TORY leadership hopeful Penny Mordaunt has faced heavy criticism as it was revealed she accepted a £20,000 donation from the trustee of a climate sceptic lobby group.
Between 2019 and 2021 she accepted two £10,000 donations from the business First Corporate Consultants, run by her distant relative Terence Mordaunt.
Terence Mordaunt at the time chaired the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) group, who describe themselves as “deeply concerned” about the impact of climate change policies in the UK.
The GWPF have historically refused to disclose details of their own donors, however it was earlier revealed by The Guardian and openDemocracy that it has received extensive funding from oil and gas companies, with one of its donors having £24 million of shares across 22 companies working in oil, coal and gas.
Ed Miliband, UK Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change said in a statement to The Mirror: “Any candidate seemingly taking money from climate deniers must explain to the British people why they oppose action that will cut energy bills and deliver energy security for our country.
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"All the evidence says that delaying action on climate will cost us more and is the imprudent, reckless choice.”
Mordaunt is one of the remaining five candidates vying for the Tory leadership role when Boris Johnson steps down.
She has a history of voting against progressive climate change measures. In 2020, she voted against requiring a "climate and nature emergency impact statement" as part of any proposal for financial assistance under a United Kingdom Internal Market Act.
In 2019, she voted against a motion calling on the Government "to rebuild the economy so that it works in the interest of the many, not just handing out rewards to those at the top" and bringing forward "a green industrial revolution to decarbonise the economy and boost economic growth".
Mordaunt recently boasted that she is the “most popular” candidate among the Scottish Conservative membership – despite basing this on a poll of just 78 people.
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