The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats hand £520,000 to the Treasury after a political spat over whether the late Joan Edwards’s donation was intended for government or party use.
Former nurse Joan Edwards, from Bristol, passed away last year, leaving the substantial sum to the government of the day to spend “as they may think fit”, according to the Daily Mail, which obtained a copy of her will.
The Tory party originally accepted £420,00 and the Liberal Democrats £100,000 in a split based on the number of their ministers and MPs represented by the coalition, but growing pressure this morning led the parties to give the money to the Treasury.
Both parties claimed the money was accepted after the executors of Joan Edwards’ will approached them with donations. But they changed their tune after it emerged that her will stipulated that all proceeds of her estate should be paid to “whichever Government is in office at the date of my death for the Government in their absolute discretion to use as they may think fit.”
Tory MP Zac Goldsmith said “no-one can truly believe this lady wanted her money squandered on electioneering”. Former Labour deputy prime minister, John Prescott, tweeted that both parties “must hand back” the donation, and called for ideas on which good causes should receive the bequest.
Sir Alistair Graham, a former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, told BBC Radio 4 this morning that the parties “seemed to have very quickly distributed the loot between the two of them in an equitable sort of way, so you would have thought they might have done a bit more work to check who the lady was, what her intentions were, what were the terms of the will.”
The donation was revealed yesterday when the Electoral Commission published its audit of donations made to political parties until the end of June.
Attorney General Dominic Grieve was dragged into the row after it emerged his office had been approached by the executors of Joan Edwards’ estate. A spokesman said the Attorney General’s office “did not, nor could have, advised to whom the bequest should go”.
Joan Edwards was born in Bristol in 1921 and lived there all her life until dying on 22 September last year after a fall, said the Daily Mail.
During her time as a nurse had worked spells as a midwife and was described by neighbours as “frugal” and “highly intelligent”, said the paper.
Whoever decided to accept a penny of Joan Edwards money for the Party has very poor judgement. We must return it before the morning is out.
— Conor Burns MP (@Conor_BurnsMP) August 14, 2013
Rather than put Joan Edwards’ legacy into general Treasury pot, it should allocated to a specific project in her name, eg new hospital ward
— Michael Crick (@MichaelLCrick) August 14, 2013