Hazel Blears, the former Labour Cabinet minister known as the Iron Chipmunk, may be standing down as an MP but she’s turning her attention to the Co-operative Group as she seeks to become one of three new directors elected by the mutual’s eight million members.
On the Co-op’s website, she proudly proclaims: “Co-op values have shaped my personal and working life.”
Spy wonders if the members casting their votes remember the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009 and a desperate Blears waving a £13,332 cheque to the Revenue in a television interview.
That sum — more than a good number of her Salford and Eccles constituents earn in a year — was the amount of capital gains tax she avoided on the sale of her London flat by designating it her main residence under parliamentary rules.
Leicester’s a battle for Hastings’ Gary
Hastings Insurance boss Gary Hoffman can’t resist a playful dig at the city of Leicester, where his company is about to open a new base.
The one-time vice-chairman of fierce Leicester City rival Coventry City Football Club told Spy: “I made that decision with gritted teeth. We got a very good rate.”
The former Northern Rock boss might have the cash to improve the fortunes of Coventry — currently languishing in football’s third tier — when Hastings fires the starting gun on a likely £1 billion London listing over the next few months.
The Gatwick oil find is not a boon for everyone
Tiddler oil stocks had their day in the sun after a huge find at Horse Hill near Gatwick Airport, but here’s the Daily Mash’s take: “Delayed passengers will be forced into slavery on a nearby oilfield.
“The discovery of the huge oil reserve will allow Britain’s second-largest airport to make the experience of being there even more hellish.”
