Biggest donors to Tories cloaked in mystery

The two biggest donors to the Conservative Party since the general election are opaque groups that do not have to declare the ultimate origin of their funds.

With big name donors deserting the Conservatives, unincorporated associations account for a fifth of total donations to central office, Tortoise analysis has revealed.

In the first weeks of the new term, these groups have donated £373,000 to the central party, with further sums being handed over to individual MPs.

The National Conservative Draws Society alone has donated £225,000, making it the biggest source of donations so far, while The Spring Lunch has handed over £120,000 in second place.

A third group, The Scottish Unionist Association Trust, has given the central party £28,000, while also supporting two MPs directly, taking its total contribution to £42,000.

Other unincorporated associations have also focused on individual support.

The United & Cecil Club has given £18,000 split across five MPs while the Carlton Club has given nearly £6,000. Other entities including the 1900 Club, Women2Win and various local associations also back MPs directly.

Unincorporated associations are loosely defined entities, described as having a shared – but non-profit-making – purpose. During the Conservatives’ time in power the use of unincorporated associations became controversial because they obscured the origin of donations.

Over the course of the last parliament, these groups contributed nearly £14.5 million across the political spectrum.

Individual donors do have to reveal their identity if they give more than £1,500 to a local party, but, if they give through an unincorporated association, they do not have to declare that information if the donation is less than £7,500.

The groups themselves are only expected to register with the Electoral Commission if they top £37,200 in a calendar year.

Groups such as Spotlight on Corruption and Transparency International called on the previous government to change the law so that checks are carried out on all monetary donations and to review whether unincorporated associations should be prohibited from giving at all.

Steve Goodrich, head of research and investigations at Transparency International UK said: “Despite well-intentioned reforms a decade ago, the public still know next to nothing about where many political Unincorporated Associations get their money from.

“While some are relatively benign lotteries, others sell access to senior politicians. Given the risks involved, those UAs making political donations should be subject to greater transparency requirements and controls on where they can accept money from.”