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The Tories have an ‘unhealthy financial reliance’ on property developers, report finds

More than a fifth of all donations to the party over the past decade have come from the residential property sector, Transparency International reveals

Parliamentary reporter @TrinderMatt

THE Tories have an unhealthy financial reliance on property developers, a report revealed today, with more than a fifth of all party donations since 2010 coming from the residential property sector.

Labour called for urgent reforms to donation rules after a probe by anti-corruption group Transparency International found “a real risk of aggregative corruption” in government policy.

Private renters make up almost a fifth of all British households, but there was “a notable absence of tenants at the table” when decisions were made, the group said, making bold action on the housing crisis less likely.

The revelation came as the government continued to face criticism over its plans to weaken planning laws with what Labour has dubbed the “developers’ charter.”

Spooked Tory backbenchers have called for a rethink after the party’s shock defeat to the Lib Dems in last month’s Chesham & Amersham by-election, with voters in the Buckinghamshire constituency citing concerns about unregulated building in the surrounding Chilterns countryside.

Transparency International’s research, which looked at the statutory register of consultant lobbyists, showed that the Tories received £60.8 million in donations between 2010 and 2020 from individuals and companies linked to substantial property interests.

Most of the cash came from a handful of donors, the group found, with just 10 large property-sector donations accounting for one-tenth of the party’s income between 2010 and 2020.

The group’s policy director Duncan Hames said the party’s dependence on “woefully opaque” lobbying from property interests is a serious concern, while Labour chairwoman Anneliese Dodds said the findings demonstrate that donation rules “aren’t fit for purpose.” 

In a statement, the Tory Party said that government policy is in no way influenced by party donations. 

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