SENIOR officials within the Conservative Party planned to make millions by handing over the party's entire membership database to build a mobile phone app.
An investigation by The Guardian found leaked documents which show Tory executives planning to launch a “True Blue” app in time for the Conservative Party conference in October last year.
The app was intended to provide the party with more a direct platform to communicate to members.
It would have allowed members to make donations, as well as direct them to polling stations on election days.
However, a presentation document uncovered by The Guardian found that there were also plans to allow brands such as Coca-Cola and Amazon to advertise on the app in a move commercialising their own members’ data.
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Furthermore, it proposed the provision of a voter ID card for the app’s users – a benefit of membership seemingly unavailable to any other political party since the UK Government imposed the need for official identification at polling stations.
The party would then have taken a cut of sales made via the app, which would have allowed companies to target members based on their geographical location.
The proposal was developed by Norwegian businessman Christen Ager-Hanssen (below), who previously oversaw the collapse of the Swedish newspaper Metro.
The venture capitalist recently left his role at cryptocurrency tech company nChain after allegations surfaced that he was working unlawfully.
It appears the company would have played a role in developing the app.
Ager-Hanssen proposed the idea to the Conservative Party after meeting Rishi Sunak in June 2023.
Commercial profits from the app were set to be split with 25% going to Ager-Hanssen’s company Addreax, and the rest going to the Tory party.
A presentation suggested that Addreax already had partnerships with brands such as Amazon, Coca-Cola and Apple, although none of these companies confirmed any relationship with the company or the app.
The presentation also claimed that the party’s share of annual revenues from the app could reach £160 million.
“It’s rather sad, really, to see the Conservative party treating their own brand and membership like a failing asset to be raided and stripped for cash as if they were some kind of vulture fund,” said Cori Crider, a lawyer who runs Foxglove, a non-profit campaign group calling for fairness in the tech sector.
Ultimately, the idea was scrapped soon after the presentation despite the Conservative Party’s chief operating officer, Aimee Henderson, reacting positively to the proposal and hoping for “a conference launch date”.
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