I occasionally have a look at our MP's register of interests which you can easily find (HERE). I notice Nigel Adams last year received sizeable sums of money in political donations from various people. I know he has had money in the past (HERE) from Drax and Eggborough for all expenses paid trips to the USA in pursuit of the bio-mass industry but recently he has taken money from others as well - and the timing seems very strange to me.
In July 2018 he received £15,800 from someone called David Blanquart, £10,200 from Calverts Carpets in Thirsk, £7,300 from Phoebe Tomlinson, £5,500 from Richard Hare and £10,250 from Ian Pattison. Searching on the Electoral Commission website (HERE), I don't see any of them donating money to the Conservative party, only to Nigel Adams directly.
Who are these people and why give Adams significant sums of money?
David Blanquart is the first mystery. If I Google his name, I find it's not at all common with nine people of that name on Linkedin. In fact there are just three or four because some are duplicated and only one has a connection with the UK (HERE), the others are French. I apologise unreservedly if I'm wrong on this, but I think Mr Blanquart is the deputy CEO of Exprimo Adria, a shrink-film company based in Croatia and a distributor of products from a US company called Dr Shrink. Before that he worked for BNP Paribas and then Newedge in London as Global head of Agency Sales Rates, Credit and Emerging Market. He seems to be the only David Blanquart who is a UK resident.
Oddly, if I search for 'images' of Blanquart (HERE) there is a picture of BoJo and Zak Goldsmith along with a comment, apparently from Mr Blanquart, connected with his LinkedIn activity: "When Leaders Show Contempt, They Destroy Their Own". I can't find anything else about a man for whom £15,800 is obviously not big money.
Very curious.
Next up is Phoebe Tomlinson. I think this is Phoebe Lucy Tomlinson, a member of a Limited Liability partnership called Brass Castle LLP of Isabell Road, Garforth, a modern business park area on the eastern outskirts of Leeds. This company says its principal activity in 2018 was as a 'provider of furnished holiday lets'. Ms Tomlinson gave £7,300 to Adams for something during that time.
Again it's hard to find details of Brass Castle although it has assets of almost £1.5 million, mostly in investment property. There is no website as far as I can see and the only reference is on this holiday rentals website (HERE) for a 'cottage' in the Harrogate dales called Brass Castle. I assume this is connected to Brass Castle LLP - but I may be wrong. If I am, again I apologise.
It looks rather swish with 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. But what is Ms Tomlinson doing donating to our Nigel, if indeed she is doing that?
There are a number of Richard Hares and Ian Pattisons on the Companies House website so it's hard to identify these people. Indeed they may not have companies at all and perhaps they're just wealthy individuals, who knows?
Calverts Carpets in Thirsk have given three donations to Nigel since 2016, two in cash and one of £13,000 described as auction prizes (they don't have raffles like that at The Wheatsheaf) amounting to £25,500. They are a company with a turnover of £11 million and a profit of £0.5 million a year so not unreasonable - but Thirsk? This is the constituency of another Tory MP, Kevin Hollinrake, so I'm not sure why Nigel gets £25K from Calverts while poor Mr Hollinrake gets nothing at all - from anyone it seems. What is Kevin's problem?
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Nigel Adams, or indeed anyone else, all the money is properly declared in his register. Donations have to be made public on the register within 28 days of being made and they all were.
But here's an odd coincidence, Nigel collected £49,050 over a ten day period starting 13th July 2018, four days after Boris Johnson resigned as Foreign Secretary. There was nothing for twelve months before and nothing since, just £49K in five donations within days of BoJo leaving Carlton Gardens.
What was it all for I wonder? Am I being cynical or did Nige' and BoJo think Mrs May was about to be toppled and begin fund raising for a leadership campaign?
Nigel is very close to Boris. The picture below, taken in Selby during the referendum campaign in 2016, perhaps gives a glimpse into their relationship. I'm not sure what Nigel's expression is telling us. He seems to be absent mindedly studying a pimple on BoJo's cheek.
No doubt Mr Adams hopes to get an important cabinet post if the Uxbridge idiot seizes the leadership as expected and doesn't trip himself up along the way. After all, when you are completely lacking in ability, what are coat tails for?
In researching this piece I came across an item about Nigel in The Daily Mirror (HERE). After sadly leaving Selby behind in 2010, Nigel quickly adjusted to life in London and in 2013 he actually came top in a list of MPs! This was for housing expense claims in 2013, according to The Mirror The paper called him 'shameless' for voting to keep the controversial bedroom tax while claiming £25,000 a year for his own accommodation.
When you've become accustomed to the high life a cabinet minister's job and salary looks like a fitting reward doesn't it?
Watch this space, assuming the Tory party doesn't resemble a fragmentation grenade in a few months.
Update:
I noticed this tweet this morning from the poltical editor of The Sun. Makes you think doesn't it?:
But here's an odd coincidence, Nigel collected £49,050 over a ten day period starting 13th July 2018, four days after Boris Johnson resigned as Foreign Secretary. There was nothing for twelve months before and nothing since, just £49K in five donations within days of BoJo leaving Carlton Gardens.
What was it all for I wonder? Am I being cynical or did Nige' and BoJo think Mrs May was about to be toppled and begin fund raising for a leadership campaign?
Nigel is very close to Boris. The picture below, taken in Selby during the referendum campaign in 2016, perhaps gives a glimpse into their relationship. I'm not sure what Nigel's expression is telling us. He seems to be absent mindedly studying a pimple on BoJo's cheek.
In researching this piece I came across an item about Nigel in The Daily Mirror (HERE). After sadly leaving Selby behind in 2010, Nigel quickly adjusted to life in London and in 2013 he actually came top in a list of MPs! This was for housing expense claims in 2013, according to The Mirror The paper called him 'shameless' for voting to keep the controversial bedroom tax while claiming £25,000 a year for his own accommodation.
When you've become accustomed to the high life a cabinet minister's job and salary looks like a fitting reward doesn't it?
Watch this space, assuming the Tory party doesn't resemble a fragmentation grenade in a few months.
Update:
I noticed this tweet this morning from the poltical editor of The Sun. Makes you think doesn't it?:
In fact we now know the company behind it is owned by Paul Staines aka Guido Fawkes.Interesting. A lot of money now being spent to promote this on social media/digital advertising. Very similar peer pressure whipped up on Tory MPs to vote down May’s Brexit deal, which worked. Same graphics too. Who’s paying for it?https://t.co/JQPnpUV4vO— Tom Newton Dunn (@tnewtondunn) May 27, 2019
