Today’s papers report that following the Deripaska affair, George Osborne will no longer take a direct fundraising role. A source close to Osborne tells The Times, “Lessons have been learnt. From now on, George has decided that he will not be involved in discussions about individual donations from individual donors”.
This is a sensible move. As shadow Chancellor, Osborne is too vulnerable to the appearance of conflicts of interest to play an active fundraising role. If he had carried on doing so, Labour would have made hay out of the issue.
The Tories need to leave the business of fundraising to those like Michael Spencer and Andrew Feldman whose principal party job it is. Involving members of the shadow cabinet just creates an unnecessary reputational risk.
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