Evil Diaries: Wanton waste

I appreciate that it is only the taxpayers’ money being thrown away but hiring Adam Tolley KC to investigate Raab’s conduct towards his staff gives one a good idea of how hopelessly silly those who govern us have become. The bill will be over £10,000 no doubt.

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Yvette Cooper and Starmer are promoting the removal of the non-dom concessions. This is madness and only proposed since the purpose is to appeal to the 99% of the electorate that have never understood the rules. Of course it is possible that neither Cooper nor Starmer understand these either. And I doubt if more than 10% of Labour MP’s have any idea of the points falling to be considered. That is how we are governed.

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UK Public Private Trust (SUPP), now 15p, is apparently at a 50% discount to net asset value or so I read in the Daily Mail City Editor’s column this morning. One is tempted to rush in. However, the trouble is that the portfolio is entirely derived from unsaleable Woodford interests and is unlikely to have been valued reliably for an investor’s purposes. Unquoted investments are trappy.

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Finally, REA (RE.) have declared their resolute intention to pay 14.5p on their prefs on 31st December. That’s enough to keep most chaps and chapesses cheerful.