卡梅倫宴請富豪 每人收5萬英鎊入場費
A billionaire playboy and a Russian oil tycoon were among dozens of mega-rich Tory donors who dined with David Cameron and his party pals this summer, explosive new documents reveal.
A list published by the Conservatives today named more than 40 donors who paid at least £50,000 to attend “Dinners with Dave”between July and September.
They included Alexander Temerko, the energy tycoon wanted in Russia on fraud charges, and billionaire art dealer James Stunt, whose wife Petra is the daughter of Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone.
The group has given the Tory Party a monster £17.4million since 2010.
Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Office Minister Jon Ashworth fumed: “David Cameron leads a party with an ever-greater reliance on big money from a small number of mega-rich donors. Ministers’ dinner dates with donors are boosting Tory coffers.”
The revelation comes as political parties prepare to publish the latest batch of donations on Thursday. It is expected to show that Tory finances were swelled further by cash from some of the richest men in Britain.
But the party offers special privileges to anyone who pledges at least £50,000 a year. It buys access to the elite “Leader’s Group” of donors, who are invited to dinners with the Prime Minister or other top Tories.
This summer’s dinners were attended by the most senior Tory ministers. The Tories were tonight battling claims that the dinners are used by rich backers to try to influence party policy.
Since coming to power, the Coalition has slashed the top rate of tax for society’s richest, while cutting corporation tax repeatedly.
Mr Ashworth raged: “The Tories are wining and dining the very millionaires given a tax cut by this Tory-led Government.”
The list names 41 men who dined with senior Tory ministers in the summer after they or their firms coughed up the £50,000 required. No women were on the list.
Among the diners was Mr Stunt, 32, who made billions of pounds from gaming, shipping and mining.
Russian oligarch Mr Temerko appears on the list twice, suggesting he may have attended more than one dinner over the summer.
He has personally donated £265,230 to the Tories since 2010, while his wind farm firm Offshore Group Newcastle has given £220,425.
Other big names on the list are Lord Ashcroft, the billionaire Tory peer who has bankrolled previous election campaigns, and Sir John Hall, the ex-chairman of Newcastle United Football Club.
The Tories, by far the wealthiest party, trouser most of their cash from super-rich donors. Labour receives a large portion of its money from trade unions, with some from private donations.據最新消息，今年夏天，幾十名保守黨捐款巨頭與英國首相卡梅倫及其他保守黨政要共進晚餐，其中不乏億萬富翁和俄羅斯石油大亨。
一份保守黨13日出臺的名單顯示，超過40名捐款巨頭曾在7月到9月每人支付至少五萬英鎊與卡梅倫共進晚餐。
其中包括被俄羅斯以欺詐罪通緝的能源業巨頭特墨科（Alexander Temerko），以及億萬身家的藝術品商人詹姆斯·斯湯特（ James Stunt）。斯湯特的妻子佩特拉是一級方程式賽車（F1）老闆埃克萊斯頓（ Bernie Ecclestone）的女兒。
從2010年起，這些巨頭向保守黨捐款超過1740萬英鎊。
工黨的影子內閣辦公大臣喬恩·阿什沃思（ Jon Ashworth ）對此表示震怒：“卡梅倫領導的保守黨越來越依賴於少數捐款巨頭，通過‘部長-巨頭晚宴’獲取的捐款已成爲保守黨的重要財源。”
這份文件是在政黨準備出臺最新捐款名單時公佈於衆的。英國一些鉅富的捐款進一步擴大了保守黨的金庫。
但是，保守黨爲每年貢獻至少五萬英鎊的捐獻人提供特權。他們可以進入“捐款精英小組”，有機會與首相及其他保守黨高層共進晚餐。
參加今夏“晚餐會”的大多是保守黨的高級部長。保守黨近日抨擊了“巨頭通過晚餐會操縱政黨政策”的斷言。
執政以來，保守黨聯合政府不斷削減高收入羣體的稅收，同時反覆下調企業所得稅。
阿什沃思十分憤怒：“保守黨和少數巨頭們在餐桌上達成了削減稅收的勾當。”
名單上的41位巨頭是在上交規定的五萬英鎊後與保守黨政要們共進晚餐。名單上沒有女士。
名單中，32歲的斯湯特通過博彩業、海運和礦業積累巨資。
俄羅斯能源業巨頭特墨科在名單上出現了兩次，這表明他在今夏參加宴請的次數不止一次。
自2010年以來，他以私人名義捐款26萬5230英鎊，他的風電場公司Offshore Group Newcastle捐款22萬零425英鎊。
名單上還有億萬富翁保守黨貴族阿什克羅夫特勳爵（Lord Ashcroft），他資助了保守黨的競選運動；以及紐卡斯爾聯足球俱樂部前任主席約翰·霍爾爵士（ Sir John Hall）。
保守黨是目前爲止最富有的政黨，其財源大多數是私人巨頭。而工黨的資金大多由工會捐助，少部分來自於私人捐款。
