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Cameron and Clegg at odds over Ashcroft appointment

Nick Clegg objected to the return of the man he denounced as “the Baron of Belize”.

By George Eaton Published 24 May 2011 16:56

With the help of his old friend William Hague, Lord Ashcroft is to return to politics, acting as a lead adviser to the government on its review of the UK's military bases in Cyprus. It's nearly a year since Ashcroft gave up his non-dom tax status in order to keep his seat in the House of Lords, but we can still expect this appointment to raise a few eyebrows.

How does Nick Clegg feel about the return of the man he once denounced as the "Baron of Belize"? The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg tweets that the Deputy PM made his objections to the appointment clear but Cameron went ahead anyway. A Lib Dem source tells her that "you can't go the wall on every issue".

Expect Labour to use this apparent division at the top of the government to its advantage. I'd be surprised if Ed Miliband doesn't make at least one Ashcroft-related gag at PMQs tomorrow.

UPDATE: As a commenter points out below, parliament is now in recess for Whitsun, so there will be no PMQs tomorrow. The House returns on 7 June.

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Tags: Lord Ashcroft

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7 comments

Tue, 2011-05-24 17:04 — Lou (not verified)

'A Lib Dem source tells her that "you can't go the wall on every issue"'.

Have they been to the wall on any issue yet?

Tue, 2011-05-24 17:20 — Lou (not verified)

Shouldn't this role go to someone independent? Both Lords Ashcroft and Mercer are Tory boys and are anything but independent politically.

Aren't these politically partisan appointments about concurring with the need to keep cutting defence spending as part of the strategic defence review of this Govt?

Tue, 2011-05-24 17:18 — Tom King (not verified)

I'll be interested to see Ed Miliband at PMQs tomorrow, given Parliament is in recess. I'm sure he'll be just as effective as ever.

Tue, 2011-05-24 19:24 — Mike S (not verified)

'A Lib Dem source tells her that "you can't go the wall on every issue"'.

Sounds like La Grender to me.....

Tue, 2011-05-24 21:12 — hugh markey (not verified)

He who pays the piper calls the tune. No, not the Eton Boating Song and Carmen Etonense is in Latin!
What about 'Rule Britannia'?

Non-com

Tue, 2011-05-24 23:16 — John Cole (not verified)

@Lou
My thoughts exactly. The fact is that they've exerted little or no influence on the Tories. From a Liberal standpoint, I'd have thought that by this time 'The National Interest' was most definitely NOT being served. To borrow from Mario Puzzo, they should not be going to the wall, but to the matresses! They certainly have a war on their hands convincing people of their bona fides after this.
I still can't get my head around the fact that I almost voted for the Lib Dems as a radical alternative to Labour's increasingly right leanings.
The older I get, the dafter the world becomes.

Tue, 2011-05-24 23:28 — Lou (not verified)

It could have been worse John Cole, you might have actually voted for them - but you didn't, that's got to be some comfort on a personal level as bad as it is!