold.”
Mr Taylor has invested a significant sum of personal money into securing direct access to the UK government. He’s given over £500,000 to the Conservative Party in recent years, and is known to have been part of David Cameron’s “Leader’s Group”, whose £50,000 annual membership fee gets donors “invited to join David Cameron and other senior figures from the Conservative Party at dinners, post-PMQ lunches, drinks receptions, election result events and important campaign launches”.
(Downing Street revealed in March last year that at least one such dinner had had Mr Taylor on a small and select guest list – the Telegraph ironically reported it using the same “cash for access” tagline that the Tories had castigated Labour with over the Ecclestone affair – and subsequently noted Mr Taylor’s presence at another dinner with a government minister in attendance some time between October and December.)
By Mr Taylor’s own admission in the Herald, he doesn’t want to see the oil industry under the control of Alex Salmond:
“Scotland could be leaving the UK against a background of declining North Sea production, declining prices worldwide, increased costs to extract, and increased costs to the exchequer to encourage investment. This doesn’t sound like the oil boom Alex Salmond has been promising.
Companies seeking investment in oil have vested interests in talking up the long-term profitability but a small nation planning its finances based on oil should be more cautious. That is what the First Minister’s own Fiscal Commission recommended – but seems to have been buried by the necessity to make a political case.”
That’s a very understandable view, given that Mr Taylor has spent an awful lot of money gaining the Prime Minister’s ear and none on the First Minister. As a man whose business interests lie chiefly in oil, there’d be little benefit in having a hotline to David Cameron were 90% of the North Sea’s oilfields to be on Alex Salmond’s turf, and were Mr Taylor not to like the Scottish Government’s handling of them.
What we’re a little more surprised at is “Better Together” so openly and brazenly likening Mr Taylor’s “gift” to his for-profit investment in Harris Tweed. Suggesting someone is making a political donation for financial benefit is quite a serious allegation. We do hope he doesn’t decide to sue them.
A rather bitter article over at Better Nation:
http://www.betternation.org/2013/04/if-you-cant-take-the-heat-dont-post-defamatory-articles/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=if-you-cant-take-the-heat-dont-post-defamatory-articles
ROFL. I was just looking at the pathetic BBC website report on this and thinking the same thing.
Maybe Euan McColm also needs this explained to him after seeing his tweets today.
The truth is, any part of the unionist conspiracy will be happy to take money from pretty well anyone. They have no scruples just a desperate need to keep Scotland for their own gain. THEY WILL DO ANYTHING, forget ethics, certainly forget democracy, look on the Unionists Parties AND their MSM friends as bitter low lives, you will not be far away.
Marcia says:
18 April, 2013 at 8:25 pm
A rather bitter article over at Better Nation:
http://www.betternation.org/2013/04/if-you-cant-take-the-heat-dont-post-defamatory-articles/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=if-you-cant-take-the-heat-dont-post-defamatory-articles
I’ve popped over to tell them what I think. Meanwhile, he hideous Bailley could hardly wait to put herself in front of a TV camera, and on the wrong side of the argument and common decency.
Alternative post title ‘Something for Nothing?’ 🙂
Much has been made of the fact that Ian Taylor is not a resident of Scotland, although a resident of the United Kingdom.. But in all this excitement we seem to have overlooked Yes Scotland’s practice, in place since it was originally launched, of accepting donations of up to £500 from individuals who are not residents of the United Kingdom i.e. Yes Scotland is accepting foreign/overseas donations.
The donation made to Better Together by Ian Taylor falls within the terms of the Edinburgh Agreement and such donations from individuals resident in the United Kingdom will be lawful during the 16 week regulated period of the referendum. However, Yes Scotland’s practice of accepting foreign donations is (a) outside the terms of the Edinburgh Agreement and (b) will be unlawful during the 16 week regulated period of the referendum.
.It is imperative that Yes Scotland now acts with integrity and (1) take steps to end its practice of accepting foreign donations and (2) returns all foreign donations accepted to date by Yes Scotland.
Correct Les. They view Scotland as a possession, they can’t even really disguise their contempt for Scotland (even Scottish Unionist politicians). They make a big thing about supporting the Scottish national team at football and rugby, and yet hate the thought of Scotland running its own affairs. They seem unable or unwilling to even admit the consequences of their Unionism on Scottish aspirations. I see OBE is back.
Speaking to Euan McColm on twitter, where he claims he can’t tell the difference between an investment and a political donation.
Selective idiocy.
We all remember Mr Cruddas and his cash for access. Are we really surprised at the corruption and cronyism of Westminster and its connections to big business?
It didn’t end with him and it won’t end anytime in the near future.
Vote YES in 2014 and get rid of these self serving careerists and their partners.
@Richard Lucas
I’ve popped over to tell them what I think. Meanwhile, he hideous Bailley could hardly wait to put herself in front of a TV camera, and on the wrong side of the argument and common decency.
X100. Bailey had a stupid grin on her face. Does she know she is making a complete arse of herself with her self destruction act? Does she really think she is clever destroying her own reputation on national news?
Unionists are, by definition, supporters of a corrupt system. As individuals, they may have the noblest of reasons for supporting that system, but the system itself is far from noble. Many of those supporters will be – or hope to be – part of that system, knowing that it is corrupt. Some will be part of it because it is corrupt.
So, no, they won’t give the money back, because even more money depends on keeping it. Even if all those supporting BT for selfless reasons stopped donating in disgust, they’re small beer compared to the big business donations. If you are defending a corrupt system, you’re unlikely to take the high moral ground on the funding that you hope will save it.
John Macintyre OBE
What on earth are you talking about?
OBE?
Anyone ken what that is?
So,Mister Taylor is so concerned about Scotland making a big mistake in relying on oil/gas revenues in future that he has given £500,000 to the NO campaign to save us from Alex Salmond and friends.As someone with Scotland’s interest at heart,why didn’t he donate it to Scottish charities who are facing very hard times trying to mitigate the effects of Westminster policies on many people in our communities.I suppose that there would be no return on that particular investment.Tories don’t invest money without expecting a return.The question we should be asking is,what return?
But in all this excitement we seem to have overlooked Yes Scotland’s practice, in place since it was originally launched, of accepting donations of up to £500 from individuals who are not residents of the United Kingdom
I don’t know that it’s been overlooked, exactly. Any number of people have tried to draw some dubious equivalence between small donations under £500 and one donation of half a million pounds, usually in order to draw attention away from the half million and its sordid connections. And you’re wrong, of course, about foreign donations under £500. PPERA is quite clear that only donations over £500 have to be checked for permissibility. The same rules apply to both campaigns.
Hey Folks, Remember the Revs warning post http://wingsoverscotland.com/quarantine/#comment-386129 before you go dishing out foodstuffs to possible Norwegian mythological creatures 🙂
Tories don’t invest money without expecting a return.The question we should be asking is,what return?
I think we should also be asking how much he’ll spend, and who he’ll spend it on, if he doesn’t get the result he wants. 😉
@Wur A’ Doomed says:
18 April, 2013 at 8:58 pm
John Macintyre OBE
What on earth are you talking about?
Outer Brain Experience.
@scottish_skier
Other Bxxxxxx Efforts
It is definitely the fella from the Herald. He is trying to defend the indefensible again. The boy is a seriously good guy…
Marcia
I presume your comment (like mine) is awaiting moderation?
OT: Labour’s new website goes live, there’s an oxymoron section titled ‘2014 Truth Team’ here’s a link to it if you dare click link to scottishlabour.org.uk
I think a lot of folks eyes are being opened to just how rotten and corrupt the UK political system is.
Keep up the good work Rev.
scottish_skier says:
“OBE?
Anyone ken what that is?”
My faither used to refer to his coo as an OBE i.e. One Big Erse!
Here to help.
Good article Rev.
I think Willie Rennie summed it up perfectly:
‘Whatever’s good enough for the Tweed industry is good enough for Better Together’.
I can see that coming back to bite him on the backside
Labour’s new website goes live
Wow. They’ve gone ‘One Nation’ Tory too!
Whole red white and blue theme…big ‘Your Britain‘ union jackery button thingy.
Not a (proper) saltire in sight.
Well that’s the end of them then.
OBE?
Anyone ken what that is?
Aye, you speak pish for a couple of years on various new sites and then a Unionist chum comes along (red nose, big feet, a horn, that kind of thing) and says “you’re one of us, here have one of these”
I mean, only a clown would use a minor title on a political blog to big himself up, surely?
Apologies for repeating myself, yet again, but I think this quote from F. D. Roosevelt is particularly relevant to both Ian Taylor’s donation and Westminster.
The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, April 29, 1938. Message to congress.
OT: Oh my, is this lassie part of Labours ‘2014 Truth Team’?
I heard a bit about Scottish Labour, whatever that may be and their further powers proposal. How can they seriously suggest that a few more powers etc are good but total control over our country and her resources, tax revenues etc is bad? Of course they used the volatility of oil line again, not a backbone among them.
Does anyone know if there is an educator out there, ANYWHERE, who can take Baillie under their wing and EDUCATE her on the DIFFERENCE between a POLITICAL donation and a BUSINESS opportunity! Only some WAZZACK like Baillie could possibly find some incredulous link between a political donation and a business opportunity.
I just seen Tartanfever’s post. I think we’d better add Rennie to the class attended by Baillie. I’m sure we’ll be able to add MORE names to this class register in the coming days. Whatever happens we MUST ensure Lamont realises she is a STUDENT and NOT the teacher! 😆
Oldnat,
I did not comment on their article as I doubt they would publish it. That site has a reputaion of not posting comments if they disagree with them.
John Alexander MacIntyre. Team Leader, Waste Management Division, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.(Woking, Surrey) Now retired.
It seems to me the O.B.E. may have been given mistakenly. He wasn’t managing waste, he was taking it home to recycle as comment. 😀
Has anyone sought Cathy Jamieson’s view on this? She appears to be of the opinion that political donations are a form of capital enterprise.
“People will rightly ask what is next on Mr Souter’s shopping list – and then wait for the First Minister to deliver.”
link to dailyrecord.co.uk
Marcia
Thanks. I won’t wait for an answer then, since I just raised a straightforward question about why Aidan confused “free speech” with money.
Labour’s new website goes live
Only had a wee squint so far.
That has to be the most desperate action taking so far by Labour.
THE TRUTH TEAM, that is worth a read. ‘that’s why Scottish Labour recognizes its responsibility to be honest in everything we say and do’.
As has been said here many times, you couldn’t make this stuff up.
Am effen gobsmacked. 🙂
After a YES vote in 2014, will it be John McIntyre O__?
Just posted the following on the “Truth Team” website.
“Truth Team”? Would that be the same “Truth Team” that promised an end to “Boom and Bust”? The same “Truth Team” that took us to war on the premise that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and that we could all be blown up in 45 minutes? The same “Truth Team” that insists we need weapons of mass detruction on the Clyde? The same “Truth Team” whose Prime Minister’s (Blair and Brown) helped to plan Thatcher’s £10 million funeral? The same “Truth Team” that was led by Gordon Brown when he spent £100,000 on a picture of Maggie to hing in the loaby of No.10? The same “Truth Team” that ‘teams’ up with the Tories to keep Scotland tied to Westminster? Oh that “Truth Team”? Aye Right!
Marcia
The clue is in the author – diehard unionist labourite. Article is biologist, of course.
Something that concerns me is this:
‘Is the first minister equally suggesting that Mr Taylor should disinvest from Harris tweed?”
… Well, why shouldn’t that be the case? Putting aside the obvious difference between political donations and business investments, surely the fact that Harris Tweed has been funded in this way is a rather black mark in and of itself? Companies have been destroyed for lesser scandals than this.
Glad to see National Collective have now righted their earlier unfortunate omission, and have now inserted a reference and a link to Wings over Scotland in their post.
This was pointed out to them by a couple of posters in the comments thread and it’s nice to see them acknowledge their oversight, and give the Rev the hat-tip he thoroughly deserves. Good on you, NC.
This whole business can only be a good thing in the long run – attracting more and more curious readers to the pro-indy blogs, opening their eyes to a whole new perspective, linking from one to the next, widening their knowledge and understanding.
Hilarious to see the MSM outlets now congratulating themselves on “revealing” this story though – it’s more than a week old!
I am sensing that they are sensing that they are going to have to start upping their game….
That Labour website is a shocker.
That Truth Team looks pretty sinister, you can’t see their faces as they’ve all get their backs to the camera. I wonder what they could be running away from?
And to let us know how much they hate Scotland and want it airbrushed out of history, they give their address as:
290 Bath Street, Glasgow
G2 4RE
United Kingdom
Do you think someone should tell the lassie in the video that we’re not buying her ‘Putting Scotland First’ mince.
Bitter, bitter, horrible lot.
it’s been noted above that Mr Taylor made an ‘investment’ in HTH and one may wonder if he’s making a similar ‘investment’ in BT. There may be far more to come out on Mr T’s investments as, so far, commentary has in the main been around Vitol, but not on the dealings of it’s many and varied associated companies, or on the other 16 or so directorships held in the UK including dormant companies, or on the many and varied non Vitol related directorships and share holdings held overseas (e.g. Sarparea Resort and Spa, an Italian resort company so exclusive you need a password to view it’s website). I haven’t even done any research at all yet on Shell pre 1985.
Unfortunately I do not have the time, or resource to carry out the extensive research I’d like to but, if there are any investigative journalists out there, I suspect there’s some low hanging fruit.
“There are so many unanswered questions and the people of Scotland deserve to know the truth”
John MacIntyre
What the hell are you on about? What impact would returning overseas donations have on the Yes campaign funding? What percentage of funding fell into this category – less than 1%? We know where the vast majority of the funding came from and it was Scotland. We know where the vast majority of funding for the Nae Sayers came from and it was from Tories living in England. 50% of it came from a Tory that the Labour Party had already laid into for funding the Conservative Party.
The issue is not that he lives in England – so does Sansom – but that there are question marks surrounding Vitol’s trading. There is also the sweet irony that the only people they can get to fund them are Tories that don’t live here. How gloriously ironic is that? I sincerely hope they keep the donation. It is a gift worth twice its monetary value to the Yes Campaign for so many reasons and all your pointless squirrels are utterly irrelevant
@creag an tuirc
I SMELL SHITE
It says labour and mentioned the SNP more times than Labour. Oh dear indeedy
Ahh the truth team ? Is big Jackie on it? Will there be room for anyone else? Who gets the job of running to greigs for the buns at lunchtime? Does Jackie not tell porkies? Will it last a month before all of us here discover the first big whopper?
So many questions and no answers.
RevStu said:
We must admit we’re quite jealous of National Collective’s media management. We told Ian Taylor’s lawyers to sod off over a week ago and nobody put US all over the news.
Yeah, well, that wouldn’t have worked for you. You’re way too obviously a tough cookie whose bluff would have been called if you’d tried it. I just don’t see the waves of sympathy for “a group of artists and writers” coming the way of an off-air WoS.
I wondered right at the start if it was a carefully-calculated dive. I still don’t know. Any lawyer would have told their client to pull the stuff under the circumstances and the only reason you weren’t told that is that you didn’t ask a lawyer. So the whole “poor little defenceless creative people” thing could be entirely genuine.
Doesn’t matter. It was devastatingly effective. “Oh noes, NC has been pulled!” got a lot of attention, meanwhile WoS was in full “read all about it!” mode. Couldn’t have worked better if you’d co-ordinated it. Well played.
Lamutt on Scotland tonight 10.30.
Please give her at least one difficult question at least, pleeeeease………
Rev Stu,
You are quite right – you have invoked Arkel – v – Pressdam and you are a hero to me.
The lads and lassies from National Collective deserve our affection for being perhaps less aware of the precedents, and yet still getting back into publication in a non submissive manner.
I think they have been well advised and I take it that the threats to both you and them are now in the past.
I do wonder how web naive Ian Taylor is.
He has, perhaps, done more damage to his reputation than anyone else?
I do hope the Truth Team 2014 have cleared their name with the Obama campaign.
Copyright infringement can be messy. 🙂
I came across Sarparea Resort the other day. I’m sure some oik will hack that site one day to see how the elite holiday.
When you start looking it’s quite a web of interests IT and Vitol have. Site I looked had 32 subsidiaries but didn’t have them all. Wonder what Knightsbridge Realty do. Buy up land for oil development?
link to corporationwiki.com
I wonder where this great British company pays all its taxes?
Lamont on Scotland Tonight.
What a car crash. Keep it up!
Well that was a waste of time on Scotland tonight, let her off the hook, but Lamutt still managed to come across as an incoherent shambles.
@The Man in the Jar
I have no idea what she was talking about, the questioner was struggling not to laugh
The OBE character will not last long on Wings if he uses the same pointless Trolling posts that he infests the Herald with.
The rules are simple and consistently applied, he will be given ample opportunity to engage in debate, failure to do this and he will be banned.
Simples !
Was she just out of the shower, or is that a new hairdoo?
She canny stop the finger waging even on the telly.
The woman is a joke. Long may she last.
Interesting that Mr Taylor consulted an English legal firm and not a Scottish one.
Is this because he was unaware of the separate Scottish legal system or does he wish a UK legal system, or had he calculated that if he were to be successful in a court action he would stand to Win substantially higher damages inEngland?
It shows a complete disregard for the Scottish legal system , and those in the BT campaign including Scots lawyers like Darling and Goldie must be challenged on this
@The Man in the Jar
John Smeaton came across better when he started a political party and he said nothing to some questions 🙂
LeeMacD – maybe some interests in the Hebrides 🙂
You’re right though Lee, this is a pretty tangled web, and no doubt, there will be many of these companies with carried forward losses, ‘R&D’ costs, convoluted transfer pricing arrangements… Where, and how much tax?
“there are so many unanswered questions and the people of Scotland deserve to know”.
p.s. just seen Lamont, FFS, she couldnae lead a blind coo oot tae hae a shite.
I think this is the real meaning of OBE= overbearing british eegit
I widnae let Lamont run a bath never mind a country.
@DMW42 “p.s. just seen Lamont, FFS, she couldnae lead a blind coo oot tae hae a shite.”
🙂 🙂
Castle Rock says:
18 April, 2013 at 10:02 pm
That Labour website is a shocker.
I wonder what they could be running away from?
Mmmmmmmm THE REAL HONEST TRUTH, or a lynch mob
“The Truth Team”?
How 1984 and just a tad creepy.
Last time OBE came here, he was mercilessly mocked for the moniker and someone posted about forty different possible meanings of the initials, all of them scathing. And posters started adding both real and invented goings to their own names, in ridicule.
He went away, and now he’s back again, and he still hasn’t removed the bombastic postnomial. I’ve heard of being a glutton for punishment, but this is ridiculous.
O/T Sarwar has just been torn to shreds by Brewer on newsnicht. 🙂
Anyone who has not seen Newsnight Scotland tonight MUST watch it on iPlayer when it is available. Priceless.
Double whammy for Scottish Labour, Anus Sarwar also a rambling shambles v Brewer.
Looks like their proposals are going to implode before the weekend is out.
So is that it then?
Better Together and the whole anti-Scotland, anti-Scottish independence case funded by “dirty money” – quote via British Labour MP John Mann.
Every word they publish is funded by ‘dirty money’ ?
Anas / anus…. Really difficult to tell. You’ve just got to watch it. Don’t drink or eat anything though, it’ll take you ages to clean up, you could choke as well.
Damn, I didn’t watch. Thought it would be the usual obsequious fawning. And I still haven’t packed to go to Germany tomorrow……
Brewer seemed to be enjoying himself.
Lamont, Sarwar, Truth Team and a good day at work.
Definitely time for a large celebratory Fiddich. 🙂
Anas- never has someone talked so much and said so little.
There is another way of looking at this: it’s quite possible that Unionists like Taylor do not view Harris Tweed as a sound investment, but as a philanthropic exercise, a charity case.
A variant on too wee, too poor, too stupid.
Rubbish, I know: however, I suspect certain Unionist business types are quite capable of thinking this way.
OT
Just seen the Newsnicht preview of tomorrow’s papers…
Aw shite, Ed Milliband is gonny attack us, what are we gonny dae now?
(panic mode smiley)
what are we gonny dae now?
Same thing we do every night, Pinkie. Try to take over Scotland!
“Same thing we do every night, Pinkie. Try to take over Scotland”
You may have just restored my spirits there.
What Ed (these strikes are wrong) Milliband?
Shirley not?
Sarwar’s performance tonight was eerily reminiscent of that infamous Miliband one.
Funny how, at the same time Cameron got his arse kicked by Merkel, Miliband got a broken wrist.
Just sayin.
DMW42
That is a horrible image to take to bed with me…I think I might have to watch a Shakira video on you tube
Shakira *sigh*
Rev, can you tweet Peter Curran, and politely ask if he is going to put that interview up on his You Tube site? It need to be saved for posterity.
The chap (didn’t get his name) that was talking about the book of information on Yes / No to Indy said that devolving TAX to Scotland, would make the Barnett Formula redundant. Got to get a copy of that for quotes.
Handanshrimp, you’re right and I’ve requested Stu to remove. It really was too much.
Re. Anus. I know I’ve posted this before, but no one seemed to get it. Or possibly it’s just not funny. It is the poor creature’s real name though and I think it works on lots of levels. Even 1984’s Duckspeak.
link to en.wikipedia.org
Just to echo others – Watched both Lamont (Scotland Tonight) and Sarwar (Newsnicht). Lamont “and I will tell you this…..” must be taking advice from Rab C, refused to answer a straight question on anything. Sarwar totally shambolic, Brewer in destruction mode, one of the worst interviews by a ‘senior’ politician I have ever witnessed. His old man must have been cringing.
@Marcia
Peter A Bell has questioned why Better Nation (or to be precise Aidan) thinks National Collective defamed Ian Taylor in the comments section. I’m presuming Aidan also thinks Wings defamed Mr Taylor?
I thought it was the courts who decided if a person has been defamed and not Aidan Skinner?
I’m assuming Aidan Skinner is a member of the Labour Party.
What was Sarwar talking about? What interview with Miliband do you mean Rev Stu?
Sorry, that was an actual typo. I just didn’t notice in time.
@muttley
I think the Rev. meant this one:
link to youtube.com
Hi folks, I was given a tip off of potential Vitol involvement in the fracking applications currently passing Falkirk and Stirling councils four days ago. While Taylor has no direct interest in Dart Energy, but his best pal and fellow Vitol Coal president, Bob Finch, and Vitol Dubai boss, Christopher Bake, do.
Finch and Bake are nominated dirctors of GEL/GPEL the company that ‘owned’ Grenpark Energy. GEL/GPEL is co owned by a Venture Capital company (via a series of shell companies) based in Paternoster Square, London and Grace Greenbank is based in the British Virgin Islands. Finch and Cabe only hold director status in GEL/GPEL and not and of the Kingswood shell companies so it is most likely their share of GEL/GPEL is held via the Grace Greenpark shell.
According to Dart Energy in return for GEL/GPEL selling them Greenpark Energy, GEL/GPEL received a cash payment (Aus$ 6 million) and 16% of Dart Energy’s share value. Because of British Virgin Island’s lax fiscal control it is impossible to discover if there are any links from Grace Greenpark to Vitol. One can surmise there probbaly are but there is no objective proof of any link.
Vitol are now facing complaints (and possible legal action) from a Canadian North Sea Oil and Gas company, in which Vitol have a 16% holding, of trying to artificially drive down their share price to make the Vitol bid to take over, look better to other share holders than it is.
Offical data indicates that Vitol only made a 0.8% profit on a turnover of £300 billion last fiscal year. The markets were expecting nearer 1.4% to 1.7% which had been the norm over the previous five years so another bad trading year, 2012-13, could leave Vitol forced to sell off some of its subsiduaries or at risk of buy out of some of their lucrative businesses. (Reuters Business news)
Taylor’s donation may well be to help to ease any planning difficulties in the two Labour/Tory Councils and help his friends Finch and Cabe make a profit out of their share holding in Dart Energy which may help, in turn, improve Vitol’s market performance between now and 2016 as on independence the licenses for fracking will have to be renegotiated with the intended Scottish Energy Board. As far as I am aware the SNP line is we do not need ‘fracking’ in Scotland. No wonder Taylor is jumpy at the idea of a ‘Yes’ vote in 2014 and a big chunk of Dart Energy’s UK CBM field holdings being potentially shut down in 2016 or shortly after.
Dart Energy need to get fracking in Central Scotland and expand their Solway field quickly if they are going to get their money back and make any sort of profit – if Scotland votes ‘yes in 2014. Dart are currently negotiating a CBM supply contract with SSE for gas generation use from the Airth expansion and a separate deal to sell the Solway output directly into the UK main gas grid. Solway is currently shut down from further extraction or developement while SEPA undertake investigations into methane gas escapes and water table contamination from around the current bore holes.
We all have a pretty good idea of what is going down, Taylor even has the arrogance to tell us it is going down, we now need to find the weak link that proves what is going down.
CBM = Coal Bed Methane.
@ MJM
Thanks for posting that info – I hadn’t done any research on this part of Ian Taylors relationship with these companies. The oil and Gas industry is one where its who you know that matters which often makes it hard to prove links.
Vitol do seem to operate in a forceful, dirty and underhand manner. The Sterling connection has some interesting text in this regard that goes beyond what you might expect to see in a similar trade else where.
Mad Jock – it just gets murkier and murkier – boy, oh boy, have No backed a loser here! Carry-on Darling!
eh
Oh no John MacIntyre BOE deserted the Scotsman?
Mad Jock, thanks for this, curiouser and curiouser.
‘Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.’
Cracking piece of work Mad Jock.
So we’re guessing that some of BTs backers aren’t really in this on point of principle then? 😉
@Jiggsboro
“Same thing we do every night, Pinkie. Try to take over Scotland!”
Naaaarf – Boit!
I nominate Jiggs for best post of last night. 😀
Article in the herald re 600hrs of childcare, nicely negatively spun.
I knew who the author was even before I clicked on it
I hope all those who thought the other week that they would give the herald another chance, will cease to fund this character and the paper he works for.
If I was macWhirter and Bell, I would be very very angry that my job was being risked by this Labour plant.
I see OBE Wan Kenobe from woking has turned up
must concerned he might lose his weekend retreat in Scotland where he hosts other similarly ennobled worthys (courtesy of his tory masters)
angry he is
“I think this is the real meaning of OBE= overbearing british eegit”
whIt aboot Obsequious Big Erse?
All we need is the madman from the West Midlands and we have a full arse.
john Mcintyre Obvious.Bullshit Espouser says
“.It is imperative that Yes Scotland now acts with integrity and (1) take steps to end its practice of accepting foreign donations and (2) returns all foreign donations accepted to date by Yes Scotland.”
I just read an article on newsnet about Nixon and his tactic of lying about his opposition and relates to the ends justifying the means,
now I’ve got to admit a little peak here as I posted (as I have done on many occasions a response to have it (as yet anyway ) ignored
my point was if the better together campain tactic is to just lie about the yes campaign, (citing anus sarwars accusation that Alex Salmond is a dictator)
among other such palpable untruths,
then it beholds us to fight fire with fire,
but the arguments we may wish to employ actually have a basis in truth
such as if we vote note the retaliation from London may be to engineer the decline of Scotland(as if they’re not already doing that anyway) and we may wish to cite the precedent when the dead sheep Geoffrey Howe suggested the financial support of Liverpool after the Toxteth riots would be like “making water run uphill” and he envisaged a “managed decline” of that wonderful city,
we may wish to point out that after an apocalyptic no vote the Westminster cabal may wish to (surreptitiously) remove powers from Holyrood and emasculate it to the point where it would be impossible to mount another future campaign for independence (its now or never)
use a similar marketing campaign to the tories in 1979 (saatchi and saatchi) labours not working campaign, and reverse the completely facile argument the Labour party have put out since the to suggest the SNP were responsible for the fact that they put the tories in power replacing a labour party who were at the time on life support, and all the SNP did was to pull the plug and put them out of everyone’s misery a few months before the same outcome would have been achieved anyway,
its time the gloves came off
Lamont being shredded on GMS right now
Gary Robertson Nails Lamont on GMS. Astonishing BBC!!!!! Yeeeha
Just llistened to it. Gaun yirsel Gary!
@ heraldnomore… Made for an entertaining start for the day
looking at BBC scotland right now, not seeing what your seeing? where is it?
‘Kenny Campbell says:
All we need is the madman from the West Midlands and we have a full arse.’
I think we need young Anas to comment for physiological completeness.
penny drops, its on radio ? sorry guys
A must listen on Iplayer is Johann’s lamentable interview on GMS Radio Scotland at 8.15 am.
Couldn’t answer whether Ed Miliband approves of the “more powers” proposal … obviously not discussed with her boss.
Claims never heard of John Mann’s comments about Ian Taylor’s “dirty money” but relies on “house flibber” Alistair Darling’s “probity” ;n accepting donation.
No due diligence done just like Aliostair Darling’s regulatory approval of RBS takeover of AMRO which ruined the “Scottish Bank”.
@heraldnomore-
Just heard that, but missed the name of the interviewer, always get them mixed up.
Who was it? Shades of Paxman/Howard…’were you aware?’ what, four, five times?
Good stuff. Well done GMS.
I think we need young Anas to comment for physiological completeness.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
I understand the Labour Party, North British Branch, conference kicks off today? Does coverage on the BBC not seem rather thin?
Will the Rev provide some commentary on what I’m sure will be a bustling event, with halls overflowing with delegates?
Maybe a caption competition?
Graham Stuart wasn’t it? Definitely not Gary Robertson
ssshhhh
whats that sound?
its ok panic over,
its just Eleanor Bradford having a hissy fit at Gary Robertson in the staff room at Atlantic quay
Not sure if anyone’s already posted this – apologies if a repeat, but well worth a read.
link to newsnetscotland.com
O/T slightlly. My tip to keep calm. If you read the herald on-line use the search facility and “gardham” as key, you then get that person’s input and a two line synopsis of each. You have three options…. do no more, read the comments(no need to register for that), or read all.
Oh dear. Self censorship is a terrible thing.
ps, three items today.
pps. No more purchases for me till he goes.
O/T but relevant to ianbrotherhood’s post.
Ask ourselves why the scottish labour conference is to be held in it’s heartland …Inverness.
Please use this link from google search
link to scottishlabour.org.uk
enjoy
The interviewer on GMS was David Millar. And credit where it’s due, he did something no other Scottish journalist has done to Lamont – ask of her some very basic questions, and press her on answers. The ineptitude of her responses is staggering, even by her stnadards. Well done David Millar, and Rev, a must transcribe for your site!
Of course, this means two things. Lamont to be put back in her box by her handlers for fear of more gaffes. And an end to the BBC career of David Millar.
Miliband in Hootsman on about Salmond’s “cosy relationship with Murdoch”.
Someone should remind him that after Miliband became Labour leader he was pictured holding up a copy of the Sun saying people would read about Labour’s policies first by reading the Sun.
After Levenson enquiry revealed News International phone hacking, Ed Miliband, Ed Balls and David and Samantha Cameron drank Moet & Chandon champagne and ate oysters at News International Summer Party. And other senior members of the Labour party MPs Douglas Alexander and Tessa Jowell attended a private party hosted by Rupert Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth and her husband Matthew Freud .
Apparently the GMS interviewer was David Miller.
Wheres ‘flipper” Darling and why is he not being asked any questions!!
Wow – heard David Millar’s interview with Johann Lamont this morning. And saw Gordon Brewer’s interview with Anas Sarwar last night. What’s going on at the BBC? Looks like someone’s finally grown a pair and decided to do what they’re supposed to. And what impressed me, over and above the fact they were prepared to discuss the dodgy donation, was that David Millar was in no way rude, just kept asking the question till he got an answer and refused to be deflected onto snp-bashing. Quite impressive.
just watched (for the third time catriona shearer on bbc scotland savouring and rolling around her mouth a pie made by Ed Miliband containing such delicious ingredients as
a policy to give us all a new settlement to heal Britain’s economic and social divisions,such as the one provided by Margaret Thatcher in the eighties (remember how tasty that was?)
wait a minute wasn’t his party in power in the 90’s and didn’t they preside over a widening of those social divisions to the point where Britain is the most unequal country in Europe? )
a few nuts in it such a how Alex Salmond’s policy of independence is divisive and remote from the social concerns of the Scottish people
so there you have it how to bake the perfect Ed Miliband pie, just turn the facts in their heads and start with the baked pie then unbake it and take out the ingredients and put them back where they came from
keep talking ED (the talking horse) your a great boost to the yes campaign
Just watched Mr Sarwar on iPlayer.
Sterling job, Anas.
I’ll catch up with his leader later.
PS Robert Kerr
Page not found.
OBE? ORDER OF THE BRITISH ERSES
back to reality though I hope that idiotic comment straght from Milibands lips is the final nail in Labours coffin in scotland, the more I think about what he said the angrier I get , to quote
“we need to heal Britain’s economic and social divisions with a new poilitical settlement such as the one Margaret Thatcher came up with in the eighties”
NO LIE! you couldn’t make it up
Nice link Robert….. SLAB oviously not expecting many delegates if they’re not prepared to promote their own conference on their own web site!
And another thing…..just because Taylor has invested in the Harris Tweed Industry doesn’t mean he has a clean background. It’s his background that’s the issue, not how he invests as a businessman.
The question is, should Better Together accept his money to fund their campaign? The Labour Party’s attempt to compare the Better Together donation with a private enterprise in the Western Isles beautifully illustrates the contempt the Labour Party in Scotland has for the intelligence of the electorate.
It’s no wonder to me that they are calling for more devolution of power to local councils – because that is the level of their political ability. Beyond that, they are clearly out of their depth. When I watch the procedures of the Scottish Parliament, I expect to see Parliamentarians. When I look at the opposition, all I see and hear is local councillors. They really have to do better.
Why do I want Scotland to be independent?
in a sentence I want it because:
I AM ASHAMED TO BE BRITISH
Labours “Truth team” on their “new” Labour website does seem like the protest too much. Do political parties really have to inform the electorate that they have a “truth team” smacks of desperation and downright inadequacies within their ranks.
“It’s no wonder to me that they are calling for more devolution of power to local councils – because that is the level of their political ability. Beyond that, they are clearly out of their depth. When I watch the procedures of the Scottish Parliament, I expect to see Parliamentarians. When I look at the opposition, all I see and hear is local councillors. They really have to do better.”
bit harsh on local councillors there jeannie
Just read about the Scottish journalist awards – the herald picked up a few mostly their business and entertainment writers and Magnus wasn’t on the list (big surprise) Campbell Gunn from the Sunday Post got a lifetime achievement award.
“Labours “Truth team” on their “new” Labour website does seem like the protest too much. Do political parties really have to inform the electorate that they have a “truth team” smacks of desperation and downright inadequacies within their ranks.”
and when you get a fight between the truth team and the lies team you get
truthiness
Not a good day for Lamont, sarwar, and Baillie yesterday.
First strategy was to shift from “as a mother” to “when I was a schoolteacher” -exclusivity there as Alex Salmon was neither of these. Clever eh? But in the end she received her usual buffing about the ears. Then onto Scotland tonight and Rona, a person with a pleasant personality, just couldn’t get a coherent answer from Lamont.Te only part of the interview I can recall is Lamont’s fingers and left hand!
Then over to Anas Sarwar’s interview with Brewer. It just looked as if Sarwar having swotted up for the French exam mistakenly went to the room for the Latin exam, a subject he clearly hasn’t studied. Was he confused? I’d say!
Baillie played to her strengths in the interview at Holyrood. She avoided the truth.
OBE
Old Buggered Exhausted.
It’s a reflection of how bad our media is that when someone does their job properly when engaging with ‘Scottish’ Labour it feels like an epiphany.
But if you’re reading this, David Millar – well done again. I am no fan of BBC Scotland but today you were a credit to your profession. And you showed the likes of Glen Campbell and Catriona Renton up for exactly what they are.
It may be a false dawn but there does seem to be a bit more balance about the BBC of late.
To my embarrassment OBE claims to be from my home town of Dunfermline although as you all know he lives in Woking, Surrey. I’ve read his comments in the Herald for some time now (a habit that may have outlived it’s value)! As a youngster I always believed, because I was told, that honours were awarded to people of value to the community and were honourable people. Through many years of experience and travel I have learned that the system is as corrupt as the colonial mind-set (colonizing the mind also applies) which awards them. Mr MacIntyre, some months ago, in a thread in the Herald regarding votes for 16/17 year olds in Scotland, made a comment to the effect that he did not want 16 and 17 year old “numpties in Kelty and Cowdenbeath” voting. The fact that he lives outwith Scotland totally passed him by, as did his manners. Now of course his beloved Westminster is considering extending the vote to people of that age – this is of no consequence to OBE and his like. Ignore him – his ignorance is only outstripped by his arrogance!
Is that 2014 Truth Team video from the Northern Britain Labour club, an example of what dissembling is? Or was it a swarm of squirrels? Perhaps a gang of them?
Overtly Beneficial Ennoblement
I wouldn’t have thought it was possible for a BBC interview with SLab to be amusing. Shades of Paxman…
DM: What’s his view? (Ed the talking horse’s view)
JL: What I’m saying to you is…
Loop
DM: Have you asked him?
DM: So you don’t know his view?
Apparently the egregious Lamont is concerned about people closing down the debate! It’s hard to think of any more aggressive way of closing down the debate than hiring libel lawyers to censor the press.
creag an tuirc , thanks for that ,I hadn’t read it before and agree entirely with the sentiment.
I would add that there are churnalists that I consider trolls and would request that folk refrain from commenting on their articles – notably in the Telegraph, snigger by all means but please don’t comment despite a huge temptation to refute the drivel contained ,stay shtum and leave it to those minor trolls below the line.
And absolutely no thanks to the person who stuck that labour PPB up which I innocently visited – enough to turn my stomach.
Jeez Anas. Lame duck in the cross-hairs, or what?
link to en.wikipedia.org (yep, again)
John King quoted Miliband saying;
“we need to heal Britain’s economic and social divisions with a new poilitical settlement such as the one Margaret Thatcher came up with in the eighties”
DO you have a source for that quote John? I’d like to use it.
“Do you have a source for that quote John? I’d like to use it.”
Nearest I can get so far is this:
link to bbc.co.uk
“You know the similarities between what was happening in the 1980s and what is happening today under a Conservative-led government. Back in the 1970s, it was clear the country needed a new way of doing things – a new settlement – and so too today”
link to telegraph.co.uk
““we need to heal Britain’s economic and social divisions with a new poilitical settlement such as the one Margaret Thatcher came up with in the eighties”
DO you have a source for that quote John? I’d like to use it.”
He said it on the podium at inverness reported verbatim on the scottish news this
morning, straight from the mans mouth
Davie Park says:
you wouldn’t live in Nairn by any chance davie? I think we might know each other