An investigation into the governing party’s elite donors by the Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens reveals that the vast majority received their awards in the same time period as they were gifting significant sums of money
More than a quarter of Conservative donors who have given more than £100,000 to the party hold a title or honour.
Three-quarters of the party’s elite donors received these titles after the Conservatives came to power in 2010, an investigation by the Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens has found.
Of the Conservative Party’s 20 biggest donors since 2010 – those donating more than £1.5 million – 55% (11) have received an honour or title. Ten were given these rewards in the last decade.
Nineteen of 260 donors who gave more than £100,000 in a single donation hold life peerages. 20 have been knighted and 14 hold Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBEs).
A further eight have the awards of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBEs), and three have been awarded Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBEs).
The revelation comes after recent analysis by the Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens uncovered how older, white, male Londoners in the financial services sector dominate a list of 286 individuals who have donated £100,000 or more to Conservative HQ in the past decade.
Top Roles for Top Donors
The Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens were able to gather information on 259 of the 286 individuals who have given more than £100,000 to the Conservative Party between 2010 and 2020. Individuals with ‘generic’ names such as John Cook or David Thompson were excluded from the analysis, as were those who made smaller donations that cumulatively topped £100,000.
Of the 259, at least 67 (26%) were found to hold some form of honour, title, or peerage.
Only three elite donors held titles received either by birth or by marriage. These were the hereditary peer Lord Jamie Borwick, Lady Annabel Goldsmith, and Lady Alison De Haan. Lord Borwick’s son, Thomas Borwick, was a digital media strategist for the Conservative Party and Vote Leave campaign. Lady Goldsmith is the daughter of a marquess, whilst Lady De Haan is married to cruise ship tycoon Sir Roger De Haan. They are the only two women among the list of honoured or titled elite Conservative Party donors.
The remaining 64 (96%) of those identified as holding titles or honours received their accolades through the New Year, Birthday or Prime Minister’s Resignation Honours system, or by being made a life peer by the leader of the Conservative Party.
While some have held their honours or peerages for many years, the majority have received their titles after the Conservatives came to power in 2010. This means that the vast majority of elite donors received their awards in the same time period as they were gifting significant sums of money to the party.
Among the Conservative’s 20 biggest financial supporters since 2010 – individuals who have donated more than £1.5 million – eleven (55%) held some form of honour. Only one had been awarded their honour prior to 2011.
The majority of top Conservative donors received their honours as a result of the work they have carried out. One of the Conservative’s biggest financial backers, Sir Michael Davis, received his knighthood in 2015 for “services to Holocaust commemoration and education”. Sir Davis was the chair of the Holocaust Memorial Commission of the United Kingdom for several years.
The vast majority of elite donors received their awards in the same time period as they were gifting significant sums of money to the Conservative Party