Dr Sarah Ingham is the author of The Military Covenant: its impact on civil-military relations in Britain.
When Andy Burnham promised growth in every postcode did he mean Greece? With the departure of Chris Rokos, Britain will no longer benefit from his taxes – which last year amounted to an astonishing £330 million.
The hedge funder is now among a number of wealthy individuals who have fled these shores. Those joining the exodus saw the government’s writing – ‘sod off’, perhaps – on the white stucco wall.
To govern is indeed to choose. Since July 2024, Labour has sent a clear message that whilst it happily puts out the welcome mat for illegal migrants, it wants a hostile environment for the wealth creators of our country.
In the current climate, it was surprising to learn that, last weekend, two British success stories are prepared not only to invest in this country but invest in a niche, loss-making sector – politics.
Between them, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne have donated £72 million to Reform. Good for them. Of course, better had such largesse come the Conservatives’ way, but it’s their money, their choice.
Labour’s meltdown was immediate. La Pasionara wannabe Angela Raynor described the pair as “fascist oligarchs”. During Monday’s House of Lords debate on the new Representation of the People bill, Margaret Hodge denounced “the frightening threat to the integrity and health of our democracy presented by the growing trend that sees our politics funded by huge donations from a wealthy small elite.”
Neither Rayner nor Hodge mentioned the ardent Labour supporter Dale Vince, who gave the party £5m; the various plutocrats who put the pen to the cheque for Labour Together; or the eve-of-election £4m from Quadrature Capital, a subsidiary of the Cayman Island-based group. Both were silent on the £10m donated by Lord Sainsbury of Turville since 2015, reported by Labour Hub.
Somehow, Labour has also waved away its donations from the Trade Unions, worth £43m since 2020 – dismissing them as if they were irrelevant.
Donation Watch helpfully gives a breakdown of contributions to all the leading political parties. The Union stalwarts – USDAW, UNISON, UNITE, the GMB – have helped boost the Labour piggy bank to around £7.7m in the first half of this year, but there is also no shortage of individual donors giving six figure sums. Wealthy small elite or fascist oligarchs?
Were a donor to write a bigger cheque, say for £36m, would do-as-we-say, not-as-we-do Labour complain?
If Labour wants to take a stand against rich donors, nothing is stopping it leading by example. MPs could refuse funding by the likes of Lord Alli – and refrain from wearing the clothes he funds or using his apartments in London and New York.
Along with hypocrisy, there is zero public tolerance for state funding for political parties: i.e. expecting the already overburdened taxpayer to divvy up for a bunch of people generally regarded as useless know-alls.
Money can be a curse as much as a blessing. Far from being the proverbial nest of singing birds, Reform often seems a chaotic cauldron of rivalries, resentments and clashing egos. Adding £72 million to this toxic brew is unlikely to help.
And who said funding can buy election victory? Ask Kamala Harris. Then listen to Donald Trump on lawfare. For years, Democrats’ relentless legal action against Trump – cheered on by the mainstream media – reinforced his base and drew the sympathy of waverers. It helped him to the second Presidency.
Little is more likely to boost the popularity of Nigel Farage and Reform than the government using the law to move the funding goalposts and confiscate the £72 million.
Labour expects no-one to notice their attempt to disguise self-interest with cant about protecting democracy. This is the party that wanted to cancel this year’s local elections, is giving 16-year-olds the vote and whose new Prime Minister actively avoids Parliamentary scrutiny. Given his tedious windbaggery, perhaps we should be grateful.
What is troubling for democracy is the apparent lack of interest from all parties in the integrity of the ballot. As anyone ever involved in election campaigns can testify, postal voting is open to abuse, including in connection with ‘family voting’, a previously hidden issue which came onto the radar in Gorton and Denton.
Like second homeowners, millions of students can be registered to vote in two places but are trusted to vote just once. Social media posts suggest that this trust can be broken.
On Tuesday the TUC demanded that “our” government must protect democracy from “capture by the super-rich.” For Labour, the £72 million is a handy excuse for some retrospective legislation as part of the Representation Bill. And once that principle of legal backdating is established, where does it end?
Will the £72 million be another factor in PM Burnham calling a general election this side of the New Year? Spending is limited once Parliament is dissolved – no matter how much money is in the bank.