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| Defector William Cash joined Ukip because of solar park threat to his moated manor house | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The son of a Conservative MP has revealed that his decision to join the frontbench of Ukip was partly motivated by the threat of a new development near his moated Elizabethan manor house and the burden of tax on the “restoration classes”. | The son of a Conservative MP has revealed that his decision to join the frontbench of Ukip was partly motivated by the threat of a new development near his moated Elizabethan manor house and the burden of tax on the “restoration classes”. |
| William Cash, the son of the Eurosceptic Tory Bill Cash and founder of Spear’s magazine for the super-rich, explained in a blogpost that he has joined Ukip as heritage spokesman following concerns about the government’s “rural vandalism”. | William Cash, the son of the Eurosceptic Tory Bill Cash and founder of Spear’s magazine for the super-rich, explained in a blogpost that he has joined Ukip as heritage spokesman following concerns about the government’s “rural vandalism”. |
| His defection added to those of two rightwing Tory MPs, Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless, and a Conservative donor, Arron Banks. | His defection added to those of two rightwing Tory MPs, Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless, and a Conservative donor, Arron Banks. |
| They come at a time when Ukip has been trying to tempt blue-collar workers disillusioned by Labour by holding its annual conference at Doncaster racecourse in Ed Miliband’s backyard. However, the defectors so far have boosted Labour’s argument that the party is “more Tory than the Tories”. | They come at a time when Ukip has been trying to tempt blue-collar workers disillusioned by Labour by holding its annual conference at Doncaster racecourse in Ed Miliband’s backyard. However, the defectors so far have boosted Labour’s argument that the party is “more Tory than the Tories”. |
| Cash, whose magazine is described as a “must-read for ultra high-net-worth individuals”, wrote that he is unhappy with the prospect of renewable energy farms all over rural Shropshire. | Cash, whose magazine is described as a “must-read for ultra high-net-worth individuals”, wrote that he is unhappy with the prospect of renewable energy farms all over rural Shropshire. |
| However, he is also personally concerned about the threat of a solar park near his own estate of Upton Cressett Hall and the surrounding hamlet. | However, he is also personally concerned about the threat of a solar park near his own estate of Upton Cressett Hall and the surrounding hamlet. |
| “After seeing off a pair of Triffid-like 85-metre turbines and an industrial pig farm just 500 yards or so from this Grade I protected heritage site, another local battle looms,” he wrote. “At Upton Cressett my wife and I are trying to run a ‘step back in time’ heritage business. We don’t do it for the money. Having the Arcadian hamlet of Upton Cressett turned into an industrialised landscape would be very harmful.” | “After seeing off a pair of Triffid-like 85-metre turbines and an industrial pig farm just 500 yards or so from this Grade I protected heritage site, another local battle looms,” he wrote. “At Upton Cressett my wife and I are trying to run a ‘step back in time’ heritage business. We don’t do it for the money. Having the Arcadian hamlet of Upton Cressett turned into an industrialised landscape would be very harmful.” |
| He explained that the proposed solar park could be visible three miles away “from the main bedrooms of Aldenham Park”, the historic Grade II listed home of the historian Lord Acton. | He explained that the proposed solar park could be visible three miles away “from the main bedrooms of Aldenham Park”, the historic Grade II listed home of the historian Lord Acton. |
| In the lengthy post, Cash also bemoaned the introduction of VAT on the restoration of listed buildings. | In the lengthy post, Cash also bemoaned the introduction of VAT on the restoration of listed buildings. |
| “It is depressing and wrong that the Treasury have targeted listed buildings for this new tax on the ‘restoration’ classes,” he said. | “It is depressing and wrong that the Treasury have targeted listed buildings for this new tax on the ‘restoration’ classes,” he said. |
| Cash, whose society wedding to Lady Laura Cathcart was attended by the actor Liz Hurley, has previously written about the financial difficulties of keeping three properties in Holland Park, London, rural Shropshire, and Park Avenue, New York, during the credit crunch. | Cash, whose society wedding to Lady Laura Cathcart was attended by the actor Liz Hurley, has previously written about the financial difficulties of keeping three properties in Holland Park, London, rural Shropshire, and Park Avenue, New York, during the credit crunch. |
| His magazine, Spear’s, was set up in 2006 as an invitation-only subscription publication for people who have more than £5m personal net worth. | His magazine, Spear’s, was set up in 2006 as an invitation-only subscription publication for people who have more than £5m personal net worth. |