The first MPs’ Register of Interests of the new Parliamentary term shows that NE Cambs MP Steve Barclay has been buoyed by two donations – each of £10,000 – by a mysterious new ‘business club’. Under the rules of parliament MPs are obliged at the beginning of each session to list donations, hospitality and gifts received.
The donations to Mr Barclay reveal – for the first time – the total of £20,000 being given to his office this year by a group calling themselves ‘Fens Business Club’.
Mr Barclay has been asked by CambsNews for further details of the donation, but it is a club with zero social media or online presence.
The only clue to those who make up the club is from the postal address published on the House of Commons register.
This, however, simply gives the name of the donor – Fens Business Club – and an address of PO Box 2, March Self Store, Three Acres Business Park, Railway Junction South, Creek Road, March PE15 8SW.
Under the heading “amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind’ it reveals that first £10,000 was handed over on June 7, 2024, but not registered until July 15, 2024, well into the election campaign.
The second donation – also of £10,000 – was given on July 15, 2024, also, and registered the same the day. It describes the donor as an ‘unincorporated association’.
March Self Store Ltd, on its website, advertises PO boxes for £3 a week and says they are “ideal for internet traders, who do not want their personal address information on the internet”.
Getting down to business: MP Steve Barclay who successfully defended his NE Cambs seat for the Conservatives at the General ElectionRichard and Michelle Moore are shown as co-directors of March Self Store Ltd which also offers a wide range of ‘business, personal and smart office storage solutions’.
MPs are required to declare their financial interests within 28 days of the start of a new Parliament. They must also disclose any gifts or benefits they receive that could be reasonably considered to influence what they say or do as MPs.
The Register of Members’ Financial Interests is updated fortnightly online when the House is sitting, and less frequently at other times.
Interests remain in the register for twelve months after the interest has ended.
Other donations shown as have been given to Mr Barclay are:
Name of donor: Graham Edwards
Address of donor: private
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £5,000
Date received: 25 July 2023
Date accepted: 25 July 2023
Donor status: individual
Mr Edwards has been the Tory party treasurer and a property boss, who provided £2m in “administration services” to the Conservatives last year.
Name of donor: Lord Michael Hintze
Address of donor: private
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £3,000
Date received: 20 October 2023
Date accepted: 20 October 2023
Donor status: individual
(Registered 31 October 2023)
Lord Hintze started London-based hedge-fund firm CQS and is a noted supporter of the arts and sciences and was granted Knighthood in 2013 in recognition of his charitable contributions in the U.K.
Name of donor: Flowidea Ltd
Address of donor: Arbuthnot House, 7 Wilson Street, London EC2M 2SN
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £10,000
Date received: 26 March 2024
Date accepted: 26 March 2024
Donor status: company, registration 02463564
(Registered 12 April 2024)
Flowidea Ltd is a company owner by Swiss-born banker Sir Henry Angest, another major donor to the Conservatives.
Under a secondary part of the declaration of interests, Mr Barclay, again like all MPs, shows all “gifts, benefits and hospitality from UK sources” for the past year. In his instance just the one, Hydro Industries who invited him to a rugby march, worth £599.
In 2021 Mr Barclay declared he had been a guest at the women’s tennis final at Wimbledon, the hospitality worth more than £1,500.
Name of donor: Hydro Industries
Address of donor: 16 Berkeley Street, London W1J 8DZ
Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Ticket and hospitality for England v Wales rugby match, value £599
Date received: 12 August 2023
Date accepted: 12 August 2023
Donor status: company, registration 07364156
(Registered 13 September 2023)
2021
Gifts, benefits, and hospitality from UK sources
Name of donor: Lawn Tennis Association Address of donor: The National Tennis Centre, 100 Priory Lane, Roehampton SW15 5JQ Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: Two tickets, including hospitality, for Wimbledon Women’s Singles Final 2021, total value £1,545.60
Date received: 10 July 2021
Date accepted: 10 July 2021
Donor status: company, registration 07459469 (Registered 23 July 2021)
