Another distortion of Democracy in the Conservative Leadership Election?

 

Another distortion of Democracy in the Conservative Party Leadership Election!

Shown below is an edited version of an Article by

Ben Quinn – in “The Guardian”  

It raises a series of questions:

Is it right that Candidates can spend £400,000 on their Leadership campaign and how many candidates may be excluded by this? A maximum of £150,000 seems a reasonable limit.

Why should a Candidate pay anything to CCHQ just to get into the last Four?  When did democracy have a price attached to it?   Even worse than this why do they then have to pay a further £150,000 to be in the last two Candidates.?   Each Can should pay a Deposit of £5,000 to CCHQ which is forfeited if they receive less than %5 of the votes.

It cannot be right to raise money for the Leadership Election from Corporations and Non UK Citizens.   For what?   Donations should be limited to £7,500 per individual who must be a UK citizen.

CCHQ say the monies received are to offset the costs of the Party Conference but in recent years the Conference has made substantial profits so why charge the Candidates now?   There are minimal extra costs involved.

This whole process is going down the road similar to the United States system where money dictates politics – a dangerous route to tread.   The Presidential Election in the USA costs billions of dollars.   Do we really want to follow suit?

In 2006 a Director of CCHQ told me that the Conservative Party should be like the Republican Party in the USA.   The Republican Party does not have members.   When there is a Presidential Election they set up a Committee to support the candidate.   Billions of dollars are raised to fight the election.   As a result pork barrel politics dominates.   States are promised government money, Companies are promised contracts, gerrymandering is rife!   Big donors dominate policy.   Democracy disappears!   Every Senator is a multi- millionaire!

Over the last 20 years we have seen the Conservative Party travel down that road moving ever closer to the USA system:

·        Members rights have effectively been eliminated.

·        No longer do Constituency Associations have an open list when selecting their MP

·        No longer can they deselect their MP without vigorous opposition from CCHQ.

·        The members vote in a Leadership election is distorted in the process.

·        Membership has become worthless and has declined to its lowest level in Conservative Party history and the Party has done nothing about it.

·        Motions at the Party Conference have been scrapped so members have no influence on policy.

·        There used to be a limit on the amount an MP could give to his Constituency Association to prevent Associations being bought, but that has now been abandoned.   Jeremy Hunt MP has given over £100,000 to his Constituency in the last couple of years.

·        Now we see the big money syndrome creeping into the Tory Party.   How many promises will be given when candidates are raising money for their campaigns? We  now know that large donors to the Labour Party have been given jobs in the Labour Government administration.   Could the same happen in the Tory Party?

·        How many candidates will be put off by the requirement to raise such large sums of money?

 

The following is an edited version of an Article by

Ben Quinn – in “The Guardian” 

Fri 26 Jul 2024

The Conservatives have set the spending limit in their leadership contest at £400,000, as the party tries to use the race to cover costs.

Robert Jenrick, a frontrunner who has been preparing for the contest for some time, had pressed for a higher cap. The £400,000 limit is £100,000 more than it was in the last contest, two years ago.

The contest will also be a “pay to play” affair, with candidates needing to have raised £50,000 to reach the final four, who will make their case to party members at the Tory conference in the autumn. Money raised will go towards the cost of that event.

Candidates will then need to have £150,000 to make the final shortlist of two, which will be put to party members.

The higher spending limit reflects what will be a longer race, but it also comes as the party’s coffers are badly depleted after a disastrous election campaign in which many donors who supported the Tories in 2019 turned their backs.

The ability to attract donors is likely to be brandished as an asset in the race. A friend of Jenrick’s said: “In order to build back we will need a leader who can raise funds. Rob has a track record of not only being a significant fundraiser himself but also as someone who has helped other colleagues.”

The former immigration Minister had already raised £50,000 from three donors in the months running up to the general election.

Records show they included a donation of £35,000 on 3 April from Quantum Pacific Corporation UK Ltd, owned by Idan Ofer, a London-based shipping and mining heir whose father, Sammy, was once Israel’s richest man.

Jenrick also received a £10,000 donation in May from Financial Recovery Technologies UK Ltd, which is controlled by two American brothers, Howard and Jeffrey Wolk.

As well as their staffing costs and their contribution to the party conference, each candidate will be spending money on polling and advertising. “It’s hard to convey just how you burn through money in campaigns like this,” said one source.

Donors are expected to open their wallets now that the full slate of declared candidates has become clear. A breakdown of what has been donated in recent weeks will be declared at a later date.

A source in one of the campaigns said: “It might be the case that at least one of those running has already raised a considerable sum. But also when you start running, that is when you can really go in front of someone and ask for that support.

In 2022 Liz Truss was given more than £500,000 for her leadership campaign, with about half coming from donors linked to hedge fund bosses and other City financiers.

A Conservative party spokesperson said: “There is always a spending limit set for each campaign during  a Leadership contest.”