From today's FT:
Environmental groups last night launched what could be a landmark lawsuit against the Treasury to force it to ensure that taxpayers' money invested in the Royal Bank of Scotland supports only projects that satisfy minimum green and human rights standards.
The move is the latest sign of how the government's stakes in some of Britain's biggest commercial banks could affect the companies' operations. Three groups of environmentalists - the World Development Movement (1), Platform (2) and People & Planet (3) - are behind the case, which has been lodged at the High Court.
*Ahem*
Did they say "Environmental groups"?
(1) I covered the World Development Movement last September.
(2) Platform "receives funding from foundations and trusts, state bodies and individuals, from across the sectors of our work: the arts, environment, social justice and education.
[Their] current funders include: Arts Council England - London; Artists Project Earth; Ashden Trust; Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust; CS Mott Foundation; Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust; Lipman Miliband Foundation; Network for Social Change*
Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation; Roddick Foundation; Sigrid Rausing Trust; Tedworth Trust; Wallace Global Fund.
* The Network for Social Change also dole out money to the World Development Movement, see (1) above.
(3) People & Planet appears to be funded via the People & Planet Trust. Note 3 to their 2008 accounts shows that they received £36,586 in grants from Bridge House Trust; City Parochial Trust; Network for Social Change*; Ferguson Trust; Commitment for Life.
* Yup. Them again.
*/ahem*
Once I dipt into the future
4 hours ago
3 comments:
Nice post again MW.
An ever-widening interlinked circle is it not? One wonders also how much work the Lipman Miliband Trust get from the govt and their contacts, especially as the Miliband who founded it was our ForSec's father! Or is that being cynical?
What we need is somethink like one of those diagrams that shows how companies are inter linked with % of ownerships in subsiduaries and JV's. But this time how all these fake charities receive and recycle tax payers money.
The problem is that it would probabaly qualify for one of the Labours of Heracles.
One of the great things about an LVT and a IPVT is how they'd kill off rent seeking trusts.
The citizens dividend would also ensure that government costs would be scrutinised by everyone, as it would lower the dividend.
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