Third Tory donor calls for leadership contest
The millionaire businessman Irvine Laidlaw, a backer of IDS, said a leadership contest would allow Mr Duncan Smith to reassert his control of the party.
The Monaco-based businessman has a personal fortune estimated at GBP750 million.
Mr Laidlaw had written the Conservative Party a cheque for GBP100,000 within the past fortnight, the BBC said yesterday.
He said yesterday: “We have a fine leader at present in Iain, and until the MPs vote to change the leader, or any leader, I’m totally loyal to the leader that the party, both the MPs and party members have chosen.
“It does us no good at all to have the discussions and the attempt to unseat Iain as leader.”
A leadership election might not be a bad way to go, he said.
“Certain people are spending too much time on attacking Iain, therefore I believe we might be better having a vote of confidence.”
Yesterday, Chairman of Reading Football Club, John Madejski, who has given GBP82,300 to the party since 2001, said a leadership vote would “clear the air.”
Earlier in the week, Tory donor Stuart Wheeler, who contributed GBP5 million to the party’s last election campaign, said MPs had a ‘duty’ to challenge Duncan Smith.
Mr Wheeler said there was an “overwhelming” case for a change at the helm.
