Tory finances worsen as donations dry up

In a further blow for outgoing Tory leader Rishi Sunak figures have revealed that donations to the Conservative party this year were not quite as generous as they have been in the past. It transpires that Sunak’s Tories received less than 10 per cent of the donations Boris Johnson managed to wrangle in 2019. And to add insult to injury, the Times reports that the cash-strapped Conservatives are even considering using conference to hold leadership hustings to save funds. Oo er.

In 2019, Boris’s Brexit-focused campaign attracted a whopping £19.3 million – over 10 times more than Sunak achieved this year. The outgoing Tory leader brought in just £1.85 million from reticent backers after billionaire businessman John Caudwell (who gave Johnson’s campaign £500,000 five years ago) withdrew his support and backed Labour instead. Peter Hargreaves, who donated a round million in 2019, didn’t give a penny to Sunak either.

As if the Frank Hester episode