Latest news with #JezSan
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Tories reel in twice as much as Reform in donations despite worsening polls
The Conservatives received £3.36m in donations in the first three months of this year, twice as much as Reform UK's £1.5m, despite trailing in the polls. The Tories criticised Reform UK for failing to secure claimed donations, pointing out that 42 per cent of Reform's donations came from deputy leader Richard Tice 's company. Almost a third of the Conservative's money came from a single donor, Jez San, a computer game entrepreneur and former Labour supporter, who donated £1m. David Ross, founder of Carphone Warehouse, resumed donations to the Conservative Party with £40,000 and will become the party's senior treasurer later in the year. Lord Dominic Johnson, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said the party's finances are in great shape and that donors are backing leader Kemi Badenoch 's mission of Conservative renewal.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Boost for Kemi Badenoch as Tories raise twice as much as Reform in political donations
The Conservatives have received twice as much money from donors as Reform in the first three months of this year, even as they sink in the polls. The financial backing will come as a boost to the under-pressure Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, days after her party dropped to fourth place in a major poll. Ms Badenoch's party took in £3.36m, Reform £1.5m, Keir Starmer's party £2.3m and the Liberal Democrats £1.5m, the Electoral Commission statistics show. The Tories hit out at Reform — also under pressure after losing and regaining its chairman in recent days — saying it had 'failed to secure the donations they claimed were coming' and had a 'fantasy approach to finances'. The Conservatives said Reform UK party sources had in January 'claimed a dinner in Mayfair had secured over £1 million in pledges yet there is no evidence in the latest Electoral Commission figures that support this.' They also pointed to figures which show 42 per cent of Reform UK's donations during the three months rely on £613,000 from deputy leader Richard Tice 's company. That almost a third of the money raised by the Conservatives came from one donor, however, will do little to ease Tory MPs fears their leader is not doing enough to build the kind of wide support needed to win the next election. The largest single donation was £1m from former Labour supporter Jez San, a computer game entrepreneur. David Ross, the founder of Carphone Warehouse, who halted donations to the party during its post-Boris Johnson years, is also listed as giving £40,000, in two separate donations. Mr Ross, who once 'facilitated' accommodation for Mr Johnson on the island of Mustique, will become the party's senior treasurer later in the year. Reginald Collins, a longtime member of Labour, was the party's largest individual donor, leaving it £350,000 when he died. The Liberal Democrats had the most individual donors, at 246. The Tories had 122, Labour 93 and Reform 70. The Tories said the latest figures build on the momentum of the previous quarter, where the party raised £1.9 million – more than all the other major political parties combined. The party said major donors were returning 'to support Kemi Badenoch's mission of renewal to completely rewire Britain for the 2030s, based on Conservative values of sound money, lower taxes, and a smaller government that does fewer things but better.' Lord Dominic Johnson, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said: 'The Conservative Party's finances are in great shape. These impressive figures show momentum, building on the strong figures last quarter. 'It marks stark contrast with Labour, ever more reliant on union donations, and Reform, still reeling from internecine warfare, struggling to make good on fantasy pledges and having to be bailed out by Richard Tice. 'We are the party of sound money and economic credibility and donors old and new are backing Kemi's mission of Conservative Renewal.'
