Kein Ausgang ?

One could be forgiven for thinking that our political representatives are a useless lot; but, maybe, they have improved over the course of our nation’s history.

The case of Simon Fraser, the 11th Lord Lovat, is typical of 18th century politics at the worst. He had been everything by turns, but nothing for long. One of his earlier escapades was to proclaim James VIII at Inverness, when Dutch William died, but soon afterwards changed sides and betrayed the Jacobite’s secrets to the British government. He, then, had the temerity to visit Queen Mary of Modena in her exile in France, but his duplicity was discovered and Louis XIV sent him to cool his heels for three years in prison, first at Angoulême and later in the Bastille. During ‘15 he espoused the cause of Hanover, but his loyalty was always for sale.

In private life Lovat was equally unscrupulous. His predecessor in the title had left an only daughter, whom he determined to marry in order to obtain the estates. In this project he was unsuccessful, so he transferred his attentions to the young lady’s mother. With the aid of a number of his clansman he seized the unwilling bride in her own home, in spite of the fact that she was the sister of the marquis of Atholl, the most powerful nobleman in Scotland. Lovat then compelled the priest to read the marriage service between them, after which he cut the laces of his victim’s stays with his dirk and forced her to bed; the marriage was consummated in the presence of Lovat’s retainers, whilst the bagpipes played in the next room to drown the screams of his victim. In ’45 he sent a clan to the aid of Charles Edward with his son at its head, whilst he remained at home. This characteristic behaviour, however, did not save him and, in due course, Lovat was beheaded on Tower Hill.

We have not formulated a contemporary solution for our failing public servants. I enclose the tax tables for the 2019-20 tax year. We are likely to see changes to Inheritance Tax as the tax take at £3-4 billion per annum is less than 1% of the overall tax take and the Treasury has commissioned a root and branch review of the tax by the O.T.S, which has already submitted their preliminary thoughts.