Last updated at 13:58, Thursday, 29 March 2012

Come Dine With Me is one of our favourite TV shows.

You know – the one where you cook a meal for a bunch of people you wouldn’t dream of sitting next to without a very good reason... like getting your hands on a load of money.

The rules have changed ever-so slightly for a new version called Cam Dine With Me.

And this isn’t just any meal, this is a meal where the Prime Minister invites lots of rich and powerful people into his home for some plain and simple grub.

These could be anyone, anyone at all – except that they usually just happen to be property tycoons, oil industry investors... you know the type.

And it just so happens that apart from being multi-millionaires, these people also contribute millions of pounds to the Conservative Party.

Just three guests alone are said to have handed over £11m for party funds.

Now it has been reported that by handing over these huge amounts of money and having dinner with Mr Cameron, these rich and powerful types expect something in return.

Some people have been suggesting that they could be benefiting from new policies, plans or rules introduced by the Government. Critics have pointed to the budget announcement of new government money for the oil industry and the changes to the planning rules announced this week. And of course, all these guests have benefited from the reduction of the top rate of income tax from 50p to 45p.

The problem is that these cosy meals involving rich supporters do leave the rest of us with a sour taste in our mouths. We can remember Tony Blair and the cash for peerages scandal and the cash for questions outrage during John Major’s leadership.

The mere fact that it looks as though Cameron’s guests are benefiting from their cosy relationship is bad enough in the public’s eyes.

I’m sure the same thing goes on at Ed Miliband’s house, we just haven’t heard about it yet.

The big difference is that David Cameron isn’t just a party leader, he’s the PM and shouldn’t be in this position.

As any fan of Come Dine with Me realises, presentation is everything and this looks like a dog’s dinner.

Just one other item to mention in the bonfire of cock-ups created out of nothing by the Government: we now live in a country where caviar and foie gras is untaxed, but a hot pasty is...

First published at 11:26, Thursday, 29 March 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk