Who Are Johnson’s 22 Big Money Backers? And Did They Influence the No Confidence Vote?

Sam Bright and Max Colbert dig into the potential impact of Tory donors on the survival of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister

Amid the political posturing surrounding the vote of confidence in Boris Johnson’s leadership of the Conservative Party on Monday, an intervention was received from outside Parliament – delivered by the Sun’s political editor, Harry Cole.

It was a letter from 22 big-money Conservative donors, calling on Conservative MPs to let the Prime Minister “get on with it”.

“Business needs certainty and stability,” the letter read, “so we need Boris Johnson to remain as our Prime Minister, and he has our unwavering support”.

This statement was later used by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries – a fervent Johnson supporter – to implore MPs to back the Prime Minister, although she somewhat misrepresented its contents.

“The Conservative Party donors have said themselves that they aren’t going to support the party if the Prime Minister is removed. I think a number of MPs in marginal seats need to hear that,” Dorries told Sky News.

However, despite Dorries’ skewing of the facts, it is clear that these influential donors did attempt to sway the Conservative confidence vote – using their status as major party funders.

The question is: were they successful?

We analysed the 65 Conservative-held constituency parties that have received funds from these 22 donors since 2017, finding that just over half (33) of MPs representing these seats explicitly declared their confidence in Johnson prior to the contest, while only six explicitly called on him to leave office. The remainder (26) have not stated whether they voted for or against the Prime Minister (Conservative confidence votes are held using a secret ballot system).

Of those who declared their confidence in Johnson, 13 do not hold Government roles, while 20 owe their jobs to the Prime Minister. In other words, of the MPs who have benefitted from funds provided by the big donors, only 13 (20%) declared their support for Johnson despite not having a Government title.

This could be explained by the fact that Johnson has appointed his key allies to Government posts – people who would have voted for him even if they were ordinary backbenchers – or it could signal that Johnson’s support is only preserved by his ability to award positions of power.

In total, 27 of this cohort of 65 MPs hold administrative roles, which is roughly equivalent to the total proportion of Conservative MPs who are on Johnson’s payroll (44%).

Of the who didn’t declare their voting intention, six hold Government positions. If we assume that these six MPs would have backed Johnson, while the remaining undecided MPs would have split equally between the two camps, we’re left with 49 (75%) of the MPs in support of Johnson, and 16 against (25%).

Even if these six MPs all voted against Johnson, he would have received 66% of support among this cohort of 65 MPs – a larger percentage than among Conservative MPs overall (at 58%).

So, for whatever reason, the 65 MPs whose constituencies have received funds from the 22 big donors are more likely to be Johnson supporters than the wider ranks of Conservative MPs.

According to our research, these donors have given some £52 million to the party and Johnson’s various political campaigns since 2001, all are men, while nine are recorded on the Sunday Times Rich List with a combined net worth of £35.3 billion. But who are they?

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Sir William Adderley – £758,000

Sir William Adderley has donated £258,000 personally to the Conservatives since 2021, and a further £500,000 through an investment firm under his control – WA Capital Limited – which also gave £50,000 to the Vote Leave EU Referendum campaign. £250,000 of his donations were a single gift in November 2021.

Adderley is a British billionaire and founder of the Dunelm Group, with him and his wife Jean owning 43% of the business. He and his family have an estimated net worth of £1.78 billion, and is number 103 on the Sunday Times Rich List 2022 At one point he held a £250 million stake in Marks & Spencer, before later selling it.

He received a knighthood in June 2021. 

Sir Henry Angest – £9,645,656

A friend of former Prime Minister David Cameron, Sir Henry Angest has donated both personally and through the Arbuthnot Banking Group – of which he is chairman and CEO and reportedly owns a 55% stake – and Flowidea. Through Arbuthnot Latham & Co, he also ‘lent’ the Conservatives £5 million in 2019, and a further £500,000 through Wyler Investments – that was repaid. He has an estimated net worth of £190 million.

A fierce adversary of City regulation, he has expressed support for a number of right-wing causes, including the Taxpayers’ Alliance, and has donated, largely through Flowdea, to Global Britain, the Freedom Foundation, and the Atlantic Bridge. 

He was knighted in 2015 for ‘political services’. He is a former Conservative Party Treasurer, and a member of the Leader’s Group – a Tory donor society that affords access to senior politicians.

Lord Anthony Bamford – £12,781,748

Chair of JCB, Lord Bamford and his family have donated millions to the Conservatives both personally and through iterations of JCB. Lord Bamford and his family have an estimated net worth of £4.3 billion, and are 42nd on the 2022 Rich List. Lord Bamford has also donated considerable sums to Boris Johnson – helping to fund his 2019 Conservative leadership bid.

Lord Bamford has previously donated a JCB digger for auction at a Conservative fundraiser, has leant Boris Johnson his helicopter, while his wife Lady Bamford arranged for the Prime Minister to received organic food boxes delivered to Number 10 during lockdown. 

Lord Zameer Choudrey – £1,302,614

Lord Choudrey and companies linked to him – notably Bestway, a firm founded by his uncle – have donated well over £1.3 million to the Conservatives in recent years

Lord Choudrey has co-chaired the Conservative Friends of Pakistan, and is a Leader’s Group member. 

He was nominated for a life peerage in Theresa May’s resignation honours list, and was appointed as Baron Choudrey in October 2019. 

Lord Peter Cruddas – £4,319,174

Lord Cruddas – who has donated £4.3 million to Conservative causes, politicians, the central party and to the Vote Leave campaign – was also appointed Conservative co-treasurer in 2011. He resigned from this role when it was revealed that he was offering access to the Prime Minister and Chancellor for up to £250,000.

He has been a Leader’s Group member and is 189 on the Sunday Times Rich List, along with Lady Cruddas, with an estimated net worth of £907 million.

He was nominated for a life peerage in December 2020 by Boris Johnson.

Graham Edwards – £753,604

Graham Edwards is a co-founder and executive chair of the investment company Telereal Trillium, and has held a board position on the right-wing Centre for Policy Studies think-tank.

Sir Anthony Gallagher – £4,360,391

Sir Anthony Gallagher has personally donated £20,000 in 2012, and has since donated a further £4.3 million through companies under his control. He once hosted a 50th birthday party for David Cameron, and has attended Leader’s Group events.

He was given a knighthood under Johnson, and gave the Prime Minister’s son Wilfred a £780 envelope opener made of sterling silver, registered as a gift by the Cabinet Office.

John Gore – £6,591,549

Entertainment producer John Gore is one of just 15 individuals who gave the Conservatives £4.4 million for Johnson’s 2019 General Election war chest, also