Strange Coincidences
Tony Blair won the 1997 general election by a landslide and in the early days of that Labour Government - Labour accepted a £1 million donation from Bernie Ecclestone the diminutive and very wealthy face of Formula One motor racing.
At and around the same time the Labour Government was considering a ban on cigarette advertising on TV - which was very bad news for Formula One since tobaccos companies financed most of the big teams and used the race events and racing cars to promote their brands.
So, when the Labour Government suddenly withdrew its plan to bring in a ban Bernie Ecclestone's £1 million donation looked decidedly dodgy - as if big money had influenced the Labour Party and/or the Labour Government.
The Labour Prime Minister was forced to do a quick handbrake turn, Bernie's £1 million gift was swiftly handed back - and Tony Blair went on TV to reassure the nation that he was a 'straight kind of guy'.
I was reminded of these events when I read the following entry on the BBC's web site which highlights the recent contacts between the present Labour leadership and the Reverend Paul Flowers - the disgraced former Chairman of the Co-op Bank.
All I can say is that anyone who can't see a rather unsavoury connection between the Rev Flowers and the Labour Party is deluding themselves - including the Labour leader, Ed Miliband.
Labour and Co-op Group
- February 2010 - Paul Flowers attends Downing Street reception, with Ed Miliband present
- April 2010 - Mr Flowers appointed chairman of Co-op Bank and vice-chairman of Co-op Group
- September 2011 - Mr Flowers resigns as Labour councillor in Bradford after pornography is found on his council laptop
- 31 March 2012 - Co-op Group donates £50,000 through Labour Party to support shadow chancellor Ed Balls's office
- 6 March 2013 - Ed Miliband meets Mr Flowers to discuss banking reform
- 1 April 2013 - Labour takes out £1.2m loan from Co-op Bank, to be repaid by 2016
