Rowling gift helps Labour's fundraising pull ahead of Tories in UK

by Dave Keating | November 27, 2008 at 02:27 am

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The UK Labour Party's fortunes may have been waning in recent months, but its coffers haven't been suffering. New figures reveal that over the summer, during the height of prime minister Gordon Brown's troubles, the party actually raised more money than its rival the Conservative party. A donation by Harry Potter author JK Rowling put them over the top.

Labour donors came to Gordon Brown's aid during his tricky summer, with the party receiving more donations in the last quarter than the Conservatives from private sources. The cash meant the party raised more than the Tories for the first time in more than two years. The proportion coming from trade unions more than halved.

Figures from the Electoral Commission yesterday showed Labour received more than £5m in donations from July to September, while the Tories raised just over £4m. Labour's donations include £1m pledged by Harry Potter author JK Rowling. Donations were also made by the former spin doctor Alastair Campbell and former ministers Stephen Byers, John Reid and David Blunkett.

The figures show that the party managed to turn loans worth £2.25m into gifts - £2m from the former science minister Lord Sainsbury and £250,000 from businessman Sir Gulam Noon. If those amounts are included yesterday's figure is more than £7.5m. Yesterday the Labour party announced that, under the lenders' agreement struck in July, Sainsbury and Noon had agreed to turn their loans into donations. Seven other lenders agreed to their loans being repaid on new terms over a longer period until 2015.