George Soros backs anti-Brexit campaign with £400,000 donation
American billionaire is ‘valued’ supporter of Best for Britain group
American billionaire George Soros has donated more than £400,000 to a campaign to stop Brexit, it has emerged.
According to The Guardian, “sources” say the Hungarian-born tycoon has contributed the six-figure sum to Best for Britain since June 2017. The pro-EU group’s chairman, Lord Malloch-Brown, says Soros is a “valued” supporter.
Soros made the donations through his Open Society Foundations, the Financial Times reports. “Soros also hosted a dinner for Conservative donors at his London home last week to encourage them to follow his lead,” the newspaper adds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Daily Telegraph says that Best for Britain is involved in a “secret plot” to thwart Brexit by recruiting major Tory donors and by convincing MPs to vote against the final Brexit deal, undermining Theresa May and triggering another referendum or general election.
The group was co-founded by Gina Miller, who took the UK government to court over the process of triggering Article 50.
The Telegraph describes Soros as the man who “broke the Bank of England”, referring to a one-month period in 1992 when he made $1.5bn (£1.1bn) betting against the pound and several other European currencies.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
‘The menu’s other highlights smack of the surreal’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Is a Reform-Tory pact becoming more likely?Today’s Big Question Nigel Farage’s party is ahead in the polls but still falls well short of a Commons majority, while Conservatives are still losing MPs to Reform
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strongTalking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
Is Britain turning into ‘Trump’s America’?Today’s Big Question Direction of UK politics reflects influence and funding from across the pond
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Entente cordiale: will state visit help UK-French relations get over Brexit?Today's Big Question The King, a keen Francophile who has a warm relationship with Emmanuel Macron, will play a key role in state visit
-
Is the G7 still relevant?Talking Point Donald Trump's early departure cast a shadow over this week's meeting of the world's major democracies
-
Angela Rayner: Labour's next leader?Today's Big Question A leaked memo has sparked speculation that the deputy PM is positioning herself as the left-of-centre alternative to Keir Starmer


