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Sir Rocco Forte said giving more money was pointless and blamed the party for not growing the economy. Sir Rocco has urged against a rise in corporate tax A major Tory donor who gave £100,000 to support Boris Johnson has said he will not donate more money because he blamed the Tories for not growing the economy.
Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte, who helped finance the 2019 election, said it was "unnecessary" to donate to Rishi Sunak's party.
Asked if he would donate money again, he told GB News: 'No. What is the use of having a conservative government that follows policies that have been followed for the last 15 years and have not generated good growth? »
Sir Rocco, chairman of the Rocco Forte luxury hotel chain, was among a number of business leaders who urged the Prime Minister to reverse a corporate tax increase that came into effect this month.
He backed a letter to Mr Sunak from Conservative Conservatives who said the increase, from 19% to 25%, would slow economic growth and destroy jobs.
Forte said: “We have a kind of Social Democratic government in parliament. We don't have a Conservative government and nobody really believes in stimulating the economy and changing the system to do that.
He suggested that Reform UK, backed by Nigel Farage, would "take the votes" of the Conservatives, potentially forcing the government to change direction. But Sir Rocco said he hadn't considered donating to Reform yet.
He said: "Reform UK is a sort of protest party that will win votes from the Conservative Party and, if allowed to reach the level that the Brexit Party has reached, could force the Tories to go in a different direction."
Sir Rocco also said he was "not a fan" of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. "Everything is being blamed on Liz Truss. What scared the markets, more than anything, was the subsidy on energy costs, which was then forecast at $150 billion," he said.
“We continue to subsidize energy costs and it didn't cost any of that. This coincided with the Bank of England's announcement, perhaps on purpose, of a quantitative tightening on the same day as the mini-budget. Obviously she (Liz Truss) rushed it, but things should have been taken much more calmly and steadily.
Sir Rocco previously paid for a £12,000 party at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair to celebrate Johnson's victory in the Tory leadership race.
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