Owen is giving Labour advice and donations
FORMER leader of the SDP-Liberal Alliance Lord David Owen has donated £10,000 to the Labour party, according to new figures released by the Electoral Commission yesterday.
The figures from the election watchdog show that the donation was made on 17 April. It follows a previous donation of £7,500 made by the peer.
City A.M. understands that Owen has been offering advice to Labour leader Ed Miliband. His advice covers a variety of topics, including the NHS, on which he has previously written a book.
Owen is now an independent Lord, but was foreign secretary in a Labour government. He later quit, and was one of the Gang of Four who went on to form the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Owen opposed the formal merger of the Alliance that created the Liberal Democrat party.
Senior Lib Dem Tim Farron joked: “Having led the Alliance in 1987, Owen backed the Tories in 1992. We fully expect him back at the next election.”
The donation figures for the third week of the election campaign showed that the Conservatives brought in £1,083,479, Labour received £1,530,000, the Lib Dems got £75,000, and Ukip £1,500,000.
Canary Wharf Group contributed £25,000 to Labour’s campaign coffers, while comedian Eddie Izzard donated £20,000 to it.
Lord John Sainsbury was the largest Tory donor, giving the party £150,000.
Richard Desmond’s Northern and Shell Group gave Ukip a £1m donation.