Second, I am, one day a week, Professor of Accounting at Sheffield University Management School. Sheffield has now confirmed that they wish me to focus on research work around auditing, accounting and tax and that I will only be doing occasional lectures, rather than being responsible for teaching a course.
Eminently sensible, having made the original mistake of the hire. Actually exposing students to him would not be nice….
That’s odd. How can you a professor one day a week. Would thought it was a binary condition. Or does that make him a one seventh professor in general. So should be described not as the P3 but as the P 2 1/7?
“Every time I have said ‘noted’ in reply to a comment I literally mean that. I plan a great deal of what I do and write using mind maps. For the tech minded, I use iThoughtsx for this purpose, which is relatively cheap for software of this type, excellent in use, but only available on Macs.”
I see the P3 uses a Mac, a product made by the supreme avoider of taxes Apple.
“ I plan a great deal of what I do and write”
Good grief. His stuff reads like mental diarrhoea. If actually plans it, it’s even worse than I thought.
And fourth, I have just secured funding from the Polden Puckham Charitable Trust through Finance for the Future LLP, which is a partnership between me and fellow Green New Deal Group member Colin Hines, to work on the promotion of new funding sources for the GND, which will include building on the narratives created on this blog. This last for three years, and is worth £10,000 a year.
How much money does he need? Seems to be a man of expensive tastes – therefore the grift is endless.
Tim – have you seen his ‘first they came for the NHS?’ post. The guy is mentally deranged
There seems to be an endless number of charitable trusts that fund Ritchie. I wonder where they get their money from?
And this is another trust that doesn’t support individuals. Hence Ritchie and Colin Hines use of a sham LLP.
“Finance for the Future LLP”
Bit odd, their latest accounts. The LLP has done nothing at all since 2012 until 2019-20 when it got a grant from the Polden Puckham Charitable Trust (which I see from their website has also given a grant to Extinction Rebellion). Spud and Colin Hines are the members of the LLP and the accounts state that Hines was “paid to undertake the work required to meet the conditions of this grant”.
Grant income was £15,000 in the year to March 2020 and the only notable entry in the P&L is ‘cost of sales £14,700’. Given their income came in the form of a grant, they don’t have any sales and an LLP wouldn’t usually ‘pay’ one of its own members. It divvies up profits after costs. No suggestion of impropriety but strangely drafted nevertheless.
“the Polden Puckham Charitable Trust (which I see from their website has also given a grant to Extinction Rebellion)”
Is that allowed for a charity?
Although thinking about it, the grants are supposed to be used for (in Spud’s case) promoting the Green New Deal. Instead, Hines has seemingly trousered the lot for undertaking the work required “to meet the conditions of the grant”, whatever that means.
Andrew C, not so much a grant as a bung. Waa a motorway service station and brown envelope involved?
In other words the charity got round its policy of not funding individuals by funding a LLP. Hines did the work so he took all the money except for £300 retained by the LLP as a fig leaf and presumably split 50/50 between Ritchie and Hines. Ritchie got £150 (1% of the grant) for participating in this.
1% looks to be the going rate for sham LLP’s. That’s what his wife(or ex wife?) gets from tax research LLP.
@ Sam Jones
Does seem that way. Not even sure what work it was Hines will have done.
This is the blurb from Spud –
“I have just secured funding from the Polden Puckham Charitable Trust through Finance for the Future LLP, which is a partnership between me and fellow Green New Deal Group member Colin Hines, to work on the promotion of new funding sources for the GND”
So it’s funding to promote funding.
“No suggestion of impropriety”
AndrewC, I assume you only say that because some code of professional conduct requires you not to make suggestions of impropriety.
Monsieur Pomme de Terre uses an Apple Mac – there must be a joke there (apart from the P3 himself, of course).
BiNK
You might very well think that; I couldn’t possibly comment.
I hope one of the regulars here or their nom de plume will query the Potato on this seemingly blatant rank hypocrisy….
So.. They can’t get rid of him, or fire him, so they have decided to “promote” him where he can’t do any harm…
So the S.U.M.S. has done something right and taken Murphy away from teaching.
The first time “Murphy”, “SUMS” and “right” have appeared together in a sentence, I’ll be bound
@Andrew C
I think it is 2 different grants. The one in the LLP accounts was in 2019/20 and was for £15k. His blog refers to a £30k grant (£10k for 3 years) which has just been awarded.
He keeps getting these grants; he must give good interview.
“Polden Puckham Charitable Trust”
Sounds like that name has been made up by one of the pranksters who post on his blog…
Also
“Work on the promotion of new funding sources for the GND”
Doesn’t he spend most of his time (on Wednesdays) banging on about how it will be self funding?
I can understand a university employing someone to teach one day per week, but I don’t understand paying for one day a week research. If you’re paying for research it’s normal to agree a price and a date on which the report will be delivered.
But I suppose an academic organisation that sees fit to employ Spud in the first place isn’t likely to be taking a hard nosed commercial approach to getting what they want.
And that’s a management school, god help businesses of the future.
And grants are VAT free, so that makes Spud a tax avoider.
@Sam Jones. Those 2019-20 accounts do specifically mention the Polden Puckham Charitable Trust as being the source of income for the LLP.
I agree the numbers don’t add up but we are talking about spud here.
@Andrew C, agreed, but his blog says ‘I have just secured funding’ – this is a new grant, not one from 2019/20. And I doubt he would have mentioned it if Colin Hines was taking 99%!
I see in the same post he is still appealing for donations despite his various ‘professorships’, grants and consultancies. Absolutely shameless!
I’d guess the 1 day a week position is because they have some existing grant funding which he was involved so they are just paying what they can recoup or need to justify the grant.
The occasional lecture is no doubt to meet some rule as well about minimum teaching hours etc
So you say he shouldn’t be allowed near students because he’s shit at teaching. Have you seen the “quality” of his research?