Richard Desmond, Ukip's Biggest Donor, Is Not Sure He Agrees With Party's European Union Stance
Ukip's Biggest Donor Isn't Actually Sure He Agrees With Party's Main Policy
Kathryn Snowdon— The Huffington Post UK
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LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 30: Richard Desmond attends a reception for the Best of Britain's Creative Industries at The Foreign Office on June 30, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)
Stuart C. Wilson via Getty Images
Ukip's biggest donor and owner of the Daily Express, which came out in support of the party in the build up to this year's General Election, has revealed he isn't actually sure if he agrees with the party's main policy of leaving the European Union.
In a colourful feature article published in the Financial Times on Friday, Richard Desmond also admitted he once turned down a prostitute because he worked out that her fee equated to the profit generated from a page and a half of advertising.
FT Media correspondent Henry Mance describes the "terror" of taking Desmond out to lunch, and imagines the looks on the faces of the newspaper's accounts department when he shows them a receipt for the £580 bottle of wine the billionaire has just ordered.
Mance also highlights Desmond's notorious reputation for being tight with money: "If the media mogul goes down in history for anything, it will be screwing — and not just because of his investments in adult TV, which include the world’s most honestly titled channel, Filth."
Therefore the news that a man who has contributed £1.3 million to Ukip's election campaign does not even believe in the issue that the party centred its political platform on comes as a huge surprise.
The Daily Express was the only major player in the British press to come out in support of Nigel Farage's party.
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The day before the General Election, this was the Daily Express' front page
On May 6, the day before polling stations opened, the Daily Express led with a comment piece from Farage, telling people why they "must vote for Ukip".
Now, more than a month after the election, which saw Ukip receive more than 4 million votes in return for just one seat in Parliament - half the number they had before May 7 - Desmond has said he is unconvinced on Ukip's stance on the EU.
In the FT's piece, Desmond speaks about Ukip and the EU.
He says: “I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows,” he says. “But we need a referendum.”
Ukip leader, Nigel Farage, is a vocal advocate of the country leaving the European Union
The FT's piece highlights how Desmond once created a contractual clause that was so advantageous that the distributors of his magazines nearly went bankrupt.
Last year, the National Union of Journalists described Desmond as “Britain’s greediest billionaire” after his staff went a seventh year without pay rises.
Readers clearly enjoyed the incisive piece in the FT, with many reacting with incredulity over the amount spent during the lunch.
The Richard Desmond interview by @henrymance in the @FT is pretty close to perfect & well worth negotiating the paywall.
Journalist Mance tweeted a picture of a possibly awkward meeting he might be having this afternoon, following the reaction to his piece.
10 Policies You Had Forgotten Ukip Had Made
Taxi drivers must wear uniforms(01 of10)
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For those who see a black cab with an illuminated sign saying 'TAXI' on it - and aren't sure whether it's a taxi - Ukip had you covered. When Andrew Neill put this to Farage on The Daily Politics in January, saying: "You favour a compulsory dress code for taxi drivers". Farage said: "Do we?" The policy didn't actually make it into the 16-page manifesto but was mooted by a "discussion group" that fed into Ukip policies, then policy chief David Campbell Bannerman told HuffPost UK. (credit:Anthony Devlin/PA Archive)
Ban the burkha! (Well, in some places)(02 of10)
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In the section about 'Restoring Britishness', the manifesto pledged to "tackle Islamic extremism" by banning the wearing of the burkha or veiled niqab in public buildings and "certain private" ones. "Ukip opposes multiculturalism and political correctness - aiming to create a single British culture embracing all religions and cultures," it said. (credit:Anthony Devlin/PA Archive)
Shield our children from Al Gore's 'propaganda' (03 of10)
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Eurosceptics and climate change sceptics appear to go hand in hand - Ukip say they wanted to abolish the Climate Change Act and ban Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth from our schools, calling it "global warming propaganda". It also pledged to stop funding the UN panel on climate change and fund the Met Office "according to forecast accuracy". But they did have a green side... (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Get us all to drive electric cars(04 of10)
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The manifesto said it would "incentivise and support" the use of electric road vehicles. (credit:John Walton/PA Archive)
A 'proper' Treason Act(05 of10)
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Yeah, that's right - a "proper" one. Suck it, traitors. The act would be to prosecute British citizens found guilty of attacks on "the British people or armed forces". Beyond that, there isn't much detail. (credit:Alastair Grant/PA Wire)
Boot camps for young offenders(06 of10)
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Young people consistently in trouble with the law were to be sent to "boot camp" to stop them "spiraling into a life crime". Ominously, that is all the manifesto has to say on the subject. It also pledged to double the number of prison places, presumably in case the camps didn't work. (credit:Jeff Moore/Jeff Moore)
Safeguard British measurements(07 of10)
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Farage wasn't Ukip leader at the time of the 2010 general election but we detect his fingerprints on this. His party pledged to "safeguard" imperial measurements like the pint and the mile from being "undermined" by Brussels. So, Farage won't have to order "half a litre of ale," (or worse, lager) any time soon. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
Triple the size of the border staff(08 of10)
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The Border Agency needed to be tripled in size to around 30,000 employees, in order to enforce Ukip's proposed new requirement that every non-UK citizen's entry and exit to the country be recorded. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)
Return to grants for students(09 of10)
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University students are an unlikely target demographic for the eurosceptic party. Nonetheless, they said they would return to the old student grant system and scrap students loans which are leaving them in "heavy debt" If only those thousands of students who voted for the Lib Dems had known... (credit:Johnny Green/PA Wire)
'English-only' days at parliament(10 of10)
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Bloody Scots, coming down here, taking up their duly elected places in the House of Commons. On "English-only" days, the MPs from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would be required to go home and perform the devolved duties of the regional assemblies - whose existing members they would replace. (credit:Steve Parsons/PA Wire)