Lord Sainsbury returns to the Labour fold with £2m donation

David Sainsbury: ‘Keir Starmer wants to reunite the country around an agenda of growth and social justice, which is one I strongly support.’ Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

Keir Starmer’s election war chest has been given an extraordinary boost after one of the biggest New Labour-era donors returned to the party fold with a £2m donation, the Observer can reveal.

David Sainsbury, who was consistently one of the largest donors under the last Labour government before withdrawing his support, has now renewed his backing with his first multimillion-pound donation since 2016.