The money men behind Truss’s disastrous mini budget have pumped millions into Rishi Sunak’s Tory election machine, we can reveal.
Bosses and leading advisors of three influential right-wing think tanks – which aim to influence government policies – have given more than £5.5m to the Tories since Sunak replaced Truss in October 2022. PM Sunak dubbed Truss’s economic policies “wrong” and tried to distance himself from her calamitous six-week term.
But his party is still linked to the wealthy donors who lauded Truss’s brief stint as Prime Minister and cataclysmic mini-budget – before it caused sterling to crash and mortgage rates to soar. A probe for the Mirror, Led By Donkeys and the Democracy for Sale newsletter has found that the bosses leading the Institute of Economic Affairs and Policy Exchange( IEA), Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) and Policy Exchange (PE)- at the time of Truss’s mini-budget in September 2022 – have collectively given more than £35 million to the Tories in the last two decades.
These organisations have been dubbed as “dark money” as they refuse to reveal who is funding them. They are also widely credited with inspiring Truss’s mini-budget. Since 2020, they have had more than 150 meetings with Conservative ministers, lobbying on subjects including post-Brexit trade, freeports and deregulation. The CPS has also questioned the scientific consensus on climate change, while the IEA has previously been accused of promoting denial on the issue and promotion of privatisation of the NHS.
Labour’s shadow chief secretary to the treasury Darren Jones said: “When all Rishi Sunak has to offer the British people is £71bn of unfunded spending commitments, it’s no surprise that Truss’s cronies are bankrolling the Conservative party. Rather than turn his back on the kamikaze approach that made working people worse off, Sunak was happy to reward the people who crashed the economy with seats in the Lords, and now put them firmly in the driving seat of his campaign.”
Truss’s brief stint in Number 10 was seen as a crowning achievement for the Institute of Economic Affairs. Conservative pundit Tim Montgomerie described it as a “massive moment for the IEA”, which had “incubated Truss and Kwarteng during their early years as MPs. Britain is now their laboratory.”
The then head of the IEA, Mark Littlewood, responded by posting a sunglasses emoji. He now runs Truss’s Popular Conservatives group. During her brief 50-day stint as PM, the shortest in history, she brought in former staff from the Policy Exchange to Number 10.
The Centre for Policy Studies’ welcomed her cataclysmic September 2022 mini-budget as “exactly what we would have hoped for and what people like us have been calling for for a long time.” When Mr Sunak attended a lavish 50th anniversary gala dinner for the CPS in March, he said: “In no small part, we live in the world created by the Centre for Policy Studies.”
Six of the 16 company directors at the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) have made donations to the Conservative Party – worth a total of £21.9 million. Three CPS directors have also worked as Conservative Party fundraisers including former Tory chairman Sir Ben Elliot and current party treasurer Graham Edwards.
CPS chairman Michael Spencer has given more than £7 million to the Tories, mostly through his company IPGL Ltd. Spencer personally donated £25,000 to Liz Truss ’s leadership success – praising her first Prime Minister’s questions in the House of Commons as “the most pro-business PMQs that I can remember”. He has given a quarter of a million pounds to Sunak’s election campaign.
Another CPS board member, entrepreneur Graham Edwards, gave £50,000 to Truss’s leadership campaign. But Mr Sunak has since appointed him as Tory Treasurer. In that job he has raised more than £48 million for the Tories, personally donating more than £4.5 million since October 2022.
JCB tycoon Anthony Bamford, who has given at least £9 million to the Tories, including more than £75,000 in recent months. The CPS board member had previously hailed Truss’s “plans to reward British people for working hard”. The CPS declined to comment.
Eight of the 20 current members of the Institute of Economic Affairs board of trustees and advisory board have donated to the Conservatives. Alexander Temerko, a supporter of Truss’ proposals to slash taxes for the rich, has given more than £97,000 since October 2022.
Five trustees of Policy Exchange have donated more than £9 million to the Conservative Party. On the night of Truss’s mini-budget, trustee and hedge fund boss Andrew Law hosted a champagne party for then chancellor Kwarteng. Law has given more than £4 million to the Tories, including over £100,000 under Sunak. Neither of the other think tanks or any of the individuals named responded to a request for comment.