Another City investor trying to fund the Tories

Check out Caledonia Investments. The text below is a direct lift from the company's information backing its decision to seek authorisation to donate £60K to the Tories. Read the original here (resolution 15).

Resolution 15: Approval to make political donations

Part XA of the Act (as amended by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000) prohibits a company and its subsidiaries from making donations of more than £5,000 in any 12 month period to organisations within the European Community which are, or could be, categorised as EU Political Organisations (as defined in the Act) unless prior shareholder approval has been obtained to make such donations.

The Board has been concerned for several years by the increasing proportion of the country’s gross domestic product spend being taken up by the public sector with the resultant requirement for higher taxation and also by the increasing burden of legislation with adverse cost and operational effects on business. Both of these issues contribute towards making businesses in this country less competitive in world markets and have an adverse effect on the performance of Caledonia’s investment portfolio.

The Board believes that a Conservative government would seek to reduce both government expenditure and legislation, which would be of benefit to business in general and to the Group’s business and therefore Caledonia’s shareholders in particular.

Accordingly, the Board is seeking Ordinary Shareholders’ approval to make donations of up to £60,000 in aggregate to the Conservative Party, an amount which would represent less than one-third of one per cent. of the cost of the Company’s annual
dividend to shareholders.

This approval, if granted, will last until 1 January 2009 or, if earlier, the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company.