It’s all about money: if Boris Johnson didn’t have any, he couldn’t harm anyone. So why are we supporting the people who support him?
[Update: if you want to see the eye-watering amounts that Boris Johnson has received in donations – and the names of the private companies providing the cash – visit this article.]
[Update October 25, 2020: New additions added today. They are listed in this colour.]
The response to my article calling for people to stop buying products provided by firms that donate to the Conservative Party had a great response.
Originally I intended to update that article with new additions to the list of Tory donor firms, but it occurs to me that this may not attract as many readers as regular (or semi-regular) updates, so I’m taking the latter route.
I am aware that some respondents have expressed scepticism about the idea. It won’t produce results overnight, that’s for sure – but then, we’re stuck with Boris Johnson and his cabal of incompetents until 2024, thanks to the 2019 general election. Do you have anything better to do?
This Site can’t change the situation on its own, either, so don’t expect me to. It is the individual responsibility of everybody in the UK to obtain the best government possible – and to change that government by any legal means if a wrong decision is made; you can’t expect the rest of us to do it for you.
That means changing your behaviour to cut out the Tory businesses, and finding new suppliers of goods and services you need.
It also means pestering your friends and colleagues to do the same. Expect resistance because people are naturally lazy. Use the exam results fiasco to persuade parents, and the Covid-19 disaster on others. As the Tories perpetrate more cock-ups – and they will – add those to the list you can use.
And here’s the list of Tory donor firms to shun:
Addison Lee (via founder John Griffin)
Airbus Group Ltd
Airport Park & Ride Ltd
Alfred Dunhill Ltd
Allinson’s (bread – owned by Associated British Foods)
Alton Towers (owned by Prestbury property firm)
Amey Group Services Ltd
Annabel’s (Berkeley Square) Ltd
Asda Property Holdings
ASDA Stores Ltd
Askey’s (ice cream – owned by Associated British Foods)
Associated British Foods
AXA Trading Limited
BAA Airports Ltd
Balfour Beatty
Beds and Bars Ltd
Bell Pottinger Communications Ltd
Berkeley Homes (housebuilder)
Bestway (cash and carry)
Betfair Ltd
Bicester Shopping Village
Billington’s (sugar – owned by Associated British Foods)
Birmingham Airport Ltd
Bloomberg (media group)
Boden (online and catalogue retailer)
Caledonia Investments
Calor Gas Ltd
Cameron Mackintosh (theatre company: Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, Miss Saigon, Cats and Hamilton)
Canary Wharf Group (property)
Carlton Television (via boss Michael Green)
Carphone Warehouse
Caxton Associates (via boss Andrew Law)
CityLink (via boss Jon Moulton)
Claridge’s Hotel
Clinton Cards (donations to individual MPs of which this is an example)
Cobra Beer
Country House Weddings Ltd
Crusha (milkshakes – owned by Associated British Foods)
CVC Capital Partners (via co-founder Bruce Hardy McLain)
Delamere Dairy
DFS Furniture (historical – Tory donor Lord Graham Kirkham lost control in 2013)
Dorset Cereals (owned by Associated British Foods)
Dow Investments plc
Dunelm (owner Bill Adderly donated £500,000 to the Tory 2019 election campaign)
Dyson (household appliance manufacturer)
EADS UK
E.On (gas and electricity supplier)
Express Newspapers
Flamingo Land (Yorkshire theme park)
Garden Centre Group
Gatwick Airport
GCH Capital (manufacturing and distribution)
Genix Healthcare (NHS and private dental clinics)
Ginsters (pasty and pie manufacturer, owned by Tory donors Samworth Brothers)
Golden Wonder (crisps)
Heathrow Airport
Hooch (drink, owned by Tory donor Global Brands Ltd)
Iceland (supermarket)
Imperial London Hotels Ltd
Jacksons of Piccadilly (tea – owned by Associated British Foods)
JCB (construction, but has also licenced hundreds of other products)
Jordans (cereals – owned by Associated British Foods)
JP Morgan Cazenove (via former chairman David Mayhew)
Kingsmill (bread – owned by Associated British Foods)
Kurt Geiger (shoemakers)
LNT Group (boss Lawrence Tomlinson donated £40,500 to 13 Tory candidates in 2019 election)
The London Cabaret Club
Lycamobile (SIM card company)
McLaren (automotive)
Meggitt (aerospace engineering)
Melton Mowbray pies (owned by Tory donors Samworth Brothers)
Microsoft Ltd (UK branch of the US corporation. This could be tricky as I expect we all have Microsoft products!)
Moonpig.com
Mothercare
National Express
New Cross Nursing Group Ltd (nurse agency)
Next
Nielsen Massey (vanilla and food flavourings – owned by Associated British Foods)
Numis (investment banker)
Ocado
Ovaltine (owned by Associated British Foods)
OVO Energy (through managing director Stephen Fitzpatrick)
Palantir
Parabis Group (legal & professional services)
Patak’s (owned by Associated British Foods)
Petrofac (via chairman Ayman Asfari)
Pimlico Plumbers
Powerleague (five-a-side football group)
Radnor Hills Mineral Water
Frederic Robinson Ltd (owns Robinson Breweries and 280 pubs in the North West, producer of bottled and cask beers)
Ryvita (owned by Associated British Foods)
Sainsbury’s (supermarket) (due to donations by Tory Lord John Sainsbury, the company’s president, totalling more than £1 million between 2001 and 2017. There is also a Lord David Sainsbury who donated £8 million to the Liberal Democrats – but his holdings in the firm are now managed as a ‘blind’ trust to prevent any conflict of interest with his political career.)
Scottish Power (although this firm seems confused and has also given to Labour)
Selfridges (department store)
Serco
Shop Direct
Silver Spoon (suger manufacturer, owned by Associated British Foods)
Soreen Malt Loaf (owned by Tory donors Samworth Brothers)
The Spectator (magazine, via former owner Sir Henry Keswick)
Speedibake (bakery products – owned by Associated British Foods)
The Sun (newspaper (it says))
Sunblest (bread – owned by Associated British Foods)
Tate & Lyle (sugar manufacturer)
Telecom Plus
Tempcover (car insurer)
Towergate Partnership (insurance/financial)
Truvia (sweeteners – owned by Associated British Foods)
Tullow Oil
Twinings (tea manufacturer, owned by Associated British Foods)
Tyrells (crisps)
Veetee Rice (food)
VK (alcopop owned by Tory donor Global Brands Ltd)
Warburtons (bread manufacturer)
Wates (construction)
Westfield (shopping centre operator)
Wetherspoons (pub chain)
Wittington Investments (food)
Wren Kitchens
It’s still not an exhaustive list. I’m working through the evidence as fast as I can.
And it may be inaccurate in places. Any firm or person listed above who thinks they shouldn’t be is invited to get in touch (politely, please!) and we can talk about it.
I must emphasize that this is not something that can achieve results overnight. It requires a behavioural shift by a large number of people, into awareness of where their money goes after they use it to buy goods/services.
And I must also remind you of one very important fact:
If you – personally – don’t do anything, nothing will change. It really is your choice.
(NOTE August 17: Richer Sounds has been removed from the list as I have been informed that the company is very far from being a Tory donor; it is now largely employee-owned and supports a large number of progressive causes and campaigns, in line with the activities of its founder, Julian Richer. I am delighted to make this correction and hope to run an article about what appears to be an exemplary UK business in the near future.)
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/mike-sivier-libel-fight/
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