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Donor condemns Cameron leadership Donor condemns Cameron leadership
(about 1 hour later)
A major Conservative donor has accused David Cameron of an "arrogant, Old Etonian" style of leadership and said he would give the party no more money.A major Conservative donor has accused David Cameron of an "arrogant, Old Etonian" style of leadership and said he would give the party no more money.
Sir Tom Cowie, who has given £630,000 to the Tories over the past six years, said he had become "disillusioned". Sir Tom Cowie, who has paid £630,000 to the Tories over the past six years, said he had become "disillusioned".
He is now planning to make donations to the Prince's Trust charity instead.He is now planning to make donations to the Prince's Trust charity instead.
A spokesman for Mr Cameron said a lot of new donors had come to the Tories and changing the party meant some people would be unhappy.A spokesman for Mr Cameron said a lot of new donors had come to the Tories and changing the party meant some people would be unhappy.
Sir Tom told the Guardian newspaper he was "very, very disappointed with David Cameron" and "disillusioned with his style of leadership", after what he describes as a series of blunders by the Tory leader. 'Disillusioned'
In particular, he cited Mr Cameron's decision to go to Rwanda during the recent flooding in England, which affected the Tory leader's Witney constituency, and the party row over ending support for grammar schools. Despite Sir Tom's withdrawal of his financial support, the Conservative Party is in better financial health than its rivals.
The paper quotes Sir Tom as saying the Conservative Party seems to be run by "arrogant old Etonians who don't understand how other people live". Last year, it raised £14.9m in donations, compared with £5.41m for Labour and £5.8m for the Lib Dems.
Mr Cameron's spokesman said the party would not abolish existing grammar schools, but said that the Tory leader believed there were better ways to improve social mobility. In February, it made a profit of about £15m on the sale of its former headquarters Smith Square, Westminster, enabling it to clear most of its debts.
Sir Tom, who founded the transport firm Arriva, gave £500,000 to the Conservatives ahead of the 2005 general election. Labour is £26.2m in debt according to the most recent figures filed with the Electoral Commission. I will not mince my words: I shan't send them any more money Sir Tom Cowie
Sir Tom, who backed Mr Cameron's leadership bid in 2005, told the Guardian newspaper he was "very, very disappointed" with the Tory leader's performance.
He said he was "disillusioned" with Mr Cameron's style of leadership, after what he described as a series of blunders.
He cited the Tory leader's decision to go to Rwanda during the recent flooding in England, which affected Mr Cameron's Witney constituency, and the party row over ending support for grammar schools.
The 84-year-old entrepreneur, who gave more than £500,000 to the party's 2005 general election campaign, said he would not be switching political allegiance to Labour.
In response to a question about the present state of the Conservatives, he said: "Are you sure you don't want to hear foul language?"
'Don't understand'
He added: "All I can say is I am very, very disappointed with the state of the party.
"I will not mince my words: I shan't send them any more money."
Sir Tom also said: "The Tory party seems to be run now by Old Etonians and they don't seem to understand how other people live.
"They seem to be very arrogant like I suppose Old Etonians can be. They certainly don't understand about grammar schools."
Sir Tom, who took over his father's bicycle repair business in 1948 and built it up into transport firm Arriva, is a former chairman of Sunderland Football Club.
After the 2005 general election defeat, he said the then Tory leader Michael Howard should go "in hours or days".
However, in October 2003 Sir Tom called on party members to stand by Mr Howard's under-fire predecessor Iain Duncan Smith, who was later ousted.