Backfire

Jack Straw’s Constitutional Renewal Bill, due to be published tomorrow, appears already to have run into unforeseen difficulty.

The Bill will seek to prevent the funding of political parties by individuals who do not pay UK tax on all income from abroad – a measure nakedly aimed at the Conservative donor, Lord Ashcroft.

However, today’s Observer reports that two big Labour non-dom donors, Lord Swraj Paul and Sir Gulam Noon, have said that they will stop giving money to the party if the Bill goes through.  The steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal, who has given more than £1 million to Labour, has “declined to comment” as to what he will do.

A perplexed Noon mildly commented:

“It is very surprising the government is introducing a law like this at a time when they are in dire need of money to win an election.”

Well, quite.