Labour’s efforts to win over business leaders are bearing fruit – in some circles at least.
Having spent more than a year wooing chief executives, entrepreneurs and private equity moguls, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Labour has marshalled an eclectic line-up of donors.
One high-profile backer is South African-born Gary Lubner, a windscreen tycoon who made his fortune running the firm behind Autoglass.
Other notable supporters include Sir Victor Blank, a former chairman of Mirror Group Newspapers and of Lloyds Bank when it launched its disastrous rescue of HBOS in the financial crisis.
Little-known recruitment mogul Peter Hearn – whose hundreds of thousands of pounds in handouts have been made through an obscure investment vehicle – is another.
The rich backers have been charmed by Sir Keir Starmer’s brand of socialism despite the threat of huge tax rises.
However, even with support from business people and its traditional bankrolling by the unions, the party is still lagging behind the Tories in the donation stakes, if not the polls.
The Electoral Commission revealed last week that donations to the Conservatives reached £12.3 million during the first three months of 2022, compared with Labour’s £5.9 million.
