WHOEVER is installed as the new Tory leader on November 2nd will have wealthy donors to thank for it.
I’m not making a political statement, here – but a statement of fact.
The four candidates to succeed Rishi Sunak – Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat, James Cleverly and Kemi Badenoch – all had to pay £50,000 to make their case at the recent Tory conference in Liverpool.
The final shortlist of two will have to fork out a further £150,000.
It just goes to show the power of money in politics – and it’s why The Sunday National is going deep into who exactly is funding their campaigns, from TK to TK.
Afterall, the winner will be the next leader of the opposition and could, hypothetically, one day become prime minister.
Robert Jenrick
In the last month alone, the former immigration minister – whose pitch to Tory members has included a pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – had more than £100,000 of new donations.
This has included a donation of £35,000 from Quantum Pacific Corporation UK, which is owned by Idan Ofer, a London-based shipping and mining heir whose father was once Israel’s richest man.
Also this month, he has received £20,000 from entrepreneur Daniel Green; £16,876.51 from Jenna Littler for “financial assistance in defraying travelling expenses”; £2,500 from Colin Moynihan; £5,000 from Brian Kingham; £5,000 from ERO Solutions; £25,000 from Fergus Ha; and £25,000 from The Spott Fitness.
Jenrick has been under particular scrutiny for his association with Spott Fitness, who have donated a further 75,000 to him since July, bringing the total so far for the company to £100,000.
According to its accounts, the firm has no employees, has never made a profit and has more than £300,000 of debts, and in January it registered a loan from Centrovalli, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Businessman Phillip Ullman named himself as the source of the funds earlier this week, saying he wanted to show he was not “hiding anything”, while Mr Jenrick has said the donations were “perfectly legal and valid”.
Notably, Jenrick has also benefited from £20,000 from disgraced former Tory chancellor Nadhim Zahawi’s real estate firm Zahawi & Zahawi Limited.
Tom Tugendhat
Tom Tugendhat – who gave away eye-catching merchandise such as the “Tugend-hat” caps and false tan, the “Tugen-tan”, at Tory conference last week – has declared the most donations of any of his rivals in the past month, signalling a late charge and enthusiasm in his campaign.
The more centrist candidate received more than £152,508.22 in the most recent declaration of MPs’ interests published last week.
He received £20,000 from Blue WV; £10,000 from Michael Sherwood; £4,500 from Bestway Wholesale; £5,000 from James Mellon; £12,500 from Michael Tory; £25,000 from Dominic Barton; £25,000 from Bridgemere UK; £7,258.22 from Christian Sweeting; £5,000 from Derek Calrow; £2,000 from Oliver Pawle; and £33,000 from Nicholas Bacon.
This has successfully brought his total for the campaign to £221,008.22 – the second biggest recipient of the four so far.
His largest donor so far has been Blue WV – a “professional membership organisation” set up by ex spads Patrick Spencer and Guy Miscampbell last year – with a total of £64,500.
It’s giving an early Tory imitation of the now highly influential Labour Together think tank which backed (then seen as more centrist) Keir Starmer during his successful campaign for Labour leader in 2020.
Blue WV’s early financial backers include hedge fund bosses Reade Griffith and Ian Mukherjee.
Kemi Badenoch
An early favourite for next Tory leader, Badenoch’s campaign has flagged financially in the past month – bringing in the lowest of the four at £40,000.
This includes £10,000 from David Naylor Leyland; £5,000 from John Goodall; £10,000 from John Edward James; £5,000 from Roger Brookhouse; £5,000 from Quentin Marshall; and £5,000 from Charles Morgan.
But Badenoch raked in a fair amount in July and August – with her campaign total amounting to some £233,855.
Her most generous backer has been businessman Charles Keymer at £50,000 – who has long supported Tory causes. Douglas Shaw, an investor and financial services professional has donated £20,000.
James Cleverly
Although, he has taken in some £79,000 over the past month – including £25,000 from Simon Chappell; £10,000 from Andrew Law; £10,000 from IPGL Limited; £5,000 from Ken Costa; £10,000 from Laurence Geller; and £19,000 from FT Estates.
The shadow home secretary has also registered the use of desk space within an office valued at £10,000 from FT Estates – as well as a further £11,000 from the company earlier in the campaign.
It is owned by Fazan Tahir – the owner of the Tahir Group, a restaurant and property development firm including branches of KFC and German Doner Kebab – and a former Director of Conservative Friends of Pakistan.
