The Conservatives are fighting to stem the loss of major donors to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK as the insurgent party rises in the polls.
Kemi Badenoch is expected on Saturday to appear at the party’s London conference in Westminster, with wealthy Conservative donors having been invited to an evening drinks reception.
It comes amid fears in Tory HQ that many of the party’s donors are considering withdrawing their support and backing Mr Farage’s party instead.
Reform held a £25,000-a head fundraiser in Mayfair on Tuesday attended by ex-Conservative donors Bassim Haidar and Mohamed Amersi. The evening reportedly generated more than £1m in funds for the party, which will aid its campaign to attack the Conservatives and paint Reform as the real opposition to Labour.
The surge in donations to Reform comes after the party leapfrogged Ms Badenoch’s party in the polls, pushing the Conservatives into third.
The latest Techne tracker poll for The Independent showed the Conservatives dropped one point this week going to 23 per cent, Reform UK remained at 24 per cent and Labour, in a rare boost, picked up one point moving to 26 per cent.
The shift will give Reform further credibility in trying to lure donors away from the Conservatives and will add to fears at the top of the party.
One Tory source told the Guardian the last three months have been among the worst on record for the party in terms of bringing in donations, with the treasurer’s department extremely worried about the number of donors who are no longer financially backing the party.
And luxury hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, who backed Ms Badenoch’s leadership campaign and gave the party £100,000 during the 2019 general election, told the Guardian: “It’s not yet clear what the Conservative party is doing and for me and many other people. There is a big question mark.
“I’m a very big supporter of Kemi Badenoch. I think she understands a radical revolution is needed. A lot of what Reform is saying is pointing in the right direction and I admire Farage, who have momentum at the moment and have no baggage.
“The problem for Kemi Badenoch is that every time she says anything, others ask, ‘Well, why didn’t you do something about it when you’re in power?’ I think she’s got to disassociate herself quite significantly from what happened in the last 14 years when there was a strategy of the middle ground and all that.”
Party sources told the paper Ms Badenoch has not done enough to woo donors, citing the example of her turning up late to a function and leaving early having not been explicit enough in asking for donations.
Reform has made Ms Badenoch’s North West Essex constituency one of its targets, holding a rally in the seat on Friday night in a bid to park its tanks directly on her lawn.
Asked about the party’s move ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, Mr Farage told The Independent it was just the beginning of a slide for the Tories.
He added: “They will start to fall quickly, they already are in Wales.”
Techne UK chief executive Michela Morizzo told The Independent the survey this week is “very bad news” for Ms Badenoch and the Tories.
The Conservative Party was asked to comment.
