Who Wins – Treasury or Treasurer?

Sky News presenter Jayne Secker probed an anxious looking Rishi Sunak over his wife’s stock ownership in a Russian linked company after the Chancellor imposed financial punishments on other people and businesses with connections to Russia.

We wouldn’t even know about these business interest connections in the first place if it wasn’t part of the current Ukraine war news cycle. Sunaks’ wifes large stake in the company was still not registered on the government official Register of Member’s Financial Interests at the time of writing, or the most recent List of Ministers’ Interests, and the Governments ethics watchdog says it cannot investigate individual alleged breaches at all according to the Express. One typical manoeuvre many American politicians use is funneling business and wealth through their family connections in stocks, and often also utilizing the illegal advantages of insider trading. Probably the most high profile accusation of such that has been allegedly made according to this BBC report might be over the unskilled US president Biden’s son Hunter Bidens’ business ventures, accused of brazenly using the taxpayer funded Air Force One presidential jet to travel around conducting business.

Top government ministers in the UK are almost always wrapped up in rumours of elitist family business dealings too, as was the case with one of Rishi Sunaks predecessors George Osbourne who’s family business profited working deals with offshore tax dodgers while he claimed to be clamping down harsh on others doing so according to Channel 4 News alledgedly. Another Chancellor of the UK predecessor Sajid Javid, held stock options in health businesses even as our Nations Health Secretary The Guardian alledgedly reported. Stock options are just one way of avoiding the rules on owning stocks as a top government minister but still benefiting from their value and the privileged ability to be able to influence their value in office. again we only know about Sajid Javid’s stock options in the digital health industry because he listed it in the official register of interests!

The only other of Rishi Sunaks last 3 predecessors as Chancellor, Phillip Hammond also held significant financial interests, transferring lots of his shares over to his wife and the rest into a trust to avoid breaking the rules because “ministerial rules would bar him from holding shares” allegedly according to The Daily Mail at the time. Hammonds’ (and others with) building developer interests have greatly profited at the general public’s expense, The Daily Post allegedly reported, from the unsuitable 10% affordable homes cap set by the Governments Planning Inspectorate. Hammond was yes, yet another Chancellor that pledged to crack down on tax dodgers while benefiting from his own business interests paying lower taxes according to the Morning Star allegedly. Another example of accusations surrounding conflicted financial interests among MPs has been the large number of MPs that have profited from business and political dealings with companies that have profited from the privatization of the NHS as allegedly reported in The Mirror. Billions of taxpayer money was also thrown around purchasing Coronavirus related products through “VIP” access with the Conservative Party according to the Scottish outlet The National allegedly.

Although most governments have been formed by the Conservative Party lately, the Labour once-Chancellor Gordon Brown was too accused of familial profiteering in office reported allegedly by The Times. Both he and the only other Labour chancellor in recent years Alistair Darling have since bagged lucrative banking jobs after leaving their goverment chancellor posts, just as their Conservative counter-parts have.

It would be pertinent to also mention that Rishi Sunak allegedly even has his own business interests that include his move to register a blind trust (meaning some details of it are secret) after becoming our Nation’s Treasurer according to the Express.

This is why No Stocks including among immediate family members is a condition in our anti-corruption pledge.

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