juvenal Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/politics/10357852.stm Cheeky sods have the gall to claim they buy wines for functions when they are younger and cheaper - to save the taxpayer money!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaTB Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I guess on the face of it, it does look a bit extravagant, but really this is a non story. Firstly £17k is F*CK ALL, in the scheme of things. Secondly what should we give to visiting leaders / diplomats, a can of Tizer, or a £2.99 bottle of Hock from Tesco ? We really should be concentrating on the bigger stuff, and not let ourselves be diverted by silly stories like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu531 Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 This is the whole things about our government - absolute power corrupts absolutely. The tories/Libdems are no better than Labour in that respect. At least you could make the argument that Labour fattened up the public sector too much. The tories just want to fatten themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19 year mortgage 8itch Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Didn't realise the Lib Dems had brought Charles Kennedy back into the fold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_w_ Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 http://news.bbc.co.u...cs/10357852.stm Cheeky sods have the gall to claim they buy wines for functions when they are younger and cheaper - to save the taxpayer money!!! I like the Tories version of austerity. Very civilised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Woods? Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/politics/10357852.stm Cheeky sods have the gall to claim they buy wines for functions when they are younger and cheaper - to save the taxpayer money!!! This is a reasonable thing to do. Most of the Oxbridge Colleges do it, and you can get spectacular bottles of wine from their cellars at 1/10th of the market price (in some cases, but certainly well under market value once you have factored in general inflation) because that is the average replacement cost. If, as an institution you are holding important functions regularly, and a certainly quality of wine is expected, then cellaring makes perfect economic sense. Of course, I'd much rather they had stale coffee and a variety pack of biscuits which seems to be adequate for most of the major decision making gatherings at most of the companies I've worked for. Now that I think of it, don't you just get bread and water in prison? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okaycuckoo Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 This is a reasonable thing to do. Most of the Oxbridge Colleges do it, and you can get spectacular bottles of wine from their cellars at 1/10th of the market price (in some cases, but certainly well under market value once you have factored in general inflation) because that is the average replacement cost. If, as an institution you are holding important functions regularly, and a certainly quality of wine is expected, then cellaring makes perfect economic sense. Of course, I'd much rather they had stale coffee and a variety pack of biscuits which seems to be adequate for most of the major decision making gatherings at most of the companies I've worked for. Now that I think of it, don't you just get bread and water in prison? Oh dear. That's another thread entirely - sky tv etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Sadman Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Do we have any figures to compare this to? Im waiting to get mad, but i need to see it in context. How many thousand pounds worth of lubricant did mandelsohn claim in the first six weeks of govt, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikhail Liebenstein Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I guess on the face of it, it does look a bit extravagant, but really this is a non story. Firstly £17k is F*CK ALL, in the scheme of things. Secondly what should we give to visiting leaders / diplomats, a can of Tizer, or a £2.99 bottle of Hock from Tesco ? We really should be concentrating on the bigger stuff, and not let ourselves be diverted by silly stories like this. I actually don't have a problem with this... may be its because being business development/sales type function I understand the value of entertaining. I am sure it greases the wheels and £1m of wine across Government is not a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pent Up Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 isn't wine free of CGT? Maybe intelligent investment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Banner Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 From time to time we see stories about City types spending £20K+ in one night in a bar, with £2K+ on a single bottle of wine. In that context, £17K for the whole Government over a six week period doesn't seem so high. When entertaining senior diplomats, I would have thought that £50 to £100 a bottle for a decent wine would be about right. A couple of hundred bottles of wine doesn't seem excessive over six weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Woods? Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 When entertaining senior diplomats, I would have thought that £50 to £100 a bottle for a decent wine would be about right. A couple of hundred bottles of wine doesn't seem excessive over six weeks. Especially when this wine can be bought for £20 10 years before you want to drink it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olebrum Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Us / Them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitchbux Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Did Labour drink the cellar dry as well as emptying the coffers. If the gold reserves are any indication GB probably sold off bottles of Petrus at 2 for £7 Wouldn't surprised if part of that £17K turned out to be paying off the 'slate' at the local offie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StainlessSteelCat Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I'm no ConLib apologist or even a wine drinker but isn't this rather a non-story? A wine cellar of 39.5K bottles worth just shy of £800K comes to about £20/bottle by my reckoning - which doesn't seem overly extragant (especially when it includes spirits & liquers). Even £650 on a single bottle could be money well spent if it helps smooth a negotiation worth millions - even if the Government aren't wine enthusiasts themselves (and a good number probably are) there's a strong likelihood a lot of their guests are. It would probably fly better to publicly auction off some of the more expensive vintages at regular intervals to help pay for restocking of the cheaper stuff though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Gordon Pugh Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 They spent 17k on wine, because they knew that when you found out they wouldnt be around and all that would happen is that you would post a topic on a forum and have a moan. If you want them to stop stealing, go and stop them. If you dont stop them, they will continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest absolutezero Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Oh look. The hypocrites are out in force once again. Had it been Labour doing this there would have been dummies spat out en masse and rattles thrown out of the pram. As it is it's ok because it's the Tories. You could at least be consistent with your arguments. Classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Woods? Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Oh look. The hypocrites are out in force once again. Had it been Labour doing this there would have been dummies spat out en masse and rattles thrown out of the pram. As it is it's ok because it's the Tories. You could at least be consistent with your arguments. Classic. Erm Labour were doing it. What interests me is that the papers decided to publish this now the tories are in office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest absolutezero Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Erm Labour were doing it. What interests me is that the papers decided to publish this now the tories are in office. Perhaps because the Tories are going on about austerity and cuts whilst troughing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Cheeky sods have the gall to claim they buy wines for functions when they are younger and cheaper - to save the taxpayer money!!! I hope they are supporting British businesses. Maybe they should ration the glasses to one, we require our leaders to think straight after all.... if they can drive home all the better, saves on the taxi bill paid by the tax payer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timak Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 A relative of mine was posted (I say that but he applied to go) from the civil service to Brussels a few years ago. In addition to his salary and a free apartment (very nice 3 bed place for a single male) he received a £500 a year allowance for "suitable attire to be worn to functions" Got to agree that the usual "typical Liebour wasting our money" comments seem to be lacking from our Tory friends..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
live in hope Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 isn't wine free of CGT? Maybe intelligent investment! And moneyweek are suggesting it as one of the best ways to preserve your assets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northwest Smith Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Do we have any figures to compare this to? Im waiting to get mad, but i need to see it in context. How many thousand pounds worth of lubricant did mandelsohn claim in the first six weeks of govt, for example. From the Article 09-10 was 30% down on 08-09 and they make 2 or 3 buys each year 2010-2011 £17,698 ( x 3 = £53,094 ? or £56,463 would be 30% down on 2009-2010) 2009-2010 £80,662 2008-2009 £115,231 2007-2008 £137,000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potwalloper Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 From the Article 09-10 was 30% down on 08-09 and they make 2 or 3 buys each year 2010-2011 £17,698 ( x 3 = £53,094 ? or £56,463 would be 30% down on 2009-2010) 2009-2010 £80,662 2008-2009 £115,231 2007-2008 £137,000 It's not worth worrying about.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wario Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 ... may be its because being business development/sales type function I understand the value of entertaining. I am sure it greases the wheels and £1m of wine across Government is not a lot. Good luck with that tovarich. From now on no bugger is getting so much as a drop of Co-op cabernet or a stale bridie from me until this little lot is either clarified or struck out. Seriously. It seems you can be done for taking a contact out for a meal, more or less. Of course, for big corporations, it'll be business as usual, I expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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