Kemi Badenoch to relaunch exclusive ‘advisory board’ for high-value donors | Conservatives
Kemi Badenoch According to information obtained by the Guardian, the Conservative Party’s “advisory board” for high-value donors is relaunching with a different look.
The Conservative Party leader has drawn up plans to relaunch the private group that gives top donors regular direct access to senior ministers, according to two people briefed on the plans.
In 2021, the Conservative party’s advisory board found itself at the center of a “cash for access” storm after it was revealed that its members were holding regular meetings and phone calls with then-prime minister Boris Johnson and then-premier Rishi Sunak.
a donor, Mohammed AmersiHe told the media that some members of the board gave more than £250,000 a year to the party. The controversy ended quietly in the following years.
Badenoch’s decision to reappoint the board is a sign of efforts to ensure money flows into the party’s coffers. Despite concerns, donations have continued since the Conservative Party suffered its worst-ever election defeat.
Party officials are still deciding what the advisory board will be called in the new iteration. Most likely, senior donors will be given access to Badenoch and shadow cabinet members, allowing them to advocate for party policy that will protect their interests.
There are fears within the Tory fundraising team that Labour’s policies, including a crackdown on non-dom tax status, are driving super-rich donors away from the UK.
A Conservative Party spokesman declined to comment.
A Conservative Party source said the party had raised more than £500,000 since its conference last month, where Badenoch’s speech and policy announcements, including a promise to abolish stamp duty, were well received.
Another source with knowledge of the party’s inner workings said it has long maintained different layers of donors, including its “leader group” of the most rewarded donors with the best access to the party leader and senior team.
Unlike the leader’s group, the existence of the advisory board was never publicly announced or disclosed before its formation. Announced by Financial Times in 2021It reported that its members used their access to Johnson and Sunak to call for cuts in public spending, lower taxes and a more Thatcherite economic policy.
The Conservative party’s fundraising efforts at the time were led by Ben Elliot, a businessman and founder of the Quintessentially concierge service, who was known for the “excessive growth” of Conservative party donations during his time as co-chairman. His tenure sparked controversy and he resigned when Liz Truss became prime minister in 2022.
In an interview earlier this week, Badenoch said the Conservatives had almost run out of money after the election and were at risk of going bankrupt. The party has faced intense competition for donors from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Badenoch told the BBC he was “working furiously behind the scenes” to keep donors together in his first months as leader and that it “actually took quite a bit of time”. [her] time that could be spent campaigning and policy making”.
The Guardian reported in April that the Conservative Party had lost one of its biggest donors, Richard Harpin of HomeServe, founder of the home repair business.
However, Electoral Commission records show the Conservatives have outpaced other parties by raising £8.4 million in cash so far this year, compared to Labor’s £5.9 million and Reform’s £3.3 million.
Supporters of the party this year include video game mogul Jez San, who donated £2 million, and Northern Irish industrialist Chris Rea, who donated £200,000.
Reform UK has received some support from former Tory donors, including a long-promised £500,000 from property billionaire Nick Candy.
Reform also received £200,000 from billionaire IT investor and former Tory donor Bassim Haidar and £100,000 from hedge fund manager and fox hunting enthusiast Johan Christofferson, who had previously given money to Johnson.
