Peter Hargreaves

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Cider, steam locomotives and Thailand: some of the more unusual things that unite major party donors

Russian oligarchs. A fashion magnate turned cider maker. A theatre impresario. An online gambling entrepreneur. The Wife of a Syrian-born arms trade fixer.

These are some of the big donors pouring hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of pounds into the Political Parties , and they are an intriguing bunch. Their largesse pays for the increasingly important online messaging, the battle buses, the rallies, stunts and all the paraphernalia of a 21St Century election campaign.

All the parties hoover up smaller donations from supporters of more modest means, but these big donations from the mega-wealthy can transform the parties' striking power.

Why do they do it? Some reach into their wallets out of genuine support and conviction. But others may do it hoping for influence and access, and there's genuine concern around public policy being shaped behind the scenes by special interests which can splash The Cash .

Donations of More Than £7,500 have to be registered with the watchdog body, the Electoral Commission . There were £20. 3 million of these large donations in The First three weeks of The Campaign , and the Conservatives reaped the biggest share.

Here's a look at some of the biggest sums and some of The Most interesting names to crop up in the Electoral Commission 's list.

Conservatives

Bahamas-based theatre impresario, John E Gore, who Made his money from blockbuster musicals, including Wicked and Hamilton. He says he's donating to the Conservatives as a British citizen concerned about The Rise of extremism. His donation during the election adds to the £1. 8m he's given over the previous two years.

A co-founder of Hargeaves Lansdown, one of the UK's largest Financial Services companies, Peter Hargreaves is estimated to be Worth £3. 3bn. He was a major supporter of the Leave. EU campaign during the EU referendum, donating £3. 2m. He predicted the Brexit vote would be "the biggest stimulus to get our butts in gear that we have ever had…. It will be like Dunkirk again. "

Notable others:

Labour

The biggest single donation of the election, cementing Unite's position as Labour's banker - they Gave Labour £3. 5m for the 2015 election and £4. 4m in the months up to the vote in 2017. The Union 's General Secretary , and has played a key role in preventing Labour from swinging behind a second referendum or a Remain position.

Unite has also Made A Number of smaller donations, in the tens of thousands, which have come from the regions and possibly from individual fundraising initiatives. The more Corbyn-sceptic union, the GMB, Gave £250,000 (it Gave £1m in 2015, when Ed Miliband was Labour leader),

Notable others:

Brexit Party

Previously a Conservative donor, Christopher Harborne is a little-known figure even in Brexiteer circles, keeping a much lower public profile than previous backers of Nigel Farage , like the insurance tycoon Arron Banks . He Gave three separate donations of £1m each to the Brexit Party earlier this year, and also gifted a coffee machine to their HQ.

His donation for the election campaign, which amounts to More Than 90% of the Brexit Party 's total funding, would have given them the financial firepower to compete with the established parties, had they decided to campaign in Conservative seats. It looks likely that the Brexit Party will end this campaign with much of The Money unspent, providing a war-chest for future operations.

Two of Mr Harborne's businesses - AML Global and Sherriff Group - are linked to private aircraft and aviation. Mr Harborne has British nationality, but lives most of the time in Thailand.

Notable others:

Lib Dems

Owns 31. 2% of Gamesys, The Company that runs the "soft gaming" website Jackpotjoy. com, which specialises in bingo, instant-win games and casino tables. In 2009/10, The Company Made £21m Profit . Noel Hayden has a stake Worth £60m.

Notable others:

Green Party

Founder of The Fashion chain Superdry, and a maker of organic cider. Julian Dunkerton donated £1m to the People's Vote campaign for a second EU referendum in 2018. He has also donated £35,000 to Plaid Cymru and £30,000 to the Liberal Democrats .

Photograph of Noel Hayden © @Pix. Pictour. org

conservative party, liberal democrats, labour party, green party (england and wales), brexit party

Source of news: bbc.com