Reform UK cheered on former Tory donors at fundraising dinner in Mayfair
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Reform UK is gearing up for a new influx of funding by hosting a number of former Conservative donors at a May 25,000 head dinner next week.
Party leader Nigel Farage and treasurer Nick Candy hope to raise more than £1mn from the event at private members’ club Oswald’s in Mayfair on Tuesday, party officials said.
Individuals who have previously collectively donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Conservative Party are expected to be at the dinner.
Tickets for the event cost between £10,000 and £25,000 and up to 90 people are expected to attend, a person familiar with the event said.
A former Tory donor planning to attend told the Financial Times that they opted for the £25,000 ticket rather than the cheaper option to test how the party “respects veteran donors, respects them”.
The Tory donor, who asked not to be named, said: “The will to support the Tories is at an all-time low. Willingness to support reform is slightly better, but the jury is still out on whether or not it will.
The person added that the event was understood to be an attempt to raise more funds, adding, “Reform wants to see this kind of thing work.”
Party officials are planning a major gathering in the summer – the so-called Reform Festival – which they hope will attract thousands of paying attendees.
The winter event is “a celebration of the incredible progress that has been made and all that we and our supporters will achieve together in the coming years,” another senior party official said.
The two events will be part of an effort to raise tens of millions of pounds for the party to boost interest in this year’s local elections and general elections later this decade.
Reform is on 24 per cent, one point behind the Tories, and three points behind Labour, according to an average of recent polls, raising concerns about the ruling party and the main opposition.
Former Tory donor Farage said he hoped to “unite the two strands” by merging the Conservative and Reform parties. The two parties announced that they will not make any campaign or electoral agreement.
Throwing money into the reform coffers would be a fillip for the party, after tech billionaire Elon Musk announced his intention to make large donations to it in recent weeks.
After Farage and Candy traveled to Washington for Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this week and showed their rapport with mega-Republicans, reform insiders say the crackdown will be the latest sign of the rival party’s inward progress.
Farage’s party faces a major challenge in May’s local elections, but securing his support base is not simply a paper event. Last spring, the party fielded candidates in one of seven council seats and won a total of two council members.
This year, party insiders are hoping for more significant wins, including two newly created mayors, with former Tory Andrea Jenkins running against a Conservative opponent in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire, where Labor is in contention.
Candy, who made his fortune in the property market and has previously donated hundreds of thousands to the Tories, joined Reform as treasurer last month and pledged to give at least £1mn of his own money to the party. He has since said he will raise at least £40mn for reform.
A Tory spokesman said: “The Conservatives are under new leadership and are working hard to restore and rebuild trust with the British people.”