Tory: Party

A doorstep lender, a host of property tycoons and a Ukraine-born energy magnate were among guests worth, in all, £22bn, who attended the Tories’ most important fundraising event of the year, a table plan leaked to the Guardian reveals.

The secret list of about 570 guests at the Tories’ Black and White Ball, held in February will heighten concerns that the country’s wealthiest people are gaining access to David Cameron and senior Conservative cabinet members in private.

The revelation follows details published by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in July which showed how lobbyists and oligarchs had paid up to £12,000 for a table at the 2013 Tory summer party.

At both events, where tickets went for £450 to £1,000, guests were seated with ministers whose portfolios were relevant to the diners’ financial interests.

However, the wealth of the partygoers attending the February gala – which also took place at the Old Billingsgate Market, in the City of London – is estimated to have been double that of the summer party...

The Guardian.

Back soon, but Fagburn has temporarily lost the will to live...