HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
an businessman,
pollster An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...
and politician. He is a former deputy
chairman of the Conservative Party The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in government, the offi ...
. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is the 132nd richest person in the UK, as ranked by the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List 2021, with an estimated fortune of £1.257 billion. He sat on the Conservative benches of the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in ...
until 2015, having been created a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
in 2000. His peerage was controversial due to his status as a
tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...
. The
Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
stated that he would take up permanent residence in the UK for tax purposes, but it was reported a decade later that he had not done so. Ashcroft holds dual British and Belizean nationality, and is a belonger of the
Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and nor ...
.


Early life and education

Michael Anthony Ashcroft was born in
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only c ...
, West Sussex. His father Eric was a British colonial civil servant; Ashcroft spent some of his early years in
British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,
(now
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
) and
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
. He was educated at
Norwich School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 ...
,
Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe , established = , closed = , type = Selective Grammar SchoolAcademy , head_label = Headmaster , head = Philip Wayne , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_label = , chair = , founder ...
, and Mid-Essex Technical College (now Anglia Ruskin University), where he obtained a
Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongs ...
in
Business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, ...
.


Business career

After a period in Belize after completing his education, Ashcroft returned to hitch hike around Europe, and then for a short period of time became the manager of a rock and roll band. In 1967, Ashcroft joined Carreras Tobacco as a management trainee. He left Carreras in 1969, joining Pritchard Services Group, a cleaning and business services company, after several months unemployed. In 1972, at the age of 26, he started his own business, Michael A. Ashcroft Associates, which he would use to launch several profitable acquisitions.


Acquisitions and divestments

Ashcroft's first acquisition was Uni-Kleen – a loss-making
cleaning Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for aesthetic, hygienic, functional, environmental, or safety purposes. ...
company with 1,000 employees, which he purchased for just £1 in 1974, with a £15,000 bank loan (). He worked to turn the company around, selling it just three years later for £1.3 million.Ashcroft: The Tories' troublesome tycoon
. BBC News. 31 March 2000. Retrieved 12 April 2008.
On exiting Uni-Kleen in 1977, his next purchase was
Hawley Goodall ADT Inc., formerly The ADT Corporation, is an American company that provides residential, small and large business electronic security, fire protection, and other related alarm monitoring services throughout the United States. The corporate he ...
, another poorly performing company, this time in camping equipment manufacture. Ashcroft used Hawley to make a series of acquisitions, transforming the company into a business services group, ranging from janitorial services for hospitals and offices, to car auction services, and later with a focus on the security services industry. Through the sale of the car auctions division to the fast-expanding British Car Auctions (BCA), he formed a lifelong friendship with
David Wickins David Allen Wickins (15 February 1920 – 28 January 2007) was an English accountant-turned-entrepreneur, best known for founding the vehicle remarketing business British Car Auctions, and saving Lotus Cars. Early life David Allen Wickins was ...
, whom he would later help take a majority stake in
Lotus Cars Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England which manufactures sports cars and racing cars noted for their light weight and fine handling characteristics. Lotus was previously involved in Formula One r ...
, as well as provide finance for other joint-ventures. By 1981, Hawley had made its first acquisitions in the United States, and its total revenues had grown to $27 million. By early 1983, Hawley had built up a 20% stake in pharmaceutical packaging manufacturer Cope Allman. Ashcroft offered to increase his stake to 29.9%, just below the 30% level at which a formal bid for the entire company must be launched. Ashcroft and Cope Allman fought bitterly over the purchase share price and current holdings, with Cope Allman reporting Ashcroft and Wickins to the Takeover panel, after discovering that BCA had built up a 13.5% in the company. But the takeover panel found that Ashcroft and Wickins were operating independently, so Hawley was able to increase its holding to 29.9%. At this point the combined holdings of Hawley and BCA in Cope Allman amounted to 43.5%, giving them the power to introduce sweeping changes without launching a full bid. Cope Allman was eventually sold to an MBO backed by Hawley and financed by
Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
, and then sold to
Bowater Bowater Inc. was a paper and pulp business headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. It merged with Abitibi-Consolidated in 2007, and the combined company went on to become Resolute Forest Products. History The North American assets of Bow ...
in 1992 in a complex swap of assets with ADT/Hawley. In 1985 Ashcroft and Wickins bought car sales dealership
Henlys Group Henlys Group PLC was a major London motor distributor and dealer founded in 1917 in London's Great Portland Street. In the 1980s it was taken over by a company associated with Michael Ashcroft then some years later sold to Yorkshire bus manufa ...
via a Canadian-registered company, Mipec. Controlled by Ashcroft's Hawley Goodall, Henlys was merged with the already-owned funeral
hearse A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately an ...
maker
Coleman Milne Coleman Milne is a coachbuilder in the United Kingdom that specialises in converting cars into funeral vehicles, stretched limousines, preparation of police vehicles and other specialist vehicles. Coleman Milne creates, builds, and sells hearse ...
to form a motoring division. In 1989, Hawley Goodall sold its motoring division consisting of Henlys and Coleman Milne to the
Plaxton Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manuf ...
Group, the bus and coach manufacturer based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. In 1986, Hawley bought out Ashcroft's former employer, Pritchard Services, leaping to second place in the U.S. services industry. At this time, Hawley had revenues of more than $1.3 billion. 1987 was a key year for Hawley. In the early part of the year, it bought Crime Control Inc. based in Indianapolis, for $50 million, placing the company in fourth place in the U.S. security market. Later in the year it bought
ADT Security Services ADT Inc., formerly The ADT Corporation, is an American company that provides residential, small and large business electronic security, fire protection, and other related alarm monitoring services throughout the United States. The corporate he ...
, the largest electronic security company in the United States. This purchase transformed Hawley into the leading security services business in the United States, and resulted in the majority of its revenues coming from the North American market. As a result of the acquisition,
Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...
-registered Hawley changed its name to
ADT Inc. ADT Inc., formerly The ADT Corporation, is an American company that provides residential, small and large business electronic security, fire protection, and other related alarm monitoring services throughout the United States. The corporate he ...
and decided to refocus its business around security services. At the end of 1987, the company sold its North American-based facility services business to
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , established ...
's
ISS A/S ISS A/S (International Service System) is a facility management services company founded in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1901. ISS's core services include: security, cleaning, technical, food and workplace. The ISS Group’s revenue amounted to DKK 69.8 ...
. In 1987, Ashcroft bought out the existing shareholders of Wickins' BCA via Hawley Goodall. Based at
Blackbushe Airport Blackbushe Airport is an operational general aviation airport in the civil parish of Yateley in the north-east corner of the English county of Hampshire. Built during the Second World War, Blackbushe is north of the A30 road between Camberley ...
to allow Wickins access to his treasured aviation division, which flew both Jet Ranger helicopters and
Beechcraft King Air The Beechcraft King Air is a line of American utility aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The King Air line comprises a number of twin-turboprop models that have been divided into two families. The Model 90 and 100 series developed in the 1960s ...
turbo prop aircraft, Ashcroft, who has a disliking for such flippant expenditure, immediately sold off the aircraft. Wickins joined the board of Hawley Goodall, remaining there until the Tyco takeover. He retired from BCA in 1990. In 1995, to allow for the Tyco transaction, the group decided to divest itself of BCA. The residual North American arm was sold to trade buyers, while the European arm was sold to a consortium of some 40 private investors, including Ashcroft via his Belize-based investment company. In September 2006, BCA was bought by the UK-based
investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...
arm of private bank Samuel Montagu & Co., a division of
HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...
, personally netting Ashcroft over £200 million. In 1997, ADT was sold by a
reverse takeover A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compan ...
to US conglomerate
Tyco International Tyco International plc was a security systems company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, with operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey, United States (Tyco International (US) Inc.). Tyco International was composed of two major bu ...
for $6.7 billion, allowing Tyco to become tax-efficient. Ashcroft disposed of large amounts of the Tyco stock which he had acquired as a result of the sale of ADT, stating that he needed the capital to diversify into other things and that he never retained a substantial stake in any enterprise which he did not control. Ashcroft nevertheless continued as a non-executive director of Tyco, a role he still held in 2002 when Tyco CEO
Dennis Kozlowski Leo Dennis Kozlowski (born November 16, 1946) is a former CEO of Tyco International, convicted in 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by Tyco of a $ ...
was arrested in New York in connection with personal tax offences. Unease had already been expressed at Tyco at some of Kozlowski's corporate decisions and Ashcroft was amongst the directors who appointed lawyer
David Boies David Boies (; born March 11, 1941) is an American lawyer and chairman of the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner LLP. Boies rose to national prominence for three major cases: leading the U.S. federal government's successful prosecution of Microsof ...
to investigate irregularities in the company. In time, the exposure of management deficiencies led to Ashcroft demanding that the whole of the board of directors of Tyco should resign, to be replaced by new management.


Belize and cross holdings

Ashcroft has close business and other connections with the Commonwealth country of Belize, and served as the country's ambassador to the United Nations between 1998 and 2000. In his 2005 biography, he admitted that it is a country where his interests have been "exempt from certain taxes for 30 years". In 2009, the
Prime Minister of Belize The following article contains a list of Prime Ministers of Belize and Deputy Prime Ministers, from the establishment of the position of First Minister of British Honduras in 1961 to the present day. Office of the Prime Minister of Belize The ...
Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...
told its parliament: Barrow also warned
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
that relations with the United Kingdom would be damaged if Ashcroft were given a senior position in government. In 1981, Belize had gained independence from the UK. Seeing the opportunity to build an off-shore operations base and control the country's financial service, in 1984 Ashcroft formed Belize Holdings (BHI), which became the vehicle for a parallel acquisition spree during the 1980s, beyond the scope of Hawley. By the late 1980s, BHI had become one of the largest holding companies in Belize, with direct interests in or holdings via main operating company Stargate Ltd, ranging from telecommunications, property, the Belize shipping register, and citrus fruits. In 1987, BHI led the formation of Belize Bank Holdings (BBH), which took control of Belize Bank from the
Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
. Belize Bank has become the country's largest financial institution, controlling some 50 percent of the market. BBH developed local and international interests in facilities services, finance and telecommunications. Belize Bank itself formerly held a majority stake in Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), until it was nationalised by the Government of Belize. In 2005, under pressure from the Belize Government to bring transparency to its Belize based financial interests, BBH restructured, demerging its interests in England and Ireland into a separate company, Carlisle Group Ltd. BBH then renamed itself BCB Holdings.


Other business activities

Ashcroft also has significant interests in the following companies quoted on the
Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...
: Restore plc, WeAre20:20 and Impellam Group. Having attempted a takeover Corporate Services Group in 1999, in June 2006 he increased his stake to 28.5%, prompting speculation that he might make an offer for the remaining shares in the company. In May 2008 the merger of Carlisle Group and Corporate Services Group to form Impellam Group was announced. Listed on the Alternative Investment Market, the combined group places in excess of 40,000 people into work each week. In September 2007, Ashcroft agreed to the sale of AIM listed cleaning services supplier OneSource. Based mainly in the United States, it was the old North American cleaning business of ISS that Ashcroft had sold to them when refocusing Hawley in 1987. Bought in 1997 for $1, he agreed the sale of the company at a value of £179m. In March 2006, he became the major shareholder in English professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ca ...
club
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, an ...
, owning up to 42% of the club's shares. In September 2006, he accepted a bid for British Car Auctions (BCA) worth £450m, netting him a personal gain of £200m. Ashcroft has a 72.3 per cent stake in
English sparkling wine English sparkling wine is sparkling wine from England, typically produced to the traditional method and mostly using the same varieties of grapes as used in Champagne – Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier. English sparkling wine producers o ...
producer Gusbourne, which he acquired in 2013 for £7 million.


Personal life

In April 1972, Ashcroft married Wendy Mahoney. They had two sons and one daughter; the marriage was dissolved in 1984. His second marriage in 1986 was to Susan Anstey. The couple have homes in London,
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...
in Berkshire, and Belize. Ashcroft owns a
Dassault Falcon 7X The Dassault Falcon 7X is a large-cabin, range business jet manufactured by Dassault Aviation, the second largest of its Dassault Falcon line. Launched at 2001 Paris Air Show, its first flight was on 5 May 2005 and it entered service on 15 Jun ...
, registration VP-BZE, via his Bermudian registered company, Flying Lion. On 27 December 2017, while parked at the
Malta International Airport Malta International Airport ( mt, L-Ajruport Internazzjonali ta' Malta, ) is the only airport in Malta and it serves the whole of the Maltese Islands. It is located on the island of Malta, southwest of the Maltese capital Valletta, in the town ...
, the plane careened off the apron, smashed into a fence and a road before crashing into an office building. The incident is believed to have occurred after the plane's
wheel chock Wheel chocks (or chocks) are wedges of sturdy material placed closely against a vehicle's wheels to prevent accidental movement. Chocks are placed for safety in addition to setting the brakes. The bottom surface is sometimes coated in rubber ...
s were blown away due to strong winds. No injuries were reported but the plane suffered extensive damage. He owns two yachts, both registered in Belize: *''Lady M'' – built in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Neth ...
*''Atlantic Goose'' – built originally for Sir Donald Gosling as ''Brave Goose'' in 1987 by Tough Brothers of
Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long me ...
, on the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...
. On 30 January 1987, ''Brave Goose'' became wedged under the central arch of Richmond Bridge, London, eventually being freed at
low tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...
the next day.


Politics


Conservative Party

In the UK, he was a major donor to and Treasurer of the Conservative Party from 1998 to 2001, under
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
. His tenure was marked by a number of controversies: he was seen to pay little UK
income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
because of his domicile in Belize; and he was at the centre of a debate about openness and accountability of political funding. Unsubstantiated speculation about his business affairs was concluded when he pursued a libel action against ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
''. This was settled on 9 December 1999, when ''The Times'' issued a front-page statement saying "The Times is pleased to confirm that it has no evidence that Mr Ashcroft or any of his companies have ever been suspected of money-laundering or drug-related crimes... Litigation between the parties has been settled to mutual satisfaction, with each side bearing its own costs." In 2004, he clashed with Conservative leader
Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posit ...
when he offered a £2m donation on the condition that it should go to his specified candidates rather than into general
Conservative Central Office The Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ), formerly known as Conservative Central Office (CCO), is the headquarters of the British Conservative Party, housing its central staff and committee members, including campaign coordinators and mana ...
funds. Ashcroft stated in 2005: "I much prefer to be involved, to make sure that my investment is wisely placed." In December 2005, he was appointed Deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. During the "
Cash for Peerages The Cash-for-Honours scandal (also known as Cash for Peerages, Loans for Lordships, Loans for Honours or Loans for Peerages) was a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and ...
" controversy, on 31 March 2006 Ashcroft was named by the Conservative Party as having lent it £3.6m. Significant donations made to the Conservative Party by Bearwood Corporate Services, a company controlled by Ashcroft, have also come under scrutiny. The trading status of the company, and thus the validity of donations totalling £5.1m between 2003 and 2008, is unclear and became the subject of an investigation by the Electoral Commission begun in October 2008. Both Labour MPs and the
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is n ...
had called for the process to be concluded in time for the next general election, due by mid-2010. Liberal Democrat Lord Oakeshott stated: "Democracy is in danger if Lord Ashcroft has been pouring millions into Conservative campaigns through an offshore pipeline from a Caribbean
tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...
." However, in March 2010 sources from the Electoral Commission described the donations as being "legal and permissible". On 1 March 2010, Ashcroft said that he was not domiciled in the UK for tax purposes. On 4 March 2010 the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
Public Administration select committee decided to hold a "special one-off inquiry" into Ashcroft's peerage and his tax affairs. The committee's three Conservative MPs are said to have refused to take part in the inquiry. In September 2010, Ashcroft announced he would be stepping down as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party. His resignation came as he published Minority Verdict, his critical analysis of why the Conservative Party failed to gain an overall majority in the
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
; leading to the Conservatives forming the
Coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
with the Liberal Democrats. He was replaced by the Conservative MP, former government minister and the current
Treasury Select Committee The House of Commons Treasury Committee (often referred to as the Treasury Select Committee) is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the committee is to examine the expenditure, administ ...
member,
Michael Fallon Sir Michael Cathel Fallon (born 14 May 1952) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks from 1997 to 2019, ...
. In 2012, ''The Daily Telegraph'' credited Ashcroft, owner of both the
ConservativeHome ConservativeHome is a British right-wing blog which supports, but is independent of, the Conservative Party. It was first established by Tim Montgomerie in 2005 with the aim of arguing for a broad conservative spectrum, which is serious about b ...
and PoliticsHome website with "stopping the Coalition working" by moving policy on Europe, welfare, education, taxation to the right. Prior to the 2010 election, Cameron gave Ashcroft a large office and a significant role in the election campaign but he received no reward in the form of ministerial job. Although claiming not to exercise editorial control, Ashcroft, a "brutal critic of the Coalition from the start" has established "megaphone presence" in the online media and the Lib Dems are described as blocking economic and welfare system reforms. The parties have separate and contradictory agendas and—as exemplified by
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parl ...
's education reforms intended for Tory ears only'-do not even consult each other. Cameron's philosophy of liberal conservatism has been destroyed by "coordinated attacks on the Coalition." Although voters may have liked Coalition government, "the two parties are no longer trying to pretend that they are governing together" and Cameron seems unwilling to celebrate midterm successes. "Ashcroft, who has been against it all along, looks like getting his way." Ashcroft became the largest donor to the Conservative's candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election. Of the £255,000 raised by the candidate, Shaun Bailey, Ashcroft donated £100,000. In 2022, he published a book about the wife of the then Prime Minister
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as Fo ...
, Carrie Symonds, to whom he attributed a negative influence on her husband.


Belize

Ashcroft allegedly gave the
People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...
in Belize $1m when it was in opposition. During its period in power, it introduced laws that are claimed by opponents and media commentators to be financially advantageous to Ashcroft.


Australia

Ashcroft has become a significant figure in Australian politics having been identified as the single largest individual donor to any Australian political party during the 2004–05 financial year. The
Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...
reported in February 2006 that Ashcroft (who gave his address as "House of Lords, Westminster, London") had donated $1 million to the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
in September 2004, shortly before the 2004 federal election. It was, at the time, the biggest single private donation in Australian political history. He also made donations of $250,000 to the party on 28 July 2010 and in September 2013.


UK electoral polling

Developing from work he did for the Conservative Party in his Deputy chairman role, since 2010. Lord Ashcroft has been a major independent public pollster of British political opinion. This has included polling at
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
level, which is rare in British
psephology Psephology (; from Greek el, ψῆφος, psephos, pebble, label=none) or political analysis is a branch of political science, the "quantitative analysis of elections and balloting". As such, psephology attempts to explain elections using the ...
. Lord Ashcroft Polls' results are freely available online and are frequently discussed in various media outlets.


Charity and philanthropy

In 2013, Ashcroft stated that he has given tens of millions of pounds to good causes over the years. In May 2013, he pledged to donate more than half of his money to good causes, and became a signatory of
The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a campaign to encourage extremely wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has 236 signatories from 28 countries. Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, an ...
.


Anti-crime supporter

Lord Ashcroft is the founder and chairman of Crimestoppers. On 12 October 2009, Lord Ashcroft pledged NZ$50,000 for the safe return of two-year-old toddler Aisling Symes. Aisling had gone missing a week earlier in West Auckland, New Zealand. £100,000 reward in the search for the gunman who killed Olivia Pratt-Korbel in liverpool. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-62981651


Education

Ashcroft was the Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University from November 2001 to January 2021. He donated £5 million in 1999 for the university's business school at
Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London at ...
, now called Lord Ashcroft International Business School, and another £5 million gift in 2009 to create a new business school in Cambridge. He is the sponsor of Ashcroft Technology Academy in Wandsworth, a state secondary school within the English
academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
programme. He became the main backer, along with
Stephan Shakespeare Stephan Adrian Shakespeare ( né Kukowski; born 9 April 1957) is the German-British co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the British Internet-based market research and opinion polls company YouGov. In 2012, Shakespeare was appointed ...
(CEO and co-Founder of
YouGov YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and since ...
) of Flooved, an
education technology Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refe ...
startup. He has provided a copy of ''Britain's Treasure Islands'' to every secondary school in the UK and its overseas territories. Ashcroft is also an Ambassador for the education and veterans charity SkillForce which, under Chief Executive, Ben Slade, devised and developed the Prince William Award – the only award of its kind in William's name.


Environmentalist

Ashcroft is a whale spotter, through which interest he has financially supported various environmental groups and campaigns. He financially supported the
Environmental Investigation Agency The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an international NGO founded in 1984 in the United Kingdom by environmental activists Dave Currey, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton. At present, it has offices in London and Washington, D.C. ...
, who persuaded him to back a television campaign in six Caribbean countries, aimed at coaxing them to withdraw their support for whaling. The countries had received $16 million (£8 million) a year in fisheries aid from Japan. The campaign coincided with the 2006
International Whaling Commission The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation ...
conference in
St Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
.


Military

Ashcroft has also supported military causes; in September 2011 he hosted a reception at the House of Lords for the launch of the Felix Fund, the charity for
bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milita ...
experts and their families. Ashcroft pledged to donate all of the author's royalties from his book ''Special Forces Heroes'' to the
Help for Heroes Help for Heroes (H4H) is a British charity which provides lifelong recovery support to British Armed Forces service personnel who have been wounded or injured in the line of duty, and to their families, originally only since 11 September 2001, th ...
charity, and from his book, ''George Cross Heroes'' to the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. He donated £1 million of the £7 million cost of the Bomber Command Memorial in London's
Green Park Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Maryleb ...
, and his contribution is recognised on each side of the memorial.


Victoria Crosses

Ashcroft collects
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
es which are awarded for valour and devotion to duty to members of various armed forces. His collection is by far the largest in the world spanning 128 years from acts of valour at the start of the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
in 1854 to an act of courage during the
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial d ...
in 1982. He wrote ''Victoria Cross Heroes'' to mark the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross. Following the theft of a number of Victoria Crosses awarded to New Zealand servicemen from the Army Museum at Waiouru in late 2007, Ashcroft pledged NZ$200,000 for their return. Those stolen included the VC & Bar of
Charles Upham Charles Hazlitt Upham, (21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994) was a New Zealand soldier who was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) twice during the Second World War - for gallantry in Crete in May 1941, and in Egypt, in July 1942. He was the mo ...
. The medals were recovered three months later and at a presentation in Wellington on 15 April 2008 he pledged a further NZ$200,000 for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for the thefts. In July 2008, Ashcroft announced a donation of £5 million for a permanent gallery at the
Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
, where the fifty Victoria Crosses held by the museum are now on display alongside his own collection of more than 200 VCs (and a smaller collection of
George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has bee ...
es).


Controversy


Tax status

Ashcroft has been described as a "
tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...
", and for a number of years lived in the UK enjoying the controversial non-domiciled tax status. At the time of his ennoblement the Cabinet Office said that Ashcroft would be taking up permanent residence in the UK for tax purposes, an undertaking described in the newspapers as a "pledge" and a "gentleman's agreement", but he did not in fact claim to do so until a decade later, when a change in the law would have required him to quit the Lords, had he not done so. Then in 2017 it was revealed following the
Paradise Papers The Paradise Papers are a set of over 13.4 million confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investments that were leaked to the German reporters Frederik Obermaier and Bastian Obermayer, from the newspaper'' Süddeutsche ...
leak of offshore investment documents that Lord Ashcroft remained a domicile of Belize despite having claimed to have given up his non-dom tax status in 2010.


U.S. DEA leak

In 1999, Ashcroft was first nominated by Conservative Party leader and friend
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
for the Lords. During their investigation, the
House of Lords Appointments Commission The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It has two roles: *to recommend at least two people a year for appointment as non-party-political life peers who sit on the ...
was fed via the media with certain information, which originated from Jonathan Randel, an intelligence research specialist for the United States
Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...
. Randel leaked Ashcroft's name as being in the DEA's files, although it later emerged that Ashcroft was one of five million people they routinely had files on. Randel claimed that the DEA was ignoring Ashcroft in its investigation of
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictio ...
, allegations which ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fo ...
'' newspaper later printed on its front page. However, later investigation by various British media sources from information released under the US Freedom of Information Act showed that at no point did the DEA personally investigate Ashcroft. After his second successful nomination to the Lords and his ascent to the house, Ashcroft sued ''The Times'' in the High Court. The two parties eventually reached an out of court agreement which resulted in
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
agreeing to ''The Times'' printing a full front page retraction of its allegations. Ashcroft later recounted his own side of the story in his book, ''Dirty Politics, Dirty Times.''


Business style

In 2003, Ashcroft was criticised by the High Court judge, Mr Justice Peter Smith in ''
Rock (Nominees) Ltd v RCO (Holdings) Plc is a UK company law case dealing with unfair prejudice under section 459 Companies Act 1985 (now section 994 Companies Act 2006). It was decided at first instance by Peter Smith J. Facts Rock Nominees Ltd was part of the business empire of Lor ...
''. Smith condemned Ashcroft's tactics in relation to the takeover of cleaning company RCO by the Danish firm ISS. Smith said, Smith went on to say that Ashcroft "was not content with a small £250,000 profit earned in a matter of weeks. He now seeks to extract millions." Ashcroft responded by telling journalists that "being accused of blackmail by a man who states that speculation has no part to play in the City is rather like finding that you are sharing a railway carriage with a drunk. It's best not to take too much notice." In 2008, ''The Economist'' ran an article on the web of loans and court cases surrounding Belize Bank (owned by Ashcroft), a private hospital company called Universal Health Services and the government of Belize. It was alleged that Belize Bank had wrongly appropriated monies sent from the government of Venezuela for housing purposes to settle debts relating to loans to UHS and illegally guaranteed in secret by the Belizean premier. ''The Guardian'' said that sources claimed the bills were paid by a company owned by Ashcroft in Belize, meaning that he did not pay VAT. The newspaper estimated that the total VAT bill could have totalled more than £40,000; however, paying the bill in this way removed the legal obligation to pay VAT. In 2012, BBC's ''Panorama'' programme alleged that Lord Ashcroft continued to control the Caribbean construction company Johnston International after its sale in 1999 until it went bankrupt in 2010, and that he concealed his continuing control. Ashcroft denied he owned Johnston after 1999, though he avoided answering questions about whether he continued to "control" it.


''Call Me Dave''

Ashcroft's book ''
Call Me Dave ''Call Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron'' is a 2015 book by Michael Ashcroft, a businessman and Conservative peer, and Isabel Oakeshott, a political journalist, about the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Ca ...
: The unauthorised biography of David Cameron'', published on 5 October 2015, has been criticised for containing content which lacks evidence. In addition to this, some commentators believe Ashcroft published the book to tarnish David Cameron's reputation. The book triggered the " Piggate" scandal with an allegation that a photograph exists which shows Cameron putting "a private part of his anatomy" into the mouth of a dead pig's severed head, which was positioned in the lap of another man.


Honours

On 31 March 2000, Ashcroft was appointed as a
life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages A ...
, and the title Baron Ashcroft, ''of Chichester in the County of West Sussex'' was
gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...
on 20 October 2000, the last creation of the millennium. His appointment to the House of Lords was controversial at the time, particularly because of his business and political interests in Belize; the body responsible for scrutiny of political honours had refused his becoming a member of the Lords one year earlier. He was nominated by Conservative party leader
William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...
on the condition that he became a UK resident although at the beginning of 2010 he announced his "non-domiciled" tax status. Ashcroft had announced that he intended to take the title "Baron Ashcroft of Belize", a suggestion that infuriated his political opponents. He later said this had been a joke, and his title was created as simply "Baron Ashcroft". In the
2000 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 19 June 2000 to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: Australia (12 June), New Zealand (13 June),New ZealandThe Queen's Birthday Honours 2000(13 June 2000), '' ...
, on the advice of the Belizean government, he was appointed
Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...
(KCMG) "for public service to the community and country" of Belize. In 1999, he was given the honorary degree of
Doctor of the University An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
by
Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...
; he would be named
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the university in 2001. He was chancellor for 20 years until 2021 and made significant contributions to the university. He was sworn in as a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 2012, entitling him to use the
post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
"PC" for life. In December, he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Trinity by the
Crown Council of Ethiopia The Crown Council of Ethiopia is a community organization and cultural center with the mission of preserving the culture(s) of the former Ethiopian Empire, as well as promoting development and humanitarian efforts. Today, the Crown Council abando ...
. On 31 March 2015, the day after the prorogation of Parliament ahead of the 2015 general election, he announced his resignation from the House of Lords with immediate effect, stating he would continue in politics.


Books

* ''Dirty politics Dirty times: My fight with Wapping and New Labour'', 2005,
Biteback Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in London concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and by Mi ...
, * ''Smell the Coffee: A Wakeup Call for the Conservative Party'', 2005, Politico's, * ''Victoria Cross Heroes'', 2007,
Headline The headline or heading is the text indicating the content or nature of the article below it, typically by providing a form of brief summary of its contents. The large type ''front page headline'' did not come into use until the late 19th centur ...
, . Foreword by the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the ruler ...
. * ''Special Forces Heroes: Extraordinary True Stories of Daring and Valour'', 2009, Headline, * ''Minority Verdict: The Conservative Party, the voters and the 2010 election'', 2010, Biteback, * ''George Cross Heroes'', 2010, Headline, * ''It's Not You, It's Them: Research to remind politicians what matters'', 2012, Biteback, * ''Degrees of Separation: Ethnic minority voters and the Conservative Party'', 2012, Biteback, * ''The Armed Forces & Society: The military in Britain through the eyes of Service personnel, employers and the public'', 2013, Biteback, * ''Heroes of the Skies'', 2013, Headline, * ''Special Ops Heroes'', 2014, Headline, * ''Pay Me Forty Quid and I'll Tell You: The 2015 election campaign through the eyes of the voters'', with Kevin Culwick, 2015, Biteback, * '' Call Me Dave: The unauthorised biography of David Cameron'', with
Isabel Oakeshott Isabel Euphemia Oakeshott (born 12 June 1974) is a British political journalist and broadcaster. She was the political editor of ''The Sunday Times'' and is the co-author, with Michael Ashcroft, of an unauthorised biography of former British ...
, 2015, Biteback, () * ''Well, You Did Ask...: Why the UK voted to leave the EU'', with Kevin Culwick, 2016, Biteback, * ''Victoria Cross Heroes Volume II'', 2016, Biteback, * ''Jacob's Ladder: The Unauthorised Biography of Jacob Rees-Mogg'', 2019, Biteback, * ''Going for Broke: The Rise of Rishi Sunak'', 2020, Biteback, * ''First Lady: Intrigue at the Court of Carrie and Boris Johnson'', 2022, Biteback, ()


Arms


References


External links

*
Conservative Home
owner
Lord Ashcroft Foundation
*

* *
Crimestoppers
founder

5 June 2003
How did Ashcroft do it? The Ins and Outs of Non-Dom tax avoidance
March 2010
Victoria Cross HeroesSpecial Forces HeroesGeorge Cross Heroes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcroft, Michael 1946 births Living people People from Chichester Belizean businesspeople People educated at Norwich School People educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Alumni of Anglia Ruskin University Corporate raiders Conservative Party (UK) life peers Conservative Party (UK) officials English football chairmen and investors Giving Pledgers 21st-century philanthropists People with non-domiciled status in the United Kingdom Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Victoria Cross People named in the Panama Papers People named in the Paradise Papers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Crime Stoppers