Estrange But True

Kevin Maguire writes:

Who knows where the Tory peer Michael Ashcroft’s estrangement from David Cameron will end? The billionaire international man of mystery and one-time deputy chairman of the Conservatives, who over the years has bunged the party £10m, has let it be known, as we say in Westminster, that he’s unlikely to reopen his wallet for Cameron.

Lord Cashcroft of Belize, still sore after Dave’s mob dumped on him when he was forced to confess before the 2010 election that he’d been avoiding taxes as a non-dom, is no fan of the hired attack dingo Lynton Crosby, and is therefore loath to contribute to the Aussie’s £200,000-plus deal with the Tories.

Instead, the tycoon is carving out a niche for himself as The Pollfather; the word is that he spends more on voter research than all of Britain’s other political parties combined. Intriguingly, I hear the disaffected Tory businessman privately met the shadow cabinet member Douglas Alexander to discuss election strategy.

He’s chatted with other senior Labour figures, too, both in the Commons and the Lords. Ashcroft slipping Labour a few bob may be unlikely, but it would be the ultimate revenge on Cameron.

Ashcroft is also a good friend of Saint Helena.