A new analysis by The Independent reveals the prime minister is being forced to rely on a dwindling pool of donors, as support for the Conservatives drains away and opinion polls show the party is on course to be booted out at the next election.
An astonishing four-fifths of all individual donations made to the Conservative Party since Mr Sunak entered Downing Street have come from just 10 wealthy people, according to an analysis by The Independent.
The 10 super-rich backers have given a combined sum of £10.6m to the Tories since Mr Sunak became PM – accounting for 83 per cent of the £12.7m received from individuals since he took charge.
That figure was much lower under his predecessors Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron – and suggests the party is becoming more “heavily reliant” on a small group of supporters under Mr Sunak than under other recent Tory prime ministers.
Egyptian-born billionaire Mohamed Mansour, a former minister in Hosni Mubarak’s government, is the biggest single backer of the Sunak era. The UK-based retail magnate said he gave £5m in May because the PM “understands how growth is generated”.
Others in the top 10 donors list for the Sunak era include long-time Tory backers such as Lubov Chernukhin – wife of the former Russian oligarch Vladimir Chernukhin – who gave £136,000. Her lawyer has insisted that her donations “have never been tainted by Kremlin or any other influence”.
Rishi Sunak has been forced to rely on a dwindling pool of party donors
Here are the top Tory donors since Rishi Sunak became PM
£5m – Mohamed Mansour
The Egyptian-born billionaire – a former minister under the Hosni Mubarak government – is chairman of retail and investment giant Mansour Group. The UK-based mogul said he made the huge donation because Mr Sunak “understands how growth is generated”.
£2.5m – Graham Edwards
Mr Edwards owns one of Britain’s biggest private property firms, Telereal Trillium. He said in June he had donated so much since Mr Sunak came to power because the PM was someone who could “get things done” and would keep the “dangerous ideologies” of the Labour Party out of power.
£2m – Amit Lohia
Dubbed the “Prince of Polyester”, the Indian-born 48-year-old is the non-executive director of Indorama Ventures Ltd – a major producer of polyester. His spokesperson said the donation, his first to the Tories, was made in a “personal capacity”.
£336,000 – Richard Harpin
A regular Tory donor, the chief executive of insurance giant HomeServe has personally donated more than £2m to the party since 2008. Mr Harpin’s company was fined £30m in 2014 for misselling insurance.
£250,000 – Malcolm Healey
The billionaire owns Wren Kitchens’ parent company, West Retail Group, and has given more than £3m personally to the party since 2017. Wren Kitchens was criticised for claiming millions of pounds’ worth of Covid furlough money, despite recording a £75.3m profit.
£163,000 – Christopher Wood
Professor Wood is the director at Medannex and several other biopharmaceutical firms. Another consistent Tory donor, he has personally given more than £1m to the Conservatives since 2014, the Electoral Commission records show.
£136,000 – Lubov Chernukhin
The former banker is married to the former Russian oligarch Vladimir Chernukhin. She has given more than £2.4m to the Tories since 2012. She reportedly paid £45,000 for a game of tennis with Boris Johnson. Her lawyer previously told the BBC her donations to the party “have never been tainted by Kremlin or any other influence”.
£125,000 – Selva Pankaj
Mr Pankaj founded the Regent Group, which has interests in education, training and investment management and runs London’s Regent College. He has personally given more than £600,000 to the Tories.
£100,000 – Alasdair Locke
The energy magnate is the founder of Motor Fuel Group, the UK’s largest owner of petrol station forecourts. Mr Locke has personally donated almost £1m to the party. He insists that he has “never sought to influence or shape policy”.
£83,000 – Michael Hintze
The UK-based, Australian-British financier is the founder of asset management giant CQS. Mr Hintze has given more than £4.5m to the Tories since 2001. He was given a peerage under Boris Johnson in 2022.
