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The United and Cecil Club (U&C) is a British
dining club A dining club (UK) or eating club (US) is a social group, usually requiring membership (which may, or may not be available only to certain people), which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers. ...
with close links to the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
. Formed in 1949 following the merger of the United Club and the Cecil Club, the club is the seventh-largest donor to the Conservatives, and focuses its donations on
marginal seat A marginal seat or swing seat is a constituency held with a small majority in a legislative election, generally one conducted under a single-winner voting system. In Canada, they may be known as target ridings. The opposite is a safe seat. The ...
s. Club members have been accused of taking advantage of a loophole in political fundraising laws to donate large sums to the Conservatives without declaring them.


History

The two forerunners to the U&C were both formed in the 1880s following the death of the unifying figure
Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...
. The Constituencies Union, which later became the United Club, was formed in 1881 to raise funds for Conservatives in difficult constituencies, while the National Review and Cecil Club was formed in 1882 by supporters of the Prime Minister
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...
to publish the journal ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
''. These served as bastions of conservatism during the National Government eras, but following the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
were merged by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, who served as president of both.


Organisation

The membership of the club is private. However, in response to a question from the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards. The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone. Duties The commissioner is i ...
in 2007, the club declared that it had around 400 members, who each paid membership fees of £100 annually. The club meets once a month while Parliament is in session for a total of eight dinners a year, and four of those dinners take place in the private banquet halls at the House of Commons. Dinners include a speech from a senior Conservative politician, and speakers have included
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
and
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 ...
. These dinners were subject to a complaint in 2006 from Labour MPs John Mann and
Kevan Jones Kevan David Jones (born 25 April 1964) is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham since 2001. He served as a defence minister under Gordon Brown, and resigned as a shadow defence minister ...
, who alleged that they constituted the illegal use of House of Commons facilities for party fundraising. An investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards found that the meals at the Commons were charged at cost, and that the club's fundraising activities were restricted to events outside Parliament. The club's official headquarters are registered by the Electoral Commission at a stables in
Iver Iver is a large civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park. Geography, transport and economy Part of the 43-square- ...
, Buckinghamshire, but in the parliamentary register at a riding school in
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
.


Donations

An investigation by the
Bureau of Investigative Journalism The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (typically abbreviated to TBIJ or "the Bureau") is a nonprofit news organisation based in London. It was founded in 2010 to pursue "public interest" investigations. 2015 United Kingdom general election The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. It was the first and only general election held at the end of a Parliament under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Loca ...
found that the U&C was the biggest donor to Conservative candidates in the ten most marginal seats in the country. Between 2010 and 2014, its largest donations were in the marginal seats of
Weaver Vale Weaver Vale is a constituency in Cheshire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Mike Amesbury, a member of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The constituency takes its name from the River Weaver, which f ...
,
Bury North Bury North is a borough constituency in Greater Manchester, created in 1983 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. With a Conservative majority of 105 votes, it is the most marginal constituency for a sitting MP in the U ...
,
Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
and Cheadle, all of which were won or held by the Conservatives at the 2015 election. The club also raised funds for the
Scottish Conservative Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...
during campaigning for the
2014 Scottish independence referendum A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...
. In total, the club gave £712,230.63 to the Conservatives during the 2010–2015 Parliament, making them the seventh-largest donor to the party. Under
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
rules, all donations of over £1,500 to a local party need to be publicly declared. However, donations to members' associations – groups like the U&C whose memberships are primarily or exclusively members of a single party – only need to be declared above £7,500, even when those donations are subsequently directed to local parties. The
Alliance for Lobbying Transparency The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency is a UK-based organisation formed in September 2007 and formally launched in January 2008 and concerned with the influence of lobbying on government decision-making. The Alliance is also campaigning for a m ...
criticised this as deliberate exploitation of a loophole allowing donors to make large donations to the Conservatives – and, through the dinners, meet with senior Conservative politicians – while remaining anonymous.


See also

*
Midlands Industrial Council The Midlands Industrial Council is a British group of wealthy businessmen who help to fund the Conservative Party. According to the '' Sunday Times'', they are one of the Party's 'most important financial backers'. As well as the Conservative Part ...


References

{{Reflist Organisations associated with the Conservative Party (UK) Dining clubs Conservative Party (UK) donors 1949 establishments in England