Swire loses his job as auctioneer at fancy Tory ball

Swire’s poor taste quips were missing at this year’s Tory Black and White Ball

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2015/02/11/hugo-swire-is-auctioneer-at-15000-per-head-tory-ball/

but conspicuous consumption ruled, as always.

“An unnamed donor paid £75,000 for a private night at the Proms with Theresa May at the Tories’ lavish Black and White Ball fundraiser.

Super-rich Tory donors splashed tens of thousands of pounds on cosy dinners with ministers, hunting trips and luxury holidays at the bash, as they dined on Michelin star food and drank fine wine.

Guests paid up to £15,000 a table to rub shoulders with Cabinet Ministers and take part in an exclusive auction.

Private dinners and events with nine cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister herself were sold to the highest bidder.

Labour Party Chair Ian Lavery said it was “stomach-churning”

Tory Chairman Brandon Lewis told guests: “Whatever you bid at the auction it is less than you’ll pay in tax under Corbyn.”

Revellers dug deep to fill Mrs May’s election war chest, with a set of Conservative Party campaign posters signed by the Prime Minister also selling for a staggering £175,000 – the cost of a three-bedroom terraced house in Sheffield.

And Philip May, the Prime Minister’s husband, pledged a donation of £4,200 to pay for ground campaigning in the month of May.

The auction was presented by Wynne Evans, star of the Go Compare adverts.

Lots included included Lunch at Ivy, one of London’s most exclusive restaurants, with Tory austerity architect George Osborne with a minimum bid of £6,000.

Restaurant tycoon Richard Caring, who owns the Ivy, attended the party and is understood to have donated the prize.

Also up for grabs were a Japanese dinner with Jeremy Hunt for at least £3,000 and Dinner with Home Secretary Sajid Javid for at least £2,500.

A ‘private cinema experience’ with Work and Pensions Secretary’ Amber Rudd sold for at least £2,000.

The lucky winner taking 19 friends to watch Ms Rudd’s favourite film, Samuel L Jackson spy thriller The Long Kiss Goodnight.

International Development Minister Penny Mordaunt, who was a magician’s assistant before becoming an MP, offered a private magic lesson for up to six people.

And Environment Secretary Michael Gove and wife Sarah Vine, offered a cosy, home-cooked meal, prepared personally at the kitchen table of their London family home.

And a streak of humour was added to the auction by offering a British cheese tasting session with Treasury Secretary Liz Truss.

Ms Truss shot to fame after a 2016 conference speech in which she overdramatically said it was a “disgrace” Britain imports two thirds of our cheese.

One lucky bidder won the chance to have their portrait painted by renowned artist Peregrine Heathcote for upwards of £20,000.

Labour Party Chair Ian Lavery said: “This sort of cash for access undermines our democracy and goes to the very root of why people have lost faith in politicians.

“People will be shocked to learn that there’s a price tag on keeping company with the Prime Minister.

“While millions of people are struggling with squeezed wages and Universal Credit , the Tories auctioning off a seat next to the Prime Minister for £75,000 is stomach-churning.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/inside-tory-black-white-ball-13968469