Labour MP's union payouts
20-10-2017, 11:19
|
#1
|
Inactive
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Right here!
Posts: 22,316
|
Labour MP's union payouts
Quote:
MP Ian Lavery received £165,000 from the 10-member trade union he ran.
We have learned this from the trade union regulator which has now released a report into Mr Lavery's actions as general secretary of the NUM Northumberland Area.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41688280
Quote:
The regulator found that that the Northumberland Provident and Benevolent fund had lent Mr Lavery £72,500 to buy a house in 1994. 13 years on, the union Mr Lavery was then running forgave the loan to Mr Lavery. So he was £72,500 the richer.
But there's more. He'd been paying into an endowment fund to pay back the capital cost of the house. It had underperformed, but it still paid out £18,000. The regulator found Mr Lavery kept that too.
And that's not all.
The regulator found that in 2005, Mr Lavery sold a 15% stake in his house to the Union for £36,000. In 2013 the house was worth less, so he bought it back from the union for £27,500 - a notional profit of £8,500.
And then there's Mr Lavery's "termination payments", totalling £89,887.83. However, that total is a matter of some dispute between him and the union.
The regulator says that neither Mr Lavery nor the union could provide documentary evidence of the process or the decision by which Mr Lavery was made redundant - or why, given he was leaving for a job as an MP, he needed any redundancy payments at all.
Adding £89,887 he received for his undocumented redundancy package to the £72,500 for the forgiven house loan to the £18,000 he was gifted from his endowment, that totals £180,387.
But, then, it seems Mr Lavery and his old union fell out. The union recently realised it had overpaid Mr Lavery's redundancy by £30,600. The regulator's report shows that the union asked for it back. Mr Lavery disputed £10,600 of it - and said he'd only give them £15,000. When the regulator asked the union why they settled for this, they simply replied that they were mindful of Mr Lavery disputing it and the potential legal costs:
"Mr. Lavery was adamant that £15,000 was his final offer, we were left with little choice but to accept."
So our running total of dosh from the union to its one-time general secretary is reduced by £15,000 to £165,387. That's a bob or two in anyone's language.
|
For the many not the few eh?
|
|
|
20-10-2017, 11:48
|
#2
|
Still alive and fighting
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: In the land of beyond and beyond.
Services: XL BB, 3 360 boxes , XL TV.
Posts: 56,338
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
Indeed no different then some politicians from the other political parties sadly...
__________________
“The only lesson you can learn from history is that it repeats itself”
|
|
|
20-10-2017, 12:16
|
#3
|
Inactive
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Right here!
Posts: 22,316
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
Quote:
Originally Posted by denphone
Indeed no different then some politicians from the other political parties sadly...
|
Except that they don't claim to be what they're not.
|
|
|
20-10-2017, 21:07
|
#4
|
Dr Pepper Addict
Cable Forum Team
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Nottingham
Age: 61
Services: Flextel SIP : Sky Mobile : Sky Q TV : VM BB (1000 Mbps) : Aquiss FTTP (900 Mbps)
Posts: 27,838
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
How did a 10 man union have so much money in the firstplace
__________________
Baby, I was born this way.
|
|
|
21-10-2017, 03:54
|
#5
|
Sad Doig Fan!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Barry South Wales
Age: 68
Services: With VM for BB 250Mb service.(Deal)
Posts: 11,670
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul M
How did a 10 man union have so much money in the firstplace
|
Because membership was higher in the past and the present 10 man section of a coalfield within the NUM still have access and legal rights to the funds raised historically.
At it's height the NUM (founded in 1945) active membership was approx 300.000 (figures of 950.000 membership in the 1920's refer to the MFGB), in 1981 when "king Arthur" became the leader membership was about 170.000. Currently active membership is less than 100 and shrinking year on year.
As the NUM is still in existence it's huge funds are still managed by the national and regional executives.
Some things worthy of note:
Harold Wilson's Labour government closed hundreds of pits putting thousands of miners out of work with hardly a murmur from the NUM.
Margaret Thatcher's Government proposed the closure of just 20 unprofitable pits and privatisation of the rest. NUM leaders refused to nationally ballot members on strike action but "king Arthur" declared a national strike in March 1984.
The NUM opposed membership of the European Economic Community, beginning with a unanimous conference vote in 1971.
In 2011 the Derbyshire branch had just one member who was not a paid official.
NUM's Derbyshire branch has (as of 2012) just four members, three of whom are paid officials.
|
|
|
21-10-2017, 09:50
|
#6
|
Remoaner
Cable Forum Team
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 32,259
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
Conscienceless git. Not even sure how this can be legal.
|
|
|
21-10-2017, 18:19
|
#7
|
Inactive
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire
Age: 45
Posts: 13,996
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
Conscienceless git. Not even sure how this can be legal.
|
Our laws around financing of politicians, campaigns, etc, are worthless right now, and the Electoral Commission have absolutely zero testicular fortitude in investigating and enforcing using what powers they do have.
|
|
|
21-10-2017, 19:16
|
#8
|
Still alive and fighting
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: In the land of beyond and beyond.
Services: XL BB, 3 360 boxes , XL TV.
Posts: 56,338
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ignitionnet
Our laws around financing of politicians, campaigns, etc, are worthless right now, and the Electoral Commission have absolutely zero testicular fortitude in investigating and enforcing using what powers they do have.
|
Indeed these commissions are a utter waste of time as they seem to have no teeth at all.
__________________
“The only lesson you can learn from history is that it repeats itself”
|
|
|
21-10-2017, 19:26
|
#9
|
Woke and proud !
Join Date: Jun 2004
Services: TV, Phone, BB, a wife
Posts: 9,164
|
Re: Labour MP's union payouts
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ignitionnet
Our laws around financing of politicians, campaigns, etc, are worthless right now, and the Electoral Commission have absolutely zero testicular fortitude in investigating and enforcing using what powers they do have.
|
Quite.
The MP for Thanet South isn't going to court till 2018, 3 years after the alleged crime. In the meantime he's been able to stand for re-election There are many other Tories that should be in the dock with him, if the laws on electoral fraud were a bit stronger/properly enforced.
Suspect he'll get off on the grounds of diminished responsibility (and being a toff).
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 14:28.
|