It used to be small donations from millions of workers, mostly through their Trades Unions, which supported the Labour party financially, but no longer.
The Guardian reports on the £2 million donation to the Labour party by Lakshmi Mittal, one of the world's richest men.
"Gift of £2m makes Mittal Labour's biggest benefactor
Steel magnate warns against 'false allegations'
Michael White, political editor
Thursday July 14, 2005
The Guardian
The global steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, one of Britain's richest men, announced yesterday that he had given £2m to Labour funds - making him the party's biggest donor alongside Lord Sainsbury, the supermarket tycoon turned science minister.
The announcement of his latest donation, Mr Mittal's first since he gave £125,000 in 2001, was accompanied by a warning letter from his solicitors, reminding the media that, though he did not sue over "false and defamatory allegations" over his motive in 2001, he would do so if the claims were repeated now."
When the first gift was revealed a year later it was linked to the fact that Tony Blair had written to the prime minister of Romania shortly afterwards, backing Mr Mittal's efforts to take over a steel plant in that country - part of a pattern of worldwide acquisition of ailing steelworks that has amassed him a fortune estimated at at least £12bn.
He topped this year's Sunday Times Rich List, which put his estimated wealth at £14.8bn.
At the time of the revelation Mr Mittal and Mr Blair angrily denied any such link, with Downing Street stressing - as Margaret Thatcher did when confronted with similar charges - that the prime minister was doing what he would do for any British businessman.
It later transpired that few employees of the Mittal Steel Company - whose chairman and chief executive is Mr Mittal - actually worked in Britain.
But governments of both parties have long accepted that UK residence for some of the world's super-rich, even those non-domiciled for tax purposes, has more advantages than disadvantages for the British economy.
The solicitors, Schillings, called Mr Mittal "a very private person" - he rarely gives any interviews.
Schillings also warned last night against invasions of privacy as a result of the announcement or - for security reasons - any attempt by the media to publish his private address."
The 12 bedroom mansion at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens, "knocked together out of the former Egyptian Embassy and an annex to the former Soviet Embassy" , and reputed to be the world's most expensive private residence.
Is Mittal planning to sue the even richer Bill Gates' MSNBC for
publishing a photo of it ?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4722789/
No doubt Lakshmi Mittal can afford more than one private address, but he has no more right to keep these anonymous than anyone else does in the UK.
"The house is now expected to become the main British residence of Mittal, who also has a £9m mansion in north London and a luxury flat near his Mayfair office"
Lakshmi Mittal's stated reasons for the donation simply do not add up:
"In a brief statement he explained the reasons for the donation.
"I believe that the Labour party has made a significant and very positive impact on the overall prosperity of the United Kingdom since it came to office in 1997," he said.
"The party has set out long-term investment plans to further improve education, health, employment, skills and technology and I am supportive of the work it is doing in these fields.""
That is a creepy conflation of the distinct roles and achievements of the British Government and people with the alleged achievements of the NuLabour clique. Most of the achievements have been in spite of the meddling and bumbling by NuLabour political commissars, and not directly as a result of their policies.
Having made his fortune by asset stripping and re-vitalising former Communist steel works, have his experiences of dealing with authoritarian bureaucrats and Party officials led him to this strategy for obtaining access and influence to NuLabour apparatchiki ?
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