Rowling gives $1.8 M to the Labour Party

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling made a rare foray into Britain's bruising political battles Saturday, donating 1 million pounds ($1.8 million) to the struggling Labour Party and accusing the rival Conservatives of discriminating against poor parents trying to work their way out of poverty.

In a statement that referred back to the days when she was struggling to feed and clothe her family, Rowling said Prime Minister Gordon Brown has worked hard to reduce child poverty while Conservative chief David Cameron has proposed tax changes that would hurt working single parents.

"I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour Party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative Party," said Rowling, who has become one of the world's richest and most successful authors with the unprecedented appetite for Harry Potter stories.

The Labour Party opens its annual conference trailing the resurgent Conservatives by more than 20 points in most opinion polls with an election due within two years.

Brown, who is trying to quash a rebellion from some members of his own party, thanked Rowling for the donation, which comes at a time when the Labour Party is saddled with extensive debts. He said he was "delighted" with her help.

Rowling has generally stayed out of the political frays, but she appears to have been upset by Conservative tax plans that she said would increase benefits for married couples without helping single parents.

Aside from writing the Potter novels, Rowling is equally famous for her "rags to riches" life story, in which she progressed from living on welfare to multi-millionaire status within five years. The 2008 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £560 million ($1.1 billion), ranking her as the twelfth richest woman in Britain.