#michaelashcroft was a significant player in my part of #london, setting up what is now #ashcroftacademy - a specialist publicly-funded secondary school - employing Edward #Lister who later became leader of #wandsworth #council and later still #chiefofstaff to #BorisJohnson both at #cityhall and in #downingstreet. He also supported #justinegreening who took #putney for the #conservatives in 2005 and retained it until standing down in 2019.

He ( #michaelashcroft ) does own a small publisher but this would not be enough to raise #competition and #plurality issues. Other than support for the #conservatives his politics are rather nuanced - he has spoken sympathetically of #cuba for example!

#michaelashcroft contributed substantially to the gradual recovery by #ukconservatives in the 2000s. He did provide a lot of targeted support to parliamentary candidates and is credited by some with most if not all of the thirty seats gained by them in the 2005 General Election. He fell out spectacularly with #davidcameron later on.

There is also one intriguing possibility that has occurred to me. That is #michaelashcroft. He is a wealthy #non-dom who has dabbled in #Conservative politics at times in the past. There have some indications that he may want to come back from the fringes where he has been in recent years.