Now that the dust has settled on Labour’s deputy leadership election, we can take a closer look at who paid for it. Both candidates have declared their major donations in the latest update to the MPs’ register of financial interests, released this week.
The picture is much as the Pygge expected. In terms of large donations, Keir Starmer’s preferred candidate, Bridget Phillipson, outgunned her rival, Lucy Powell. Phillipson received a total of £82,692 to Powell’s £66,000.
Who was responsible for all this generosity? Well, Phillipson was able to rely on the major Labour donors David Sainsbury and his daughter, Francesca Perrin. Sainsbury contributed £40,000, while Perrin provided £15,000. The pair were also strong backers of Starmer’s leadership campaign back in 2020.
Less prominent Labour donors Paul Callaghan and Iain Simpson gave Phillipson £10,000 and £5,000 respectively. She also accepted staffing support and work on her campaign website worth around £10,000 from Labour First – the campaign group on the right of the party – and 89up Ltd, a campaigning organisation run by former Labour councillor Michael Harris. She also received £2,000 from a property firm.
Lucy Powell’s largest single donation came from Small Axe Communications, a campaigning outfit that supports progressive causes. Dale Vince’s firm, Ecotricity, gave £15,000. Labour donors Martin Taylor, Theodore Caplan, and Sean Wadsworth (who backed Owen Smith’s 2016 leadership challenge to Jeremy Corbyn) contributed a total of £21,000. Phillipson’s team spent the campaign trying to rebuff claims that she was simply the “government candidate,” but if you follow the money, it tells a slightly different story.
[Further reading: Starmer’s sweeteners for sacked ministers]
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