Peter Cruddas
Peter Cruddas is Britain’s 15th richest man, and the founder of the spread betting firm CMC Markets, which focuses on bets on the financial markets.[1]
In June 2011 the self-made billionaire was appointed co-treasurer of the Conservative Party, alongside long-serving treasurer Stanley Fink.[1] [2] Fink stepped down in early 2012, to be replaced by another hedge fund millionaire, Michael Farmer.
Tory donor
He has given about £350,000 to the Conservative Party between 2009-11[1] and was by far the largest donor to the recent ‘No to AV’ campaign in 2011, bankrolling the campaign with £400,000.[3] An investigation of the funding of Policy Exchange in 2011 found that his Peter Cruddas Foundation was the single largest donor. It donated £140,000 to Policy Exchange in 2007/8 and £300,000 in 2008/9. These funds have supported research on public service delivery and welfare, ‘broken Britain’, and child poverty. The Foundation is credited in Policy Exchange reports on health, education and welfare reform and child poverty. [4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jason Groves, Billionaire gambling tycoon is new Tory treasurer... despite tax-dodging claims Daily Mail, 7 June 2011, accessed 9 June 2011
- ↑ James Quinn and Ben Harrington, CMC founder Peter Cruddas to be co-treasurer of Conservative Party , The Daily Telegraph, 7 June 2011
- ↑ A Letter from Donors to NO to AV, 9 April 2011, accessed 1 December 2011
- ↑ The Cold War on British Muslims p.50
