Andy Burnham, the new Labour leader and prime minister, declared almost £350,000 in donations in the months before taking office, according to the latest MPs' register of interests. Major contributors include his former adviser Sacha Lord, billionaires David Sainsbury and Gary Lubner, and trade unions.
Details of Declared Donations and Hospitality
The register, the first since Burnham became an MP and prime minister, also shows hospitality and trips worth more than £12,000. These include £1,500 for Glastonbury tickets in 2025, where he was speaking, and £500 for tickets to Ladies Day at Aintree this year. Many other entries relate to his former role as mayor of Greater Manchester.
Burnham also recently set up a company called Office of Andy Burnham, a common practice for leaders to manage financial affairs after leaving office. The register shows he owns a property in London with his wife, which is rented out.
Cabinet Ministers' New Declarations
Other cabinet ministers made new declarations, including Louise Haigh, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. She accepted £11,000 from Sainsbury for legal advice and £7,500 of legal services from Bindmans law firm. A source close to Haigh said: “The donations related to legal services provided during the declaration period in relation to misrepresentation in the media.”
Haigh is believed to have sought legal advice regarding media coverage of her conviction for fraud related to a missing phone in 2024. She resigned as transport secretary in November when it became public but has since returned to run Burnham's leadership campaign and serve as a senior cabinet member.
Breakdown of Burnham's Donations
Burnham's donations, starting in March this year, include £20,000 from trade unions including Unison, the CWU, and Fire Brigades Union. The largest supporter was Sainsbury, a billionaire and long-term Labour donor, who gave more than £160,000, including funding for policy staff. Burnham also received services of a staff member on secondment from Ernst & Young.
Lord contributed £35,000 covering staffing and contractor costs, travel, venue hire, digital platforms, social media support, message testing, polling, and campaign setup. Lord, Burnham's unpaid night-time economy adviser in Manchester, resigned in January 2025 after the Arts Council England said his company misled them in applying for a £400,000 Covid support grant, though Lord denies wrongdoing. He was present at No 10 when Burnham made his first speech as prime minister.
Other donations include £50,000 from a company owned by media executive and Labour donor Charlie Parsons, £25,000 from Lubner (founder of Autoglass), £10,000 from Shalni Arora (wife of billionaire Simon Arora), and £10,000 from David Blunkett, a mentor and former cabinet minister. ThinkLabour, formerly Labour Together, gave more than £22,000 in staffing and IT equipment.
Context and Response
This follows criticism of former PM Keir Starmer for receiving over £100,000 in hospitality and gifts from Labour peer Waheed Alli. Starmer later changed rules to ensure all ministerial hospitality is declared and increase transparency.
A Labour party spokesperson said: “It’s right that political campaigns are funded by the generous support of party donors, rather than via the public purse. All declarations have been made in line with parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules.”
