ANDY Burnham received donations worth more than £325,000 in the three months before he entered No 10 – including tens of thousands of pounds from Morgan McSweeney's former thinktank, newly released transparency data shows.
Prominent Labour donor Lord Sainsbury, party grandee Lord Blunkett and former Greater Manchester night-time economy tsar Sacha Lord were among those who financially backed the Prime Minister between May and July.
Burnham received more than £22,000 worth of staffing and IT equipment from the thinktank ThinkLabour, previously known as Labour Together.
The organisation, which was formerly led by Morgan McSweeney, played an influential role in Labour's ousting of Jeremy Corbyn and in Keir Starmer's rise to the party leadership.
In his former role as Greater Manchester mayor, Burnham also accepted two tickets worth £3800 to attend the Brit Awards from Sony Music Entertainment and four tickets to Glastonbury, where he was speaking last year, according to the latest register of interests.
The disclosures provide a picture of the financial backing Burnham received during the months in which he successfully fought the Makerfield by-election and subsequently the Labour leadership contest.
Lord Sainsbury provided £164,347 worth of support, including office space and the cost of contractors working on "policy and operations" for Burnham from June, the filings show.
The Prime Minister also received £2000 from Lord Blunkett towards his Makerfield by-election campaign and £25,000 from businessman Gary Lubner towards his Labour leadership bid.
Entrepreneur Sacha Lord, who was previously appointed by Burnham to advise on Greater Manchester's night-time economy while he served as metro mayor, contributed £35,000 towards campaign costs.
Burnham also received £50,000 from a company run by TV producer Charlie Parsons and £10,000 from charity executive Shalni Arora.
Gifts and hospitality Burnham accepted when he was mayor of Greater Manchester include:
- Four tickets to Glastonbury, where he was speaking at an event, from the festival organisers and £1,000 for accommodation from the campaigning group PRS for Music
- Tickets worth £3,800 to the Brit Awards in Manchester from Sony Music Entertainment
- Two tickets worth £500 for the Aintree Racecourse from the Jockey Club Racecourse
- Two tickets, valued at £458, from Lancashire Cricket Club for a game in The Hundred tournament
- A hamper basket and Wedgewood tea set worth £340 from the ambassador of Qatar
The register further shows that Burnham and his wife own a property in London which is rented out.
Before the more than £325,000 worth of support declared during the Makerfield contest and Labour leadership campaign, Burnham received four separate £5000 donations for "mayoral" campaigning.
They came from the Fire Brigades Union, its north-west regional office, the Communication Workers Union and Unison.
The disclosures come after Keir Starmer faced controversy shortly after becoming prime minister over gifts and hospitality he had accepted, including luxury clothing and tickets to see Taylor Swift.
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.”
