Can a foreign billionaire’s money buy British votes? It looks that way

We reveal the $6 million received by just four of the pro-Rejoin organisations

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2024

A Facts4EU.Org analysis of donations made by George Soros’s ‘Open Society Foundations’ to Rejoiners

A study by the Brexit Facts4EU.Org think-tank has revealed the sheer extent of the foreign funding received by just one of the many Remainer-Rejoiner organisations in the United Kingdom since the EU Referendum. Our analysis of the officially-declared donations reveals that ‘Best for Britain’ (and its official company ‘UK-EU Open Policy Ltd’) benefited to the tune of an astonishing $5.5m. A further $0.5 million went to three other Rejoiner organisations.

This massive war-chest was funded by ‘The Open Society Foundations’ between 2017 and 2022 (the last year for which information is available).

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

Grants made by the Open Society Foundations to the ‘Best for Britain’ Rejoiner group, 2017-2022

‘Best for Britain' 2017 : $521,074
‘Best for Britain' 2018 : $1,449,250
‘Best for Britain' 2019 : $2,459,405
‘Best for Britain' 2020-2022 : $1,073,320
TOTAL 2017-2022 : $5,503,049

[Source : Analysis of data from The Open Society Foundations, 28 Jul 2024.]

Note: The Open Society Foundations also give generously to dozens of other groups which cannot all be listed here, but which include organisations dedicated to the legal rights of illegal migrants, for example. We estimate more millions have been donated to such groups.

Who are ‘Best for Britain’?

From their website :-

“We are the researchers, data scientists, strategists, and activists, fixing the problems Britain faces after Brexit.”

In short, they are a group dedicated to overturning Brexit and the largest democratic vote in British history. They advocated strongly for a “People’s Vote”, even though we had just had one, and they still hope to overturn Brexit.

From the BBC, 05 and 08 June 2018

Credit : BBC - click to enlarge

“Best for Britain aims to persuade MPs to back a referendum on the final Brexit deal secured by Theresa May when they vote on it in the autumn, with staying in the EU an option on the ballot paper. It would aim to persuade enough Leave voters to change their mind to vote to keep Britain in the EU - but the first stage of its campaign aims to generate pressure for another referendum."

Credit : BBC - click to enlarge

“Its campaign slogan - already displayed on billboards in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool and in newspaper ads - is ‘We all deserve a final say on the Brexit deal.’”

About George Soros and his $32 billion for ‘worthy causes’

The information below is taken from The Open Society Foundations website

“Soros left Budapest in 1947 for London where he studied at the London School of Economics. In 1956, he emigrated to the United States, entering the world of finance and investments, where he made his fortune. In 1970, he launched his own hedge fund and went on to become one of the most successful investors in the history of the United States.”
“George Soros used his fortune to create the Open Society Foundations - a network of foundations, partners, and projects in more than 120 countries.”

“In 2017, the Open Society Foundations announced that Soros had transferred $18 billion of his fortune towards funding the future work of the Foundations, bringing his total giving to the Foundations since 1984 to over $32 billion.”

Is this legal?

UK electoral law bans foreign donations but only in the run-up to elections or referendums.

Observations

The Facts4EU.Org team cannot even begin to imagine what we could have achieved over the past eight years if we had received a small fraction of the foreign funding received by Rejoiner groups.

As it is, we have had to get by on kind donations from members of the public. Welcomed and appreciated as these are, they haven’t even covered our costs let alone allowed us to be even more impactful than we currently are.

When those who oppose us speak of alleged ‘foreign interference’ in our political life, we hope they will reflect on the gross distortion caused by foreign interference we have experienced in the United Kingdom over the past six years for which we have data.

In addition to the above we must also mention the millions of euros’ worth of foreign interference in our political life which has come from the EU Commission since 2016, and which continues to this day.

NOTICE : Facts4EU is now scaling back to publishing 5 days-a-week

For over eight years we have worked seven days-a-week. As far as we are aware we are the only organisation of our type to have done this. We are grateful to those of our readers who have made donations but sadly the level of our funding is now such that we must make it stretch for as long as we can. This means team members taking other paid work and reducing our output to five days-a-week.

Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today. Thank you.

[ Sources: Open Societies Foundations | BBC ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Tues 30 Jul 2024

Click here to go to our news headlines

Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget actually to post your message after you have previewed it!

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 6

1. Ashley Great Britain , Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 06:22:

Money corrupts the weak and greedy. The EU and organisations like open society have a big political agenda that is kept hidden from the masses.
It involves the reorganisation of nations and the absorption of power and influence. Mass migration is just a tool, As are political figures, Institutions, Court's of law, Charities and the police. There's a reason why so many UK politicians and "elite's" just didn't accept the Ref result, Not only didn't they accept but they bent over backwards to subvert the change, And still are. The days when the country functioned with trust and consent are over, The days when you could prosper while the country worked well around you are a distant memory. Every key area that is an essential function is failing, From borders to law, To infrastructure, Health and education, The whole lot is a shadow of what it was. If those in charge no longer believe or care in their own nation, The result is exactly what we are seeing. The bedrock of many centuries of society is crumbling. Its tangible because everything they think and do is alien to the ordinary person. There's a reason why we all feel frustrated and unheard. These forces, Foreign and domestic, Are an absolute poison to our future.

2. Gazzablack , Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 13:46:

The men's Triathlon at the Paris Olympics has been postponed because of concerns over the water quality in the River Seine
.
Bloody Brexit eh?

3. LuxuryBalloon , Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 13:50:

All this nonsense that foreign investment into the UK has collapsed since Brexit … Facts4EU has shown that George Soros is still investing millions of pounds in the UK.

4. Gazzablack , Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 13:57:

The EU Medicines Agency (EMA) has declined to approve an Alzheimer's drug, for what scientists and mental health charities combined say is a poor decision.
.
The UK outside of the EU can do differently.
.
Another Brexit benefit on display.

5. Sparky , Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 17:55:

But no concerns about how much Russia influenced the referendum result. The USA have indicted Russian individuals for infringing the 2016 US elections but the UK didn't investigate any influence here. I wonder why.
.
The UK is not rejoining.
.
4 G. The effectiveness of this drug depends on early diagnosis and very few people have the specialist scans or investigations which would be needed.
Questions also remain over potentially harmful side-effects of the drugs and whether the benefit they offer represents value for NHS money.

6. Gazzablack , Tuesday, July 30, 2024, 23:15:

5, sparkless
.
Russian interference in the EU referendum
Investigated and debunked sparky.
Investigated and debunked.
.
Carol Codswallop of the Grauniad became financier a of Aaron Banks as a result of making baseless claims of Russian money.
Though the electoral commission didn't investigate the overt interfere certainly from the Preside t of the US nor from Guy Verhofstadt in the 2019 election
.
It's not the job of the likes of the EMA to pass judgement on the value aspect, that's the care providers to calculate.
.
There are risks of side effects attached to every drug in use today, the scientists at NICE are sufficiently experienced at determining the efficacy and risks

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.