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Will Ashcroft’s money put paid to electorate’s wishes?

So, to paraphrase a dozen old jokes, where did it all go wrong for Lord Ashcroft, the footloose billionaire, Tory power-broker and citizen of sun-kissed Belize?

More to the point, what drives him to risk opprobrium and duff satire when he could be counting his lightly-taxed money far from prying eyes?

The peer, it seems, is one of those rich patriots who would do anything for Britain apart from live here like the rest of us.