Tories' biggest donor held secret talks with top Labour strategist over party's plans for 2015 election
The Tories’ biggest donor of the last
decade has held an extraordinary private meeting with Labour to discuss
its election strategy.
Lord Ashcroft, a hate figure for most Labour MPs, held talks with Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander, one of the architects of the party’s 2015 campaign.
It emerged last month that the peer, a former deputy chairman of the Conservatives who gave the party £10million in funding but stopped donating several years ago, had decided not to give any more after becoming disillusioned with David Cameron’s leadership.
But his talks with Labour, which were
approved by Ed Miliband, will shock Tory high command and come amid
rumours of backbench plots against Mr Cameron.
They will also horrify Labour backbenchers who blame him for the loss of dozens of seats in 2010.
Lord Ashcroft poured cash over several years into key marginal constituencies which the Tories won.
A Labour source said that Lord Ashcroft had requested the meeting and while Mr Miliband had been ‘surprised’ by the approach, he agreed that Mr Alexander should conduct secret talks in Westminster.
‘We’re an open party and we will talk to a range of people and organisations from across the political spectrum,’ the source said.
‘Yes, we were somewhat taken aback by his approach, but he and Douglas ended up having a constructive discussion about where Labour is in the polls, and election strategy.’
There is no suggestion that Lord Ashcroft is considering donating money to Labour, but he appears to be attempting to reinvent himself as a non-partisan polling guru.
His flirtation with senior
Opposition figures comes amid continuing frustration among Tory MPs at
the party leadership. While there appears little chance of a significant
challenge to Mr Cameron’s leadership, Westminster is buzzing with
speculation about who might succeed him if the party fails to secure an
overall majority in 2015.
Lord Ashcroft will appear with Theresa May, who is winning growing support as a potential candidate to prevent Boris Johnson becoming leader in a future contest, at a conference this weekend on how the party can win in 2015.
Tory MP Adam Afriyie, who is being promoted by a small band of malcontents as a potential rival to Mr Cameron, last night called for steep tax cuts in this month’s Budget to boost growth.
He said ministers should ‘move quickly to a lower, flatter and simpler tax regime’. Eurosceptic Tory MPs, meanwhile, are plotting to force the Government to hold a referendum on Europe before the election.
Senior Tories have drawn up plans to table legislation requiring Mr Cameron to hold a so-called ‘mandate referendum’ in order to convince the public the Conservatives are serious about reforming Britain’s relationship with Europe.
The referendum would ask the public to give the Prime Minister a mandate to negotiate a tough deal with Brussels, which would see a string of powers repatriated to Britain. It would then be followed by an in/out referendum on membership after the next election.
Lord Ashcroft, a hate figure for most Labour MPs, held talks with Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander, one of the architects of the party’s 2015 campaign.
It emerged last month that the peer, a former deputy chairman of the Conservatives who gave the party £10million in funding but stopped donating several years ago, had decided not to give any more after becoming disillusioned with David Cameron’s leadership.
In a move that will shock both major parties,
Lord Ashcroft has held a private meeting with Shadow Foreign Secretary
Douglas Alexander to discuss Labour's campaign for the 2015 election
They will also horrify Labour backbenchers who blame him for the loss of dozens of seats in 2010.
Lord Ashcroft poured cash over several years into key marginal constituencies which the Tories won.
A Labour source said that Lord Ashcroft had requested the meeting and while Mr Miliband had been ‘surprised’ by the approach, he agreed that Mr Alexander should conduct secret talks in Westminster.
‘We’re an open party and we will talk to a range of people and organisations from across the political spectrum,’ the source said.
‘Yes, we were somewhat taken aback by his approach, but he and Douglas ended up having a constructive discussion about where Labour is in the polls, and election strategy.’
There is no suggestion that Lord Ashcroft is considering donating money to Labour, but he appears to be attempting to reinvent himself as a non-partisan polling guru.
Lord Ashcroft has grown disillusioned with David Cameron's leadership
Lord Ashcroft will appear with Theresa May, who is winning growing support as a potential candidate to prevent Boris Johnson becoming leader in a future contest, at a conference this weekend on how the party can win in 2015.
Tory MP Adam Afriyie, who is being promoted by a small band of malcontents as a potential rival to Mr Cameron, last night called for steep tax cuts in this month’s Budget to boost growth.
He said ministers should ‘move quickly to a lower, flatter and simpler tax regime’. Eurosceptic Tory MPs, meanwhile, are plotting to force the Government to hold a referendum on Europe before the election.
Senior Tories have drawn up plans to table legislation requiring Mr Cameron to hold a so-called ‘mandate referendum’ in order to convince the public the Conservatives are serious about reforming Britain’s relationship with Europe.
The referendum would ask the public to give the Prime Minister a mandate to negotiate a tough deal with Brussels, which would see a string of powers repatriated to Britain. It would then be followed by an in/out referendum on membership after the next election.
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