Donor of the Week: Stuart Wheeler
Author: Jack Maizels
Published on Aug 03, 2012
Our Donor of the Week series aims to shed some light on the people, companies and organisations who are funding our political parties. Each week, we’ll look at the chosen donor’s political involvement, their donation history and any controversy associated with their actions, and question whether this really is the best system for financing our politics.
Who he is:
- John Stuart Wheeler was born in 1935 and worked as a barrister before setting up the spread betting company IG Index in 1974, through which he made his fortune
- Known since 2001 one of the largest Conservative Party donors, he switched to UKIP in 2009 before becoming their Treasurer in January 2011
- He also established the Trust Party in response to the expenses scandal and stood as a parliamentary candidate in 2010, though he failed to get elected
Donations:
- Between 2001, when party funding records began, and 2008, he donated £3,933,300.90 to the Conservative Party, over half of which was from a single donation of £2,450,000 in 2001
- Since 2009, he has financially supported UKIP and gave £16,835.38 in the first quarter of 2012, bringing his total donated to the Party to £473,237.25
- He also donated £140,000 to his Trust Party in 2010, though the Party was de-registered the following year
Controversy:
- In 2008, he launched a legal challenge against the government’s failure to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty
- Although the challenge resulted in a delay to its ratification, he was ultimately defeated in the High Court
- His anti-EU views led him in 2009 to show his support for UKIP through a donation of £100,000, prompting his expulsion from the Conservatives
- The following year, he ran his General Election campaign against Tory MP and close ally of David Cameron, Greg Barker, who was caught up in the expenses scandal
- Wheeler stood on a platform of claiming no expenses, denying climate change and repatriating powers from Brussels, though he could only manage forth place, with less than 5% of the vote
- Later that year, he gave evidence to the Committee on Standards in Public Life inquiry into party funding, claiming that it was “completely natural and unobjectionable” that major donors should gain more influence than small donors
- He also argued against regulation of donations or party spending, claiming that stopping people doing what they wanted with their money was an “assault on freedom”
Notes:
- Date of the donation is the date the donation was accepted by the party
- Analysis refers to donations to main party, individual MPs, MEPs, local parties and affiliated groups, cash donations and non-cash donations
- Electoral Commission Donation Reports have only been available since 2001, and analysis does not consider any donations made before this point
- Variations of the same name e.g. Joe Bloggs, Mr Joe Bloggs, Sir J Bloggs, etc are all collated as the same donor
- Donations from companies that have moved address, changed name or have several subdivisions all making donations are also collated as the same donor, as are all previous forms of the same Trade Unions