4th October 2022

Dear Robin,

As you will have seen in The Sunday Times (2nd October), Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng attended a champagne party with hedge fund managers on 23rd September, just hours after delivering his “mini” budget.

The Chancellor’s disastrous mini budget led directly to a huge increase in the cost of government borrowing, a fall in the value of the pound, and to mortgages becoming unaffordable for huge numbers of the British people. Seemingly the only people to have benefited from the Tory Chancellor’s statement are those hedge fund managers who made vast profits from betting against the value of the pound.

As Labour canvassers can confirm from our conversations on the doorstep, since the “mini” budget, the people of Worcester have been hit by extreme anxiety about the cost of the rent and mortgages. However, they do not have the kind of privileged access to the Tory Chancellor which is clearly enjoyed by hedge fund managers.

On their behalf then, I must ask the following questions of their elected representative –
● At his meeting with hedge fund managers, did the Chancellor reveal privileged information which could have subsequently been exploited financially?
● Amid the cost of living crisis already engulfing the country, do you find it appropriate for the Chancellor to socialise with individuals betting against the British economy?
● What do you say to the renters and mortgage holders who find themselves frozen out of decisions impacting their lives, while the Chancellor rubs shoulders with people who have profited from their misery?

The Tory party was re-elected in 2019 on an explicit promise to “level-up” regions that have been allowed to fall behind London after years of Tory rule. As matters of basic integrity and competence, it is vital the Tory party supports the British people, rather than bankers betting against them.

Given the seriousness of the issues at stake here, I will be making this letter public.

Yours Sincerely,

Lynn Denham