The Conservative Party has accepted tens of thousands of pounds in donations from companies that only exist on paper.
Yesterday I wrote to the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission to call for an investigation into two potential breaches of electoral law.
A thread 🧵
Donation 1
According to the Electoral Commission website, the Conservative Party received and accepted a donation of £10,000 from Stridewell Estates Limited on 20 November 2019.
Stridewell's director was the property magnate and Tory donor Brian Gillies.
search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Donati…
The Companies House website states that Stridewell Estates Limited was dissolved on 8 November 2016 – more than three years before this donation was received.
…te.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/SC3021…
Donation 2
According to the Electoral Commission website, the Conservative Party received a donation of £6,000 from Unionist Buildings Limited on 2 June 2017, which was accepted on 5 June 2017.
search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Donati…
The Companies House website states that Unionist Buildings Limited was dissolved on 17 January 2017.
…te.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/001169…
Donation 3
A further donation of £4,000 from Unionist Buildings Limited was registered by the Conservative MP for Aldridge-Brownhills Wendy Morton on 9 January 2020 – almost three years after the company was officially dissolved.
publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem…
Section 54 (2)(b) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 requires that political parties may only accept donations from a company if it “carries on business in the United Kingdom”.
legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/41/…
Section 56 of that Act also states that a party must take all reasonable steps to check that the source of a donation is permissible, and that a registered treasurer must carry out these checks within 30 days to decide whether to accept a donation.
legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/41/…
Parties are advised by the Electoral Commission to check the Companies House website to see if the company is in liquidation, dormant, or about to be struck off – or if the company’s accounts are overdue.
electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/…
Both the law and the guidance around permissibility checks for political donations are clear.
We urgently need to understand why companies that have been officially registered as dissolved made thousands of pounds in donations to the Conservative Party and a sitting Tory MP.
Full text of my letter to @ElectoralCommUK
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.