A series of “secretive” Tory dining clubs are bankrolling the party’s general election campaign in key marginal parliamentary seats that will determine the result, according to an analysis of official figures.
Labour accused the Tories of resorting to secrecy rather than transparency after the figures showed the special bodies have provided £642,634 to its key battleground seats since the last election.
Jon Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, said the Tories were exploiting a loophole in the law, which permits anonymous donations of up to £7,500 to “unincorporated associations”. Individuals who give more than £1,500 to a local party have to reveal their identity.
Tory candidates and their agents in the 40/40 seats at the heart of the party’s general election campaign – the 40 most marginal seats they are defending and the 40 most marginal seats they are targeting – have been encouraged to set up such associations without the need for the word Conservative or Tory in their title. The associations with nondescript names include the No Balls Ball, the North West Patrons Club, the Trevelyan Campaign Fund and the Prescription Club.
Local Tory associations are encouraged in official guidelines to set up the special funding vehicles, which are often called business or patrons’ clubs, to give donors anonymity. The party advice warns that direct donations to MPs have to be registered with House of Commons authorities.
The advice says: “If the MP receives the donation directly, they will need the names and addresses of all donors who gave the club over £1,500, as additional requirements apply at the house. We advise that donations should be made to the constituency fighting fund instead, where this additional reporting does not apply.”
The Labour analysis of figures released by the Electoral Commission found that such associations have provided 40% of the funding for the key marginal seats this year – £293,630 of the £742,947 raised by the Tories. This is a dramatic increase in the £21,014 donated by unincorporated associations to the Tories in 2010.
According to Labour, a third of the seats (27) are entirely dependent this year on funding from the associations.
The official party advice also suggests that Tories should keep the party’s name out of the title of the association. It says: “The club should not be named after a specific candidate, and does not need to have the word ‘Conservative’ in the name.”
The No Balls Ball, which appears to be a spoof on the name of Ed Balls, has provided £32,516 apiece to the cause of two Tory candidates, David Warburton and James Heappey, fighting the Liberal Democrat marginal seats of Somerton and Frome and Wells. The donors to the fund, which is registered at a residential property in the safe Tory South West Wiltshire parliamentary constituency, remain anonymous.
The Tory party also advises local associations that setting up business and patrons’ clubs improves links with businesses which, in turn, can “help provide vital campaign funds”.
According to an email published by Inside Croydon, guests were invited to attend the launch of the Croydon Business Club and the “small and select invitation-only group” would meet a speaker either from an interesting and relevant business background or a senior MP or government minister.
Labour said the Tory funding arrangements raised questions about whether the Tories were abiding by the MPs’ code of conduct, which says that donations linked to an MP should be declared. The code says that if the donation would have been forthcoming regardless of the identity of the candidate – and the MP had no role in soliciting the donation – then it would be permissible.
Ashworth said: “The Tories are trying to buy the election through secretive supper clubs. The Tories can’t beat Labour on the number of activists campaigning on the ground in key seats, but they have a steady stream of big donors willing to bankroll their campaign.
“David Cameron is encouraging his candidates to use these secretive clubs to fund their campaigns and official Conservative party guidance seems to encourage secrecy rather than transparency. We know that hedge funds and bankers are backing the Tories, but we don’t know who is bankrolling certain clubs. David Cameron should come clean about who is behind all aspects of Tory funding.”
A Conservative spokesperson said: “All donations to the Conservative party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them and comply fully with Electoral Commission rules. Any suggestion of impropriety by the party is malicious and defamatory and will be treated as such.’’
