The list of donors given gongs was dominated by Liberal Democrats as Nick Clegg used his final honours list to reward party supporters.
The former Lib Dem leader, who stepped down after a devastating election result, bestowed honours on four party backers who have given more than £600,000 between them.
Duncan Greenland was appointed CBE “for political and public service”. The venture capitalist has given £316,000 to the party, including £28,000 to the former deputy prime minister and his Sheffield Hallam constituency.
Anthony Ullmann, the chief executive of polyester yarn manufacturer Autofil worldwide, was given a knighthood. . He has given £112,000 to the Lib Dems over the years, including £92,000 to Mr Clegg.
The citation for Richard Duncalf’s OBE describes him as a former “strategic adviser to the deputy prime minster”. He has also given £198,000 to the Lib Dems since 2007, including £5,000 to Mr Clegg’s campaign for the leadership of the party.
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Another former adviser, Ian Wright, was appointed OBE. Now the director general of the Food and Drink Federation, Mr Wright has given £42,000 to the party since 2006, including £9,000 to the former leader.
David Cameron also rewarded a major donor. James Lupton, an investment banker who until recently was co-treasurer of the Conservative party, will become a member of the House of Lords. His citation describes him as a “leading philanthropist” for his role in supporting the arts and youth welfare. He has also given £2.8 million to the Tories since 2009.
Labour said he was the fourteenth Conservative donor to be given a peerage since Mr Cameron became leader.
The group Unlock Democracy claimed yesterday that major donors were 200 times more likely to receive a peerage than ordinary party members — and 200,000 times more likely than ordinary voters. It said 27 people who had given more than £200,000 to a political party had been elevated to the House of Lords since 2005.
Mr Lupton has found himself under the spotlight in recent weeks after it emerged that he accompanied the founder of the embattled charity, Kids Company, to a meeting with ministers four months before they approved a £3 million grant against the advice of civil servants. The decision to approve the funds came ten days after the Conservatives accepted a £250,000 donation from Mr Lupton, who has also supported the charity.
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Mr Lupton has said he was worried about Kids Company’s financial sustainability and wanted to “explore” whether ministers could help create a new structure for it. He said he did not play “any part” in the decision to award government money to the charity, nor was he consulted about it.
Labour has demanded an investigation into the unusual sequence of events, which unfolded shortly before the troubled charity closed at the start of this month.
A peerage was also given to Stuart Polak, who over 26 years at the helm of Conservative Friends of Israel has turned the organisation into one of the biggest lobby groups in parliament.