Javid ups pace in leadership race with £50,000 from key donors
SAJID JAVID’S campaign for the Tory leadership has pulled in £50,000 from major Conservative party donors who backed both Leave and Remain.
Five well-known, established donors have each donated £10,000, including Ian Taylor, the chairman of energy trader Vitol, and Rami Ranger, the founder of marketing giant Sun Mark.
The funds will be disclosed in Mr Javid’s entry in the Commons Register of Members’ Interests next week, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The other donors are Howard Shore, the founder of Shore Capital; Alexia Florman, whose husband Mark is a former Tory party treasurer, and Andrew Law, the financier.
“The breadth of support for Sajid in the business community shows that job creators have confidence in his leadership credentials and underlines his ability to unite the party,” a source close to the Home Secretary said.
“Business leaders want someone who can end the Brexit uncertainty, lead the country positively and see off Corbyn at the next election. Sajid passes these tests with flying colours.”
Senior Tory MPS are busy raising money in anticipation of a leadership campaign to succeed Theresa May in the coming months. Boris Johnson raised £130,000 between October and last month, while Dominic Raab has pulled in over £100,000.
The Prime Minister is due to meet senior backbenchers on Thursday, when she will be pressured to give a firm date for her departure.
Meanwhile, Liz Truss, who also has leadership ambitions, said four or five new homes should be added to every village without the need to ask for planning permission.
Ms Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, urged the Conservative Party to develop policies to help the under40s get on the property ladder.
“We need to build a million homes on the London green belt near railway stations, and around other growing cities … to allow the under-40s to be able to own their homes,” she said. “We should allow villages to expand by four or five houses a year without having to go through the planning system.”
Matt Hancock and Amber Rudd, who are considering running on “one nation” tickets, said it was time to stop calling young people “snowflakes”.
Mr Johnson and Mr Raab faced more pressure from the Brexiteer wing after Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister, said he would stand if they did not disavow Mrs May’s deal.
In a speech tomorrow, Jeremy Hunt, the Foreign Secretary who is a frontrunner to succeed Mrs May, will say that the Government needs to “renew the British economy”.