THE Tories are facing a £25 million funding shortfall as their usual donors view backing a clearly losing horse as “pointless”, according to reports.
The party’s finances are so poor that it has been forced to use its overdraft just to pay staff, Bloomberg reported.
After Rishi Sunak took over as Prime Minister in October and appointed Nadhim Zahawi as Tory chairman, there was a £5m black hole in the party’s finances.
But Zahawi has been fired as party chair after improper handling of his personal tax affairs came to light, and Sunak has yet to fill the post.
READ MORE: Nadhim Zahawi SACKED by Rishi Sunak over 'serious' breach of ministerial code
US news website Bloomberg reported that the Tories’ “reputation for competence and stability was trashed last year when they ousted two prime ministers, sank the pound, and roiled the bond market”.
The annus horribilis for the Conservatives has been reflected in the polls, which regularly puts them more than 20 points behind Labour.
YouGov’s latest Westminster voting intention poll, run from January 31 to February 1, put Labour on 48% of the vote and the Tories on just 24%.
After speaking to traditional Tory funders, Bloomberg reported that “donations to the Tory campaign are seen as pointless” with Labour looking almost certain to take control at the next General Election.
The news site reported: “Pro-Remain donors are unhappy with Brexit. Pro-Brexit donors are unhappy with how it’s been delivered. Pro-Boris Johnson donors are upset at his removal from power. Johnson-skeptic ones closed their wallets after the ‘Partygate’ saga that helped bring him down. Pro-Liz Truss donors are depressed about the implosion of her tax-cutting premiership. And other donors are furious at the Tories for the chaos over which they have presided.”
Electoral Commission data from 2022 shows that donations to the Conservatives dipped by 45% from the second to third quarter of the year, while Labour’s donations increased over the same period.
Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour agreed to underwrite millions of pounds of donations to stop the party from going under after being made senior party treasurer by Sunak, according to reports.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel