Black and white (and green) all over at the Tory ball

The Conservative Black and White Ball has been well and truly Cameroned.

Out goes black tie. In comes the Tory leader in a black suit and white open-neck shirt.

Out goes the heavy balldress and pearls. In comes Samantha Cameron in a simple silk dress and thousands of pounds of diamonds.

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It was a deliberate transformation for the radical replacement of what was for decades the biggest social event - and fundraiser - in the Tory calendar.

For over half a century, the annual Winter Ball was organised by a battalion of wives and always held on the sixth Monday of the year, usually at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

Two years ago it changed name, switched to a Wednesday night and shifted to the Evolution party venue in the middle of Battersea Park.

Among the 1,200 guests who paid £275 for a ticket to last night's ball and auction were Bryan Ferry, model Saffron Aldridge, Cilla Black, actor Julian Fellowes, TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp, and designer Bruce Oldfield.

Environmentalist Zac Goldsmith was there with wife Sheherazade, along with his mother Lady Goldsmith and sister Jemima Khan.

Members of the shadow cabinet included William Hague, George Osborne, Francis Maude and Peter Ainsworth, plus former leader Michael Howard and wife Sandra.

In keeping with Mr Cameron's green credentials, guests were handed water in the first biodegradable bottles which can be put on the compost heap and will disappear..

"We've had an amazing year," boasted Mr Cameron in his speech.

And an amazingly lucrative night - the event is estimated to have raised £300,000 for the party's election war chest.