Kmflett's Blog

Who funds the Tory Party? Oligarchs (not just Russian ones)

While Labour’s finances boomed under Jeremy Corbyn despite the fact that he’s not super keen on capitalism they seem to be doing less well under Sir Keir Starmer who is more of an enthusiast.

However Labour’s finances (although perhaps not personal donations to Starmer) are relatively transparent.

The same can hardly be said of Tory Party funds. The Party has a limited membership base (still far less than Labour). Party members can be relied on to do lots of unpaid work when it comes to winning Elections which after all is what both main parties aim to do. Without that funds are required.

Unlike Johnson himself(he claims) the Tory Party is currently well funded. It is the party of big business so you’d expect that. Except that this is not where much of the funding comes from.

The key fund raiser is Old Etonian (obviously) Ben Elliott who is Tory Co-Chair. Elliott runs a business called Quintessentially which specialises in catering to the whims of very rich people. Hence Elliott the FT has reported is very well connected not just to very wealthy Russians but very wealthy people across the globe.

There is a Tory Advisory Board (perhaps a bit like a left-wing Political Committee) that gathers monthly to hear from Johnson or Rishi Sunak. The FT suggests that a requirement for membership is a donation of at least £250K. Key members are not in fact captains of industry but Thatcherites, mirroring the direction the Tory Party has gone in recent decades.

For example attenders at the June 2021 gathering in Kensington included Rishi Khosla (banker) Peter Cruddas (online trading) and Howard Shore (Shore Capital).

Other key players include Mohamed Amerst (telecom deals) Lubov Chernukhin (partner of former Russian Minister Victor Chernukhin), Alan Howard(hedge fund manager) and Rosemary Said (arms trade connections).

More generally the FT reports that some of  the largest Tory donations come from Property Companies.

Labour quite rightly has raised the question of whether the above represents cash for access, a 2022 version of Cobbetian Old Corruption. The Cameron/Greensill affair and lots of issues around former Minister Hancock suggest the closest scrutiny is required.

The politics here is key. Brexit was meant to be about getting back control of all things ‘British’ from the EU. In reality the key funders of the 2022 Tory Party are people whose interests lie in making money wherever it can be made across the globe. Investment in British industry and research, which Brexit or not, would not be a bad idea, not least jobs wise, hardly features.