However, it has been suggested that a vast majority of these supporters – who do not contribute financially or engage in campaigning – were simply signed up to a mailing list.

In 2015, Elliot was appointed chief executive of the Vote Leave campaign to promote a British withdrawal from the European Union.

[8] The TPA was founded in 2004 by a group of libertarian Conservatives, frustrated by what they saw as the party's decision to ditch its traditional tax-cutting stance.

[9] The stated attraction for donors is the TPA's ability to "fly kites" for policy ideas which the Conservatives may then formally adopt.

"[9] Its research is often based on "using the government's own data and Freedom of Information requests to winkle out examples of public sector waste".

[13] Polly Toynbee in The Guardian and Kevin Maguire in The Daily Mirror have also levelled this charge,[14][15] although the group's leadership has denied it.

[16] When Nick Ferrari asked TPA's campaign manager Susie Squire whether she was "secretly Conservative", she rejected the accusation as "outrageous", saying the organisation was "totally independent".

[13] David Alberto, co-owner of serviced office company Avanta, has donated a suite in Westminster worth £100,000 a year, because he opposes the level of tax on businesses.

[13] from 2013–2018, it received at least £223,300 from US-based donors including $100,000 originating from a religious trust incorporated in the Bahamas[22] Construction magnate Malcolm McAlpine and a spokesman for JCB tycoon Sir Anthony Bamford have said they also helped fund the TPA.

[13] The group has been accused of hypocrisy and possible illegality after it was revealed that it had been claiming tax relief on donations received from wealthy backers, which were intended for the purposes of political research.

The Alliance has also written to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner to request an investigation into the expenses of Michael Martin, the then Speaker of the House of Commons.

[23] Revelations by The Guardian newspaper in 2009 resulted in the UK's Charity Commission opening a regulatory compliance case into the Trust.

[23] It was reported in December of the same year that the alliance requested certain of its donors — identified as "private businessman" located in the English Midlands[23] - to channel funds through the trust for research into policies which might potentially damage their commercial interests.