That was me Soros is a non UK citizen who once tried to wreck our economy for his own personal gain and is openly pro EU and has funded various groups during the Brexit campaign.

I made the point that political funding is a murky business and has been for a very long time. I don't know if Soros has done anything illegal I just find it crazy that some people complain about foreign interference in support of Brexit and yet ignore Soros' support for the other side. What is a foreign national doing interfering in an internal UK political decision.

Back to the Electoral Commission they help set the rules and will have their own lawyers this case got thrown out which makes you wonder about the competence of the Commission and their advisors. Their response so far is to complain that because they lost the rules should be changed rather than to launch an investigation into what went wrong.

I have no doubt that the funding rules should be rewritten we have seen multiple examples over the last few years of politicians abusing them, I am not convinced the Electoral Commission in it's current form is the one to do that. Physician heal thy self.

I don't think anyone enjoyed seeing Soros doing what he did in selling the £ short and forcing us into a crisis. He was smart. The opportunity existed and he took advantage. However it has given him such a huge wealth that he can now use for good.

Of course, what you regard as good will vary but it seems to me that countering some of the political developments that have taken place in his home country, and supporting genuine democrats there is a good. As is seed funding other movements via his foundations. As I have said in another post this is done openly, legally and really very modestly. It is not done by a non UK citizen. His Foundations are managed independently and are not controlled by him. I have no doubt that they share his overall objectives of seeking to protect democracy from the spread of nationalism.

You cannot compare this with the type of malign interference which has been perpetrated by the Russian troll farms. Interference which has been milked by individuals here and in the USA.

Yes, it seems the Electoral Commission lawyers got things wrong. So Banks was cleared. We all know that happens sometimes and the guilty then walk free.

There is a lot of smoke swirling around Aaron Banks. It's coming from somewhere and I, for one, don't think it is just being blown from the Guardian.

As I said. Time will tell.

Genuine question Wissie, if Banks had acted like Soros and forced us into a crisis, would you be calling him smart?

Smart, of course.

Nice would depend what he did with his money and when.

Soros appears to have undergone something of an epiphany. If he had not sold us short then someone else might well have done. Hopefully he taught us a very painful lesson. Beneath all of that though there appears to be a moral and caring man who is using the wealth he has created for the good of others. Much like Bill Gates, who is another crazy target of the conspiracy theorists.

Banks though is not nice.

Do you seriously think that another trader who saw the same opportunity would have spurned it?

Sorry but I don't. What Soros did was give us a huge kick up the rear end.

When he sold us short there was no morality involved. That is true of almost all of those who operate in that world. It's dog eat dog. The failure was the lack of controls in the system to prevent it happening. So do you blame Soros or those who failed to anticipate it happening?

As I said he appears to have undergone an epiphany and has become a person with a really high moral character. Just look at the things he has done in his country of birth to try to improve the lot of the common man there. The fact that Viktor Orban has turned on him the way he has speaks volumes to me. Orban is truly a despicable politician and anyone who gets under his skin must be doing something right.