Guido couldn’t help but notice that the campaign group backing Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill, Dignity in Dying, is ramping up its online advertising game. In the past 90 days alone, they’ve splashed out an eye-watering £181,122 on Facebook and Instagram ads, while since 2018, the total spend has topped £650,000. Someone certainly found their credit card…
Dignity in Dying’s filings with Companies House reveal that in 2022 and 2023, the group hauled in £1,283,466 from ‘High Value Donors’—though exactly who these donors are or how many there are remains shrouded in mystery. Meanwhile, their sister charity, Compassion in Dying, also run by the same CEO, does disclose major donors to the Charity Commission. The two are practically joined at the hip, sharing office space, staff, and various resources…
One of the more notable donors to Compassion in Dying is the “Church Street Trustees,” who handed over £204,009 in 2022 and another £100,000 in 2023. The body is registered in Jersey and allegedly appeared in the Panama Papers back in 2016. Should the Bill pass, it’s not clear whether any private companies will be involved in the provision of this service. Though the public deserve the right to know…
In Henry Mance’s piece today for the FT, lunching with Nigel Farage:
“Splendido!” Farage says, when the drinks arrive; I suppose it’s a step to European reconciliation. We clink glasses, and he lights the first of two back-to-back Benson & Hedges. A few minutes later, we’re back downstairs. “Are you drinking? Good.” He orders a glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us — not a bottle, “because it’s Lent” — followed by a bottle of claret, to have with our meal. They say Farage drinks less than he used to. They say a lot of things.”