The Plymouth Brethren do not vote. Their doctrine holds that God will determine the right outcome. Yet documented evidence shows PBCC members funding Conservative campaigns in the UK, Liberal campaigns in Australia, the National Party in New Zealand, Republicans in the USA, right-wing coalitions in Canada and Sweden. And Anthony Hazell of Unispace in email exchange with Michael Gove before £680 million in contracts were awarded.
In the run-up to the 2010 general election, PBCC members raised £55,000 and donated it to the Young Britons' Foundation — a Conservative training and campaigning organisation described by critics as a "Tory madrasa." The money was donated by Healthgear Contracts Ltd, a Bedford-based company run by PBCC member Rodney Dummer, who acted as conduit for donations raised by other members.
Invoices were made out not to the YBF directly but to Media Intelligence Partners, led by Nick Wood — formerly Press Secretary to William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith. Wood's colleague Christian May had previously served as YBF Director of Operations and Conservative Future Deputy National Chairman. The YBF total donation spend reached ~£135,000, used for 800,000 anti-hung-parliament leaflets and adverts in the Times and Sunday Times. The leaflets were printed by DAS Group, Swansea — another PBCC-connected company, owned by the Brown family.
Ex-PBCC member Lance Christie reports that following Cameron's 2010 election win, he and senior UK PBCC members involved in the donations were in the public gallery for the opening of parliament and subsequently attended a meeting with Nick Wood. The YBF no longer exists, having been dissolved amid controversy including a bullying scandal.
Tim and Samuel Drake of Cambridge incorporated TMVO Ltd on 21 April 2005 — registered at 40 Cambridge Place, Cambridge (since converted to flats). TMVO was registered with the Electoral Commission as a Non-Party Campaigner. It raised just under £10,000 in donations and spent £24,000, including an amount in Scotland. No further details of the expenditure or donors are publicly disclosed.
Multiple ex-PBCC members in Cambridge report that the Drakes organised PBCC members to deliver leaflets on behalf of Andrew Lansley, then Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire. In 2020, Lord Lansley referred the Drakes' company Accora Ltd to the Test and Trace VIP channel — a referral that led to an £18.7 million Covid testing contract.
Ex-PBCC members consistently describe an active programme of local MP lobbying — visits to PBCC member business premises, photographed meetings, and relationship-building with constituency representatives. Our investigation found photographic evidence of the following UK ministers and MPs photographed with PBCC members at their business premises:
The most dramatic documented instance of PBCC political spending is the Thanksgiving 2004 Committee — a group formed on 25 October 2004 (four days after the deadline for reporting pre-election campaign expenditure) by PBCC male members from across the United States. The committee spent over $500,000 on newspaper ads supporting President Bush and Florida senate candidate Mel Martinez.
The funding came from residents in 18 states. One donor contributed an extraordinary amount:
Not a single donation came from Florida, despite the committee's stated purpose of supporting a Florida Senate candidate. Ads included a full-page in the New York Times supporting Bush and a quarter-page in the St. Petersburg Times endorsing Martinez "because of his support for traditional marriage." The ads were placed by Doughtery & Associates, a Knoxville advertising agency that refused to provide further details.
When the St. Petersburg Times contacted Steve Truan of Knoxville (the lead committee contact), he said the group likes to "fly beneath the radar" and refused to discuss the ads. When reporter reached Bruce Hazell at his London office and asked him to explain the donation, he offered to explain later — then when the reporter called at the appointed time, a secretary said: "He had to suddenly rush out. He won't be back until next week."
The committee reported a post-election cash balance of $107,880. Both the Bush and Martinez campaigns stated they had never heard of the committee.
In Canada, PBCC members donated to the Canada Growth Council — a partner of the Canada Strong and Free Network (formerly the Manning Group). In 2019, the Manning Group donated $240,000 to Canada Strong and Proud for a series of anti-Trudeau and anti-Liberal campaign ads, plus further amounts to Nova Scotia Strong ($11,200) and Newfoundland and Labrador Strong ($4,500).
Identified PBCC donors to the Canada Growth Council include: Keith Prince (Tillsonburg Tube — also the subject of Ontario provincial funding), John Boram, Robert Buck, Raymond Price and Robertson Construction (the Robertson family). Total identified PBCC donations: at least $30,000. The CGC is linked to figures from Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party and Jason Kenney's United Conservative Party.
In 2011, archival footage shows Brad Mitchell (Klondike Lubricants, $1.94m Ontario PPE contract) sitting in the front row at Stephen Harper's federal election victory speech alongside other known PBCC members.
PBCC support for the Australian Liberal Party and the New Zealand National Party is the most extensively documented political activity globally, covered in depth by journalists including Michael Bachelard (Behind the Exclusive Brethren) and Nicky Hager (The Hollow Men). Key episodes include private meetings with PM John Howard, attack ads in the 2006 Tasmanian election, private investigators hired to follow Helen Clark's husband, and the 2005 revelation of PBCC support for Don Brash's National campaign. Current NZ PM Christopher Luxon has documented PBCC connections.
The most unusual documented PBCC political operation is the 2006 Swedish election campaign. An entity called Nordas Sverige spent millions of Krona on newspaper advertising and direct marketing supporting the Swedish right-wing alliance — leafleting, car flyers, and paid placements in the country's major publications. Sweden has a tiny PBCC membership, estimated at under 1,000.
The Swedish blogger who investigated the story tracked Nordas Sverige's funding to a UK-registered company: Nordas Ltd, incorporated in Liverpool, with directors and shareholders who were members of the Plymouth Brethren. Aftonbladet, Sweden's largest daily tabloid, pursued the story and located one of the founders, Maxwell Haughton, who refused to explain why a British company was spending millions on a Swedish election. He did not return further calls.