Hunt’s re-election campaign bankrolled by hedge fund manager who ‘profited from falling pound’ under Liz Truss
Jeremy Hunt's re-election campaign is being bankrolled in part by a hedge fund manager who hosted a champagne reception on the day of Liz Truss's disastrous mini-budget.
Andrew Law, a financier worth £750 million, also helped to fund Ms Truss's leadership campaign, before she lasted just 49 days as prime minister.
And he is reported to have likely profited as "Trussonomics" crashed the value of the pound.
New figures released by the Electoral Commission show Mr Hunt’s campaign in Godalming and Ash has received more than £14,000 from Mr Law.
He also donated more than £14,000 to South West Surrey Conservatives, where Mr Hunt was the MP before recent boundary changes.
The chancellor is facing a fierce battle to return to parliament after this election.
His constituency is a key target for the Liberal Democrats, who want to bring down the Conservatives’ so-called “blue wall” in the south of England.
If successful, a defeat for Mr Hunt could be this election’s equivalent of the infamous “Portillo Moment” when Michael Portillo was beaten during Labour’s landslide victory in 1997.
No chancellor has ever lost their seat at a general election.
But in a sign of how tight he fears the contest will be Mr Hunt has contributed £100k of his own money to the fight, official records show.
Last week he also suggested he would win or lose the election by as little as 1,500 votes.
A Liberal Democrat source said: “There’s no doubt that Jeremy Hunt needs all the help he can get, but the chancellor should know better than to accept money from someone who reportedly partied after Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget.”
Earlier this week it emerged Mr Hunt had described Ms Truss’s economic ambitions as a “good thing to aim for” and said her disastrous mini-budget hadn’t left an impact on the economy, according to two leaked recordings.
He also told students he was “trying to basically achieve some of the same things” as the former prime minister, but that he was doing it “more gradually”.
He also praised Ms Truss for “accepting the mistakes she’d made with good grace” and repeatedly refused to accept her plans had left a long-term impact on the economy.
When pressed, he added: “No I don’t think it’s had an effect. I don’t think it’s the main cause.”
Mr Hunt took over from Kwasi Kwarteng after he was sacked by Mr Truss in a doomed bid to save her premiership.
Once in post, Mr Hunt reversed a number of measures in the mini-budget.
Mr Hunt, Mr Law and the Conservatives have been approached for comment.
