ANDY BURNHAM REGISTERS £345,000 IN DONATIONS OVER PAST YEAR

Andy Burnham has registered accepting £345,000 of donations over the past year, according to the most recent version of the MPs' register of interests. The donations represent Burnham's first declarations since his election to Parliament in June. Lord Sainsbury, a businessman, provided £164,347 of the total, directed towards Burnham's campaign to become Labour leader.

Additional significant donors to Burnham's leadership campaign included Gary Lubner, who gave £25,000, and Sacha Lord, the former Greater Manchester night-time economy tsar, who donated £35,000. The TV production company Charlie Parsons Creative contributed £50,000, whilst the think tank ThinkLabour provided £22,186. These donations covered office space, IT equipment, staffing, polling, travel, social media support and message testing. Burnham also registered £20,000 of donations towards mayoral campaigning from the trade unions Unison, the Communications Workers Union and the Fire Brigades Union, and £2,000 from Labour peer Lord Blunkett towards his campaign for the Makerfield seat. Separately, Burnham listed hospitality and gifts received in the year before his return to Parliament, including attendance at Glastonbury, Lancashire Cricket Club and Aintree Racecourse.

A Labour Party spokesperson stated that political campaigns should be funded by party donors rather than via public funds, and that all declarations had been made in line with Parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules. New MPs are required to register all current financial interests and registrable benefits received in the 12 months before their election within one month of taking their seat.