Sunak to meet Tory donors as Labour unveils business backers
Rishi Sunak will meet leading Conservative Party donors on Monday evening as he seeks to mobilise financial support for the surprisingly timed general election campaign he triggered last week.
Sky News understands that the prime minister will have dinner with a small group of long-standing and more recent donors as the Tories target millions of pounds in fresh contributions to fund their push to retain power.
This weekend, Lord Spencer, the City billionaire, said he was giving £250,000 to the Conservative campaign, although a leaked party memo reported by The Times on Monday suggested it was so far struggling to raise money.
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The dinner will take place as Labour prepares to unveil a list of senior business figures who are endorsing the party ahead of the 4 July election.
A draft letter circulated to private sector bosses late last week, and reported by Sky News, accused the Tories of presiding over an economy “beset by instability, stagnation, and a lack of long-term focus”.
Labour refused to comment on the identities of those who had signed the letter prior to its publication, although there was speculation that Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos founder and Manchester United Football Club joint-owner, had been invited to do so.
One Labour official denied that Sir Jim, a Monaco resident who this month said he thought that Sir Keir Starmer would do “a very good job at running the country”, was among the list of signatories.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is speculated to have been invited to sign a business leaders’ letter backing a change of government
The draft letter, designed to aid Sir Keir’s bid to reposition Labour as the natural party of business, said the UK “has the potential to be one of the strongest economies in the world” but added: “A lack of political stability and the absence of consistent economic strategy has held it back.”
“Labour has shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK’s full economic potential,” it added.
“We should now give it the chance to change the country.”
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A number of FTSE-100 chiefs, some of whom have traditionally signed pro-Conservative letters in the run-up to elections, are understood to have been approached to sign it.
One said it was “too political” for him to sign, but Labour allies insisted on Monday that the party had assembled an “impressive” list of signatories.
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Sky News revealed last week that the Tories have contacted business leaders since Mr Sunak called the election, asking them to take part in broadcast media opportunities, provide quotes in support of manifesto pledges and host events and visits for cabinet ministers.
It was unclear on Friday whether the Tories would seek business signatures for a public letter similar to the one being prepared by Labour.
A Conservative Party spokesman declined to comment on Monday’s dinner with the prime minister or to identify those he was meeting.
Business
Energy bills to rise again from January but spring falls to come, research firm Cornwall Insight forecasts
Energy bills are to rise again next year, according to a respected forecaster.
Costs from January to March are projected to rise another 1% to £1,736 a year for the average user, according to research firm Cornwall Insight.
The energy price cap, which sets a limit on how much companies can charge per unit of electricity, is also expected to rise, costing typical households an extra £19 a year.
It’s a further increase after energy costs rose 10% from October.
After the latest hike, there were hopes of a fall in the new year, but volatile wholesale gas and electricity markets are still above historic average costs.
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Prices have gone up due to supply concerns arising from Russia‘s war in Ukraine, and maintenance of Norwegian gas infrastructure.
But spring is expected to herald a reduction as is October 2025, Cornwall Insight said.
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Every three months energy regulator Ofgem revises the cap based on wholesale costs.
The official January price cap announcement will be made on Friday.
It comes as millions of pensioners lost their automatic winter fuel allowance payment after the government means-tested the benefit.
Meanwhile, Cornwall Insight’s principal consultant Dr Craig Lowrey warned “millions” of households won’t heat their homes to “recommended temperatures, risking serious health consequences” with bills on the rise.
“With it being widely accepted that high prices are here to stay, we need to see action,” he said, suggesting options like cheaper rates for low-income homes, benefit restructuring, or other targeted support for the vulnerable “must be seriously considered”.
The energy price cap system is being reviewed by Ofgem with possible changes to the standing charge coming over the next year.
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The long-lasting solution to high energy bills is the transition to UK-produced renewable power, the firm said.
“While there will be upfront costs, this shift is essential to building a sustainable and secure energy system for the future.”
The owners of Scotland’s only oil refinery have rejected a US-led approach about a possible bid for it months before its scheduled closure.
Sky News has learnt that a consortium said to be led by Robert McKee, an American energy industry veteran, wrote to Petroineos, the owner of the Grangemouth site, to express an interest in buying it.
The approach, which is understood to have been made earlier this month, was rejected by Petroineos, which is 50%-owned by the petrochemicals empire founded by the Manchester United FC shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
The consortium is understood to comprise The Canal Group, which is reportedly developing a green energy refinery in Texas, and Trading Stack, a Middle East-based commodities trader.
Mr McKee spent nearly four decades with ConocoPhillips, one of the biggest energy companies in the US.
Sources close to the situation said that Petroineos had rebuffed the offer in order to concentrate on a publicly announced plan to transform the century-old plant into a finished fuels import terminal.
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They added that the nature of the consortium’s approach had raised questions about its access to financing and expertise in operating an asset of this kind.
The Grangemouth refinery, which employs about 450 people, loses about £200m annually.
Its other shareholder is the state-backed Chinese energy giant PetroChina.
The site is due to close next year.
A person close to the consortium insisted that its financing was robust and said it would assess the feasibility of building a new refinery elsewhere in the area.
They added that the consortium had had “positive interactions” with trade union officials, and believed that there was scope to rapidly make Grangemouth’s refinery operations profitable.
On Monday, a spokesman for Petroineos said: “Since the Petroineos joint venture was formed 13 years ago, our shareholders have invested nearly £1bn in the refinery, only to absorb losses of £600m.
“Last week, the refinery lost £385,000 on average each day and we expect to lose more than £150m in total during the course of this year.
“We have not received any credible or viable bids for the refinery.”
A spokesman for the consortium declined to comment.
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