The status quo – that Liz Truss said was ‘not an option’ – funded her Tory leadership campaign
Money: Liz Truss had half a million pounds in funding for her Tory leadership campaign – almost twice the permitted amount. It came from hedge fund bosses, bankers and business leaders – the “status quo” that she warned against in her two-faced Conservative Party conference speech.
Remember this, from Liz Truss’s keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference, only yesterday?
The status quo is not an option, says #LizTruss, parroting a Tory slogan from years ago. #PoliticsLive #ConservativePartyconference
— Mike Sivier (@MidWalesMike) October 5, 2022
Today we discover that, not only is it an option for her, but it was her first option when seeking funding for her campaign to be leader of the Conservative Party – and prime minister by default:
Liz Truss was given more than £500,000 for her leadership campaign, with about half of it coming from donors linked to hedge fund bosses, venture capitalists and other City financiers. https://t.co/W6FgZACee3
— Diana #FBPE #RejoinEU #IStandWithUkraine (@Diana38261174) October 5, 2022
These are people who will now consider it their right to make demands of the UK’s prime minister, ensuring that she does what they tell her – because she owes them her job.
When Liz Truss suggests she's "challenging the status quo", it's worth remembering the super-rich donors who funded her leadership campaign, including: a billionaire (£25k donation), a city banker (£50k) and an ex-BP executive partner (£100k).
That's who she really represents.
— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) October 5, 2022
Crucially:
The prime minister, who has made a virtue of being pro-business and cutting taxes, saw a further round of donations declared on the register of MPs’ interests on Wednesday.
The second tranche of donations takes the amount she has received to more than £500,000 – way above the campaign spending limit of £300,000.
So she broke the campaign’s rules.
Doesn’t that make her candidacy invalid? Shouldn’t she be resigning right about now, rather than jetsetting around the world on a prime ministerial jolly?
