In Past 3 Months, UK Tories Got Nearly 1.5 Million Pounds From Polluters, Climate Denial Industry
The Conservative Party has received nearly £1.5 million of donations from polluting interests and funders of climate science denial in the past three months, DeSmog analysis shows. The gifts, published last week by the Electoral Commission, include £12,500 from London City Airport to the “1922 Committee” of backbench Tory MPs and £20,000 from a company that produces steel for North Sea oil rigs. The majority of the party’s donations came from the heavy machinery firm JCB, which has made two donations of £700,000 since the election.
The latest Register of MPs’ Interests shows Home Secretary Priti Patel was among those who received a total of £21,000 from current or past backers of the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF), the UK’s principal climate science denial lobby group.
Responding to DeSmog's analysis, Labour's Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Alan Whitehead, said the findings cast doubt on the Conservative party's commitment to its climate agenda. “Businesses rarely hand over money for no reason. The question for the Conservative Party is, what have these companies bought?” he asked.
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Both the central party and individual MPs have received a number of donations from known funders of climate science denial. Hedge fund manager Sir Michael Hintze, one of the few known backers of the GWPF, has given £2,000-£3,000 each to five Tory MPs: Home Secretary Priti Patel, former Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, former Defence Secretary and now Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt, former International Trade Minister Mark Garnier, and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Robert Halfon, a key figure in the anti-fuel duty Fair Fuel UK campaign. Hintze has given more than £4 million to the Conservatives since 2002, according to official figures, as well as £100,000 to the Vote Leave campaign.
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https://www.desmog.co.uk/2020/03/04/high-carbon-polluting-climate-denial-donation-general-election-2019-conservatives-1-5m