New figures from the Electoral Commission show that political parties reported £17.09 million in donations and public funds in the second quarter of the year. That is up 51% on the £11.35 million in Q2 2025, but down 30% on the £24.51 million in Q1 2026…
Entrepreneur Ben Delo alone gave Reform £4 million in two donations. The Tories raked in £4.04 million, £1.23 million of which was public funds (Short Money and similar). Labour donors Sainsbury, Lubner, and Mosawi gave £550,000 to £650,000 each with £238,625 from Unite. Restore Britain posted £250,000, all from Cade Hill Investments, outraising the Greens and Plaid…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”