Red-Faced Nigel’s Offshore Trust Fund

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James Gandolfini v Malcolm Tucker | Ben Brogan
“Sorry Man, I Confused You With an R&B Singer” | FT

FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2013

Red-Faced Nigel’s Offshore Trust Fund

Nigel Farage has admitted he set up an offshore Isle of Man trust fund in 2003 for tax reasons. His accountants tell the Mirror he made no money from it though:

“It was a mistake for three reasons. Firstly, I’m not rich enough to need one and I am never going to be. Secondly, frankly, the world has changed. Things that we thought were absolutely fair practice 10 years, 20 years ago, 30 years ago aren’t any more. Thirdly, it was a mistake because it cost me money. I sent a cheque off to set it up.”

Though you can hardly say UKIP are in favour of anything other than lower tax bills, it’s tricky given Farage criticised the Isle of Man in particular in the EU parliament recently. He’s feeling the heat this morning. Welcome to big boys’ club..
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THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2013

£50,000 Balls at Bust Co-op’s Gala Dinner Tonight
Sings for His Supper to Bust Bankers Labour Owes £3.6 Million

It looks like it is a busy day for Ed Balls, the man who aspires to be a chef, lunching today, according to EyeSpy.MP, with The Telegraph’s Deputy Editor Benedict Brogan at the Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Junior’s Roux at Parliament Square.We’re all in this together, eh?
Tonight Ed’s waistline takes another hit when he is the keynote speaker at the Co-operative Party Gala Dinner 2013 at the Hilton Victoria Hotel off Millbank. The evening will apparently “provide a unique opportunity to enjoy the company of some of the country’s leading co-operators and Co-operative Party members, supporters, workers, Councillors and Members of Parliament.”
The financial hub of this great co-operative movement is of course the Co-operative Bank, which was encouraged by the Labour government to take over the Britannia Building Society in 2009 because politically Labour wanted to expand the co-operative base. Ed Balls is a Co-op supported MP, his office gets bunged £50,000 a year from the Co-op. The Labour Party itself is literally in hock to the Co-operative Bank to the tune of £3.6 million on a low interest you scratch-my-back I’ll-scratch-yours terms deal. Tonight Ed Balls will sing for his supper as their after dinner speaker…
The Co-operative Bank is a financial disaster after the Labour government induced deal, the bank’s bonds have hit junk status, 7,000 end investors – typically pensioners – will be wiped out by the bond haircut that will be necessary to plug the black hole in the Co-op Bank’s finances. It smells bad.Ed Balls isn’t going to do himself any favours tonight if he is trying to rebuild his reputation for financial probity…
UPDATE: According to reports from the room tonight, Ed is still a keen Guido reader: