At least the Tories under Theresa May are reverting to tradition with the dress code. When Cameron was PM, guests were asked to wear lounge suits and cocktail dresses
Cabinet ministers are on a three- line whip to attend the most lucrative event in the Tory social calendar.
But yet again the party leadership would rather no one noticed the annual Black & White Party is taking place on Wednesday at the Natural History Museum.
There’s not a word about it on the Tory website, and the museum refuses to discuss the event, where tables fetch up to £15,000.
The thrash, which is being organised by George Farmer, a twentysomething former member of the notorious Bullingdon Club — to which David Cameron and Boris Johnson belonged at Oxford — is a sell-out.
At least the Tories under Theresa May are reverting to tradition with the dress code. When Cameron was PM, guests were asked to wear lounge suits and cocktail dresses — so as to make the party seem more inclusive.
Wednesday will be black tie. ‘Such a relief,’ sighs my mole at Conservative HQ. ‘We all had to be achingly cool under Dave Cameron. Our supporters found it all very confusing.’
A Tory treasurer, Dominic Johnson, who loaned Cameron his £4million Chelsea home for a year after his abrupt exit from Downing Street, no doubt hopes for the event to be a financial success.
Hedge fund financier Johnson — nicknamed Uriah Heep after the Charles Dickens character noted for his cloying obsequience — apparently wants a peerage.
‘He was disappointed not to get one from Cameron,’ says my source. ‘He’s hoping to be on the next peerage list, but hedge fund types are not flavour of the month in Theresa’s office.’
Shakira’s just the ticket, Gordon
Good news for dour Gordon Brown. His Colombian pop star pal Shakira is bringing her tour to Britain in June.
The former PM struck up an unlikely friendship with the singer in 2006 over her campaign to boost education in poor countries, so perhaps there’s a free ticket in it.
But don’t mention the investigation into alleged tax evasion Spanish officials have opened on the Hips Don’t Lie singer, who was named in the Paradise Papers — leaked information that reveals secrets about where the elite hides its wealth.
After Carillion, Corbynite Labour MP Chris Williamson has demanded the private sector be removed from all public sector contracts.
‘The way in which the privateers make their margins is by screwing down the workforce they employ, cutting back on their terms and conditions, and diminishing the quality of service to the public,’ he told Russia Today (who else?).
Yet during his time as leader of Derby City Council, Williamson was full of praise for another outsourcing giant, Capita.
‘Having worked with Capita for over ten years . . . we were confident that they could deliver the IT platform to take advantage of . . . the shared services approach.’
Labour frontbencher David Drew tabled a written question asking: ‘Will the Secretary of State for Defence support Albania’s application to join NATO?’ The reply from Defence Minister Mark Lancaster is a classic. ‘Albania became a full member of NATO on April 1, 2009.’
It’s thirsty work at Boris Johnson’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Spending on business hospitality soared to nearly £9.4 million last year, the highest since the Tories came to power in 2010. The FCO declined to reveal how much Boris had spent on wine alone. Cheers!
Labour’s as unsafe as houses
No wonder the planned 5.99 per cent council tax rise in Labour-controlled Islington is so high. A BBC investigation has revealed Comrade Corbyn’s local council has spent more than £6.2 million buying back homes it sold for less than £1.3 million in the past decade. And this in the backyard of the man who claims the economy would be safe in his party’s hand