Vote Leave
Vote Leave is the official 'leave' cross-party campaign group seeking withdrawal from the European Union in the United Kingdom's referendum scheduled for 23 June 2016.
The campaign counts six members of the Conservative political cabinet in its senior ranks, and includes justice minister Michael Gove.
Being designated as the official leave campaign over Nigel Farage's Grassroots Out, Vote Leave will have access to up to £7 million it has raised itself, as well as £600,000 of taxpayer money to make it's case for leaving the European Union. [1]
Staff
- Lee Rotheram - Director of special projects, Vote Leave, works for John Hayes MP. [2]
Key figures
- Boris Johnson - Conservative Party, former Mayor of London (2012-16)
- Michael Gove - Conservative Party
- Chris Grayling- Leader of the House of Commons
- Gisela Stuart - Labour Party
- Graham Stringer - Labour Party
- Douglas Carswell - UKIP
- Suzanne Evans - UKIP
- Lord Nigel Lawson - Former Conservative chancellor
- Lord David Owen - Former leader of the SDP [3]
Cameron 'plotting against' Vote Leave
Vote Leave have accused David Cameron of being 'knee deep in a conspiracy' to remain in the EU, as letters were leaked showing the Prime Minister's correspondence with big business surrounding its potential role in the Remain campaign, long before his attempts at renegotiation were finished. The letter in question concerns Serco's chief executive, Rupert Soames, who wrote to Cameron regarding talks they had had in early February and his plan to request that FTSE 500 companies mention the risks of 'Brexit' in their annual reports. At this time however, Mr Cameron still entertained the idea that if his negotiations were unsuccessful, he could campaign for a leave vote alongside some of his Tory colleagues, but has since come out strongly in favour of Britain's continued membership.
Gisela Stuart, chair of Vote Leave has said the PM has 'serious issues' to answer, and observed the irony of the Chancellor George Osborne's mocking of Brexit campaigners as 'conspiracy theorists': 'George Osborne accused the Leave campaign of inventing conspiracies. Now we see that David Cameron is knee deep in one.' [4]
Donors
Recorded by the Electoral Commission:
| Date | Name of donor | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 20/04/2016 | Patrick Barbour | £500,000 |
| 10/03/2016 | Peter Cruddas | £350,000 |
| 19/04/2016 | Terence Adams | £300,000 |
| 23/03/2016 | Michael Farmer | £200,000 |
| 07/04/2016 | Jeremy Hosking | £215,500 (three donations) |
| 24/03/2016 | Stuart Wheeler | £115,000 (two donations) |
| 21/03/2016 | David Lilley | £100,000 |
| 14/03/2016 | Michael Freeman | £148,000 (two donations) |
| 17/03/2016 | Robert Hiscox | £50,000 |
| 10/04/2016 | Tim Martin | £62,000 (two donations) |
| 17/03/2016 | Jon Moynihan | £50,000 |
| 28/04/2016 | WA Capital Ltd | £50,000 |
| 12/04/2016 | Harris Ventures Ltd | £50,000 |
| 17/03/2016 | Bristol Port Company | £50,000 |
| 08/04/2016 | Alan Halsall | £30,000 |
| 10/02/2016 | Quentin Skinner | £40,000 (two donations) |
| 01/04/2016 | Jardentome Ltd | £24,000 |
| 29/03/2016 | William Hobhouse | £20,000 |
| 23/03/2016 | Albert Wiegman | £28,000 (two donations) |
| 01/02/2016 | Alan Morgan | £15,000 |
| 23/02/2016 | Seaway Holdings | £15,000 |
| 29/02/2016 | Alexander Darwall | £15,000 |
| 17/03/2016 | Brian Kingham | £15,000 |
| 24/03/2016 | Rocco Forte | £12,000 |
| 18/04/2016 | Biwater Holdings Ltd | £12,000 |
| 29/02/2016 | Ivor Braka | £10,000 |
| 29/02/2016 | Shaftesbury Investments | £20,000 (two donations) |
| 14/04/2016 | Leslie Kaye | £10,000 |
| 04/04/2016 | Stanley Kalms | £10,000 |
| 07/03/2016 | Bruce McLain | £10,000 |
| 20/04/2016 | Matthew Ferrey | £10,000 |
| 22/03/2016 | David Leathers | £10,000 |
| 11/03/2016 | Andrew White | £10,000 |
| 16/03/2016 | John Moulton | £10,000 |
| 06/04/2016 | Michael Cowdray | £10,000 |
| 05/04/2016 | Mote Hall Limited | £10,000 |
Notes
- ↑ Heather Stewart, 'Vote leave official Brexit campaign eu referendum Boris Johnson', Guardian Online, 13 April 2016, accessed 16 May 2016
- ↑ Register of interests of members' secretaries and research assistants, 23 March 2016, parliament.uk, accessed 20 April 2016
- ↑ Brian Wheeler, Alex Hunt 'The UK's EU Referendum: All you need to know', 12 May 2016, BBC News, accessed 13 May 2016
- ↑ Charlie Cooper, 'EU referendum: Leaked letter 'shows how Cameron plotted against Leave', 17 May 2016, The Independent, accessed 17 May 2016
- ↑ Electoral Commission, Donation Search, accessed 12 May 2016
