All In This Together

No, not the Queen, getting by on 15 per cent of her own money. This:

David Cameron has taken time out to chillax and sip champagne with the loaded fatcats who will fund his next election campaign. While the country struggles with the recession and unemployment, the Prime Minister welcomed a judo pal of Russian President Vladimir Putin, millionaire hedge fund traders and TV presenter Tania Bryer at the Tory summer ball.

Guests in London had paid at least £1,000 a head to get a seat at the event attended by the leader and his Cabinet. Drinking vintage champagne, the 450 revellers at Old Billingsgate Market in the City mingled with politicians, including Chancellor George Osborne and Mayor Boris Johnson – who cycled there.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds were raised in an auction, with grouse shoots and the obligatory Margaret Thatcher portrait on offer to the true blue faithful. And there was laughter as a bronze bust of Mr Cameron – who was at the event with wife Samantha – went up for sale.

But the PM’s blushes were spared by a foreign businessman who snapped up the artwork for a massive £90,000. One reveller said: “There was obvious laughter when it came up for auction. Everyone thought it wouldn’t go and there were no bids until a businessman stepped in. It could have looked awful for him.

“The event was so lavish, tens of thousands of pounds had been spent on the flowers alone. Security was very tight and everyone was told to keep their phones away and take no pictures. They knew exactly what it would look like if details of the bash got out.”

Guests were treated to an extravagant menu, including smoked rainbow trout, guinea fowl stuffed with herbs and mascarpone, and rhubarb and elderflower tart with gingerbread cream. The event, hosted by City boss Howard Shore, was themed Holding 40, Gaining 40 – the target the Tories have set for seats to win the next election. Each table at the dinner was named after a target constituency.

Ex-Ulster Unionist MP turned City PR David Burnside invited a host of Russian businessmen to his table, including Vasily Shestakov, who penned a judo book with his close pal Mr Putin. Now an MP in Russia’s Duma assembly, he heads a unit which aims to spin Russia’s – and Mr Putin’s – negative image.

Seated next to Boris Johnson was billionaire property developer Poju Zabludowicz who is no stranger to donating money to the Tories. In 2011 he said he was “extremely disappointed” to hear he had been tricked into funding the lavish lifestyle of former Defence Secretary Liam Fox and adviser Adam Werritty, who blew his £3,000 donation jaunting round the globe.

He was angry at suggestions he benefited from the payments. But at Monday’s bash he and art collecting wife Anita seemed to spend an enjoyable night with Mr Johnson. Club mogul Peter Stringfellow was also there with his pregnant wife, Bella.

In a forthright speech, Mr Cameron laid out how he had paid back his rich donors through tax cuts while pursuing policies that have meant pain for millions. He said: “Think of what you have done through your support for the Conservative Party. Who is cutting corporation tax to the lowest level of the G20? That’s what you’re doing. Who has brought in the benefit cap? You have. Who has frozen council tax for three years in a row? That is what your support for the Conservative Party has done. Who has cut the top rate of income tax making Britain competitive again, saying to wealth creators come here, invest here, that is what this Government’s done.”

The PM made clear his backers would have to dig deep for the campaign in May 2015. And he said he wanted to ditch the Coalition. He said: “I want a full Conservative majority. I want to do more. “I am not interested in fiddling about with our constitution, I want a government dedicated to firing up enterprise in Britain. We have to throw everything we have got at the next election. This will be the mother and father of all election battles, the toughest fight in years and we need your support every step of the way.”