This piece is from the new issue of Spectator Money, out on Thursday 19 May. The magazine will come free with your next copy of The Spectator, and will also be available to read online at www.spectator.co.uk/money.
The Conservative party’s Black and White Ball is a lavish, billionaire-laden affair. Tickets can cost up to £1,500, with guests who shell out the full £15,000 for a group of ten rewarded with the presence of a cabinet minister on their table. But even if that sounds a bit steep, selling tickets isn’t the main objective. What really makes money is the post-dinner auction, at which Russian oligarchs bid tens or hundreds of thousands for lots such as shoe-shopping with Theresa May, a week in a luxury chalet in Verbier, or (mop my fevered brow) a dinner date with Sajid Javid.
But at this year’s ball the top bids were distinctly underwhelming. That could have been down to the lots offered — ‘a day of campaigning with Zac Goldsmith’ didn’t sound hugely appealing — but even so, when a £1,000 Kurt Geiger voucher goes for just £1,020 in a room full of millionaires, you know something’s up.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in