Lord
Ashcroft has been a pivotal figure in the financing of David Cameron’s
revived Tory party. Without his money and his clever strategy in
targeting marginal seats, the party would be nowhere.
…if the Tories win
the next general election, he(Michael Ashcroft) will want Tory policies
that benefit international business and they will be in a weak position
to deny what he wants.
~ David Hencke – Guardian’s Westminster correspondent
Although
the United Kingdom has what is considered a multi-party political
system, the so-called first-past-the-post or winner-take-all electoral
system has allowed for the dominance of two major political parties. Though
both has at some point required the help of a third party to deliver a
working majority in Parliament, since as far back as 1920, political
power in the UK has been in the hands of either the Labour or the
Conservative Party. The Conservative Party or Tories as they are
called, has maintained control of government for about two-thirds of
that time but has been in opposition since losing the 1997 elections to
Tony Blair’s Labour Party. Current indicators suggest
that another change is in the making however, and the Conservatives are
poised to once again take control of Britain’s parliament. Recent
results show the Labour Party falling far behind in the polls and
barring some miraculous turnabout, come next spring, England will once
again be flying the dark blue colors of the Conservative Party. Should these polls and predictions prove correct, then this would no doubt have major implications for us here in Belize. What
makes Britain’s coming elections so significant to Belize is the
treatment that we have given to one man in particular; a man who
incidentally, holds dual citizenship to both countries.
Sir Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron of Chichester in the County of West Sussex was vested as a Knight Commander, Order of St. Michael and St. George (K.C.M.G.) in the year 2000. For
two years prior to that, 1998 to 2000, Ashcroft held the office of
Belize’s Ambassador to the United Nations. More significantly, from
1998 to 2001, Sir Ashcroft held the post of Senior Party Treasurer to
this self same Conservative Party which is set to assume governance of
one of the world’s most powerful countries. The truth of
the matter is that the name Michael Ashcroft is practically synonymous
with the Conservative Party and he remains a prominent player therein. With
David Cameron occupying #10 Downing Street, Sir Ashcroft would no doubt
be wielding significant influence and would be in a position to help or
hurt whomever he pleases. Michael Ashcroft, for his part, is not an easy man to predict. He has often been described as rather enigmatic, prompting one British journalist to write, “Or
is part of the Tory deputy chairman’s delight in being a man of mystery
- like his own admission that he loves his nickname of Ernst Stavro
Blofeld – the specter villain in James Bond novels. He even has a toy
white Persian cat which he enjoys stroking.”
Michael Ashcroft has made it known publicly that he has a profound love for Belize. He stated in a recent interview, “If home is where the heart is, then Belize is home.” Unfortunately, in recent times, the feeling has been far from mutual. The
Zinc Fence in particular, has spent considerable air-time, ink and
energy trying to convince the Belizean public that Michael Ashcroft is
a demon, a “virus” or the latest, “a pulpo”. Unfortunately, some supposedly intelligent and well-meaning Belizeans have swallowed the agitprop hook, line and sinker. Many,
some of our current politicians in particular, have grown fat feeding
at Michael Ashcroft’s money trough, yet readily grab stick and stand in
line to partake in Hyde’s “hazing” of the man. Many
believe that the UDP’s recent strong-arming of BTL was little more than
an attempt to pacify Hyde’s deep-seated animosity toward Michael
Ashcroft. Since assuming office,
the UDP has bent backwards to accommodate and placate Evan Hyde’s
whims, fancies and his insatiable greed and ego. Someone
ought to tell Dean Barrow the story of the scorpion, which was once
told by Hyde himself in an apparently “sober” moment. In his editorial of last Friday’s Amandala, Hyde warned that “turmoil…is coming to be visited upon Belize”. Hopefully he is wrong but possibly, he doesn’t know the half of it!
Hyde, as he does with every problem that Belize faces, tried to tie the recent UB problems to Michael Ashcroft. Was Ashcroft ever the Chairman of UB? Was Ashcroft ever the Minister of Education? I for one do not believe that Michael Ashcroft is the monster that he is being made out to be. Michael Ashcroft is a businessman and a very astute and successful one at that. What Belizeans should realize is that Michael Ashcroft did not come to Belize and “dead-raise.” Ashcroft brought money and was investing in Belize when no one else was. Ashcroft
took a fledging Royal Bank of Canada and turned it into a robust,
internationally-acclaimed and hugely successful financial institution. He did the same for BTL and a number of other Belizean businesses. Yes he makes money, but that’s what business people do! To suggest that Michael Ashcroft does not pay any taxes is an outright lie. He does and so do the thousands individuals employed by his various business enterprises. He also donates generously to a number of charitable organizations, in particular to education, and yes, to UB.
Now my objective here is not to try and defend Michael Ashcroft, I do not know him and have never ever met the man. It
would be most presumptuous of me to believe that I can help Michael
Ashcroft in any way; about as presumptuous as Hyde believing that he
can hurt Michael Ashcroft in anyway. The point of my
essay is to suggest that maybe we should be more careful about picking
up picket and falling in line behind every two-bit pied piper that
blows a flute. The story is told of the little sparrow that was late flying south and got caught in a deep freeze. Lying on the ground practically frozen, a cow comes by and drops dung on his head. He gets warm and is so happy, he starts to sing. A cat hears him and comes by and promptly pulls him out and has the sparrow for lunch. The
moral of the story of course; not everyone one who is accused of
shitting on you is your enemy and not everyone who purports to help is
your friend. Beware of the real wolf, Mr. Red riding hood.
– G. Michael Reid
