‘Dire’ funding situation leaves Tories struggling for party HQ rent

Funding for the Conservatives has dried up so badly that the party is struggling to pay the rent on its headquarters, i has been told. Concern among activists and MPs deepened yesterday as James Hosking, a City financier and one of the party’s most prominent donors, defected to Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party. The failure to secure Brexit is one of the main reasons for the crash in donations, with backers unwilling to provide more cash until the issue is resolved. Senior Tory sources told i the situation has become so “dire” that party headquarters was struggling to pay the rent at its £51m Westminster home. “They are currently paying for things at a month by month basis,” the source said. “It is like the dark days of opposition when donors were waiting to see who would take over and reserves were drying up.”