Damian Collins Dodgy Donation for his December 2019 General Election Campaign
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Damian Collins MP for Folkestone & Hythe (pictured) received a dodgy donation for his Dec 2019 General Election Campaign, from a company which does NOT exist.
And when it comes to being dodgy, Damian has history.
How could a company which is no longer in existence donate money to Damian’s general election campaign eleven months after it was dissolved?
Under Electoral Commission rules this is NOT permissible, as a company must be registered as a company at Companies House, and of course Landcap Development Eversley Ltd is NOT registered at Companies House.
carrying on business in the UK You must be sure that the company meets all three criteria.
Landcap Development Eversley Ltd is not a registered company at Companies House. As such, the Donations & loans to Members of Parliament UK document says:
Damian “must return it [the donation] to the donor within the 30 day period beginning with the date on which you received the donation. If you don’t, you will be deemed to have accepted it, you may commit a criminal offence and we may apply to the courts to have the donation forfeited.”
The donation has NOT been returned in 30 days and as such, Damian may well have committed a criminal offence.
All candidates and parties which took part in the GE campaign in the district ought to raise the issue with the Electoral Commission and Kent Police.
Landcap Development Eversley Ltdwere involved in the development of Eversley Park development next to Sandgate Primary School. They gave a £3,000 pound donation in 2015 to the local Folkestone & Hythe Conservative Association.
Moving on, in late November 2019 and early December, Damian Collins MP received the princely sum of £13,250 in donations from four donors. Damian received this moneyfor his Dec 2019 General Election campaign.
The Conservative Party accepted a £125,000donation from Sir Roger De Haan on the 29/11/2019 and Damian £3,000 for his GE campaign on the 19/12/19.
Sir Roger De Haanneeds no introduction. He, like the others are allowed to donate money to who they so choose, as political donations are perfectly legitimate to make, except dodgy donations. But who are the other two donors who donated to Damian’s general election campaign?
Alcaline Ltd is a company solely owned by David Zaccheo (pictured). Its currentaccountsshow the company is in debt to the tune of £4,785, according to Companies House. The company is registered at Unit V Lympne Industrial Estate, Otterpool Lane Lympne, Hythe, Kent, CT21 4LR.
Alcalineis an “International Haulage company offering Specialist Road and Air services throughout Europe. Alcaline was founded in 1993 in Kent.”
As we understand, there have been conversations between Mr Zaccheo and Cllr Monk about Alcaline moving its operations from Lympne Industrial Park to the employment land at Otterpool Park. This would make a whole load of sense as they would be closer to J11 and would mean less HGVs travelling off the motorway and down through Newingreen and onto the Lympne Industrial Park.
Rakan McKinnon was also theperson with significant controlin Landcap Development Eversely Ltd prior to it being dissolved, according to Companies House.
Mark Quinn and/or his Companies have alreadydonated £126,562.05to the Labour Party and Conservatives nationally & locally.
As we have said previously, there is an understanding (rarely made explicit) that donations buy political access and favourable consideration in policy development and legislation. Why else would companies, which are bound by law to pursue profits, make these donations?
So Damian Collins MP will you be returning the £3,250 pound donation from Landcap Development Eversley Ltd, a company which does NOT exist? Do you the residents of the district believe it’ll be returned? Only time will tell.
The payment of donations to political parties are legal and legitimate. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any people, companies or other entities included in this blog post have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly.
