Prime Minister Andy Burnham received donations worth more than £325,000 in the months before he entered No 10, newly released transparency data shows. Prominent Labour donor Lord Sainsbury, party grandee Lord Blunkett and former Greater Manchester night-time economy tsar Sacha Lord are among those who gave financial backing to the Prime Minister between May and July.
Donations from Labour figures and business
Lord Sainsbury gave £164,347 worth of support, including in the form of “office space” and the cost of contractors working on “policy and operations” for Mr Burnham from June, the register shows. The Prime Minister received £2,000 from Lord Blunkett for his Makerfield by-election campaign and £25,000 from businessman Gary Lubner towards his Labour leadership bid.
Entrepreneur Mr Lord, who was previously appointed by Mr Burnham to advise on Greater Manchester’s night-time economy while he served as metro mayor for the region, gave £35,000 towards campaign costs. Mr Burnham also received £50,000 from a company run by TV producer Charlie Parsons and £10,000 from charity executive Shalni Arora.
Tickets and other support
In his former role as metro mayor, he also accepted two tickets worth £3,800 to attend the Brit Awards from Sony Music, and four tickets to Glastonbury – where he was speaking last year, according to the latest register of interests. ThinkLabour, the thinktank formerly known as Labour Together, gave more than £22,000 in staffing and IT equipment for his office in June, while Ernst and Young provided a secondment to his team worth £16,500 in July.
The register also shows he and his wife own a property in London, which is rented out.
Response from Labour Party
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “It’s right that political campaigns are funded by the generous support of party donors, rather than via the public purse. All declarations have been made in line with Parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules.”
