Jeremy Hunt just paid £100k to prop up his own re-election campaign

It’s perfectly legal (and traditional) to chip in your own cash to bolster your election charges, writes Sean O’Grady. But a sum this big from the chancellor smacks of desperation…

‘Wealthy as he undoubtedly is – one of the few senior Tories to have made serious money from building up their own business – it has not previously been his habit to be so generous’ (PA)

Nothing oozes quiet confidence in your own political future than subbing your local constituency association £100,000 to keep it – and your career – going.

So it is with the current Conservative chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, who has used a small portion of his estimated net worth £14m net worth – £105,261, to be precise – to subsidise the activities of his “power base” (the South West Surrey Conservative Association) over the last five years.

Wealthy as he undoubtedly is – one of the few senior Tories to have made serious money from building up their own business – it has not previously been his habit to be so generous.