The mysterious hedge fund manager who gave Ed Miliband £600,000 before the election appears to be bankrolling Labour’s next great hope, Dan Jarvis. Martin Taylor was the shady Mayfair hedgie who was outed as one of Miliband’s biggest donors last year. A “Martin Taylor” has written a £16,800 cheque to “support Jarvis’ office and work as an MP”. Both Jarvis and his ‘press officer’ have declined Guido’s repeated requests for comment over the last five days. Labour sources cattily suggest that Jarvis – not considered Westminster’s greatest thinker – needs the money for a policy unit. Trousering a hefty wedge from a City tycoon doesn’t exactly go with his carefully crafted image as a man-of-the-people who can unite the Labour Party.

Guido hears various other Labour moderates have also been meeting potential City backers in recent months. When the war comes, expect the crowd-funded People’s Momentum to make a stink about Dan Jarvis and his hedge fund backers…