The chair of the local Conservative Party association has become the subject of a potential conflict of interest, after it emerged that potential election candidates had received assistance from a company he owns.
Thomas Borwick, who was elected to lead the local Tory group last September, is also a founding director of the College Green Group, which provides assistance to aspiring MPs on their journey into parliament.
Campaigners in the race to be the Conservative candidate for the Two Cities are thought to have connections to the group.
A selection process was triggered after the constituency’s sitting Tory MP Nickie Aiken announced she would not contest the next election.
At least one local party member has now submitted a formal complaint to CCHQ requesting that the contest be suspended and restarted, according to the journalist Michael Crick.
In one case, the organisation has designed the website for Alex Challoner – who previously ran to be the Conservative mayoral candidate for London.
Mr Borwick, 37, is also the founder of tech firm Kanto Systems and was Chief Technology Officer for the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 EU membership referendum.
He later set up 3rd Party Ltd just months before the 2019 election, which produced pro-Conservative adverts. The company does not list its donors or explain from where it gets its funding.
On its website, College Green states it is a ‘strategy, communications and campaigning consultancy in the heart of Westminster’.
Aside from coaching prospective candidates, it also offers ‘crisis management’, balloting services, stakeholder engagement, CV writing and digital profile building.
It also provides a digital background checking service to highlight potential issues relating to candidates and their close associates that could attract negative media attention or risk ‘reputational damage’.
Over 120 people have been assisted by College Green in joining the Conservative ‘approved list’ during the course of this Parliament, its website says.
And at least 14 Tory candidates chosen to contest seats at the next election have received aid from College Green.
Although the company says it offers support to prospective Labour candidates as well, it doesn’t provide statistics for this or any details about the process of getting selected.
According to Tortoise Media, it has also helped organise three All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs).
Companies House lists Mr Borwick as the only individual with significant control of College Green, along with his company Kanto Systems.
Both his parents served as MPs, including his mother Victoria Borwick, who represented Kensington between 2015 and 2017 before losing the seat to Labour.
Conservative HQ said it could not comment on internal matters.
Neither Mr Borwick or College Green Group have responded to requests for comment.
[…] selection process was mired in some controversy after local Tory chair Thomas Borwick was revealed to be the founding director of a coaching service, from which several candidates for the seat had already received […]