Donor funding questions shadow Labour leadership as Labour Together comes under scrutiny

Questions about how Labour’s internal reform group was funded have resurfaced after Labour Together was fined for failing to disclose donations on time. Electoral Commission records show no new donations were declared from December 2017 through late 2020, with a single exception in August 2018 of £12,500. The period also coincided with Labour moderates’ increasing influence inside the party, as the group’s support helped shift party structures away from the Corbyn era. The revelation comes as Labour leaders emphasize probity in public office and as the party contemplates new rules aimed at strengthening political funding disclosures.

During that same span, Labour Together mobilized substantial backing from high-profile donors. Martin Taylor contributed £50,000, Lord Myners £25,000, and Trevor Chinn £12,500, among others. In total, the organisation raised more than £730,000 over three years. The group presented itself publicly as a relatively modest think tank, but the scale and timing of the funding, coupled with the decision not to report for years, raised questions about whether the donor network existed to influence leadership outcomes rather than to support routine research and policy work. The drift from routine reporting to a high-impact political vehicle fed long‑standing concerns among Corbyn’s allies and opponents alike about opaque financing in party politics.

By 2019, Morgan McSweeney—then Labour Together’s most visible operator—approached Keir Starmer and offered to marshal financial and political muscle behind him if Starmer ran to replace Jeremy Corbyn after the anticipated defeat in the general election. The group had portrayed itself as neutral, but insiders described its true objective as moving the party away from Corbynism. After Starmer’s own rise to leadership in 2020, McSweeney shifted to become Starmer’s chief of staff, and Hannah O’Rourke, a former adviser to Ed Miliband, took over Labour Together.

The late‑donation reporting gap became a public matter when O’Rourke flagged the missing filings to the Electoral Commission. The commission subsequently opened an investigation and Labour Together was fined £14,250. The party argued the omissions were an administrative oversight, stating that “The administrative oversight that led to this fine was entirely unintentional.” Yet, as reported by the Mail on Sunday, opposition MPs have obtained private legal advice suggesting the guidance given to McSweeney in 2021 could amount to deliberate attempts to mislead the Commission, potentially raising concerns about criminal liability. Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake wrote to the Electoral Commission arguing the advice appeared to have been “passed from within the Labour Party to outside sources” and that it described how to handle a donation record in the face of clear legal obligations.

The episode arrives amid a broader political moment in which Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government seeks to foreground integrity in public life while facing pressures over other controversies, including links drawn to the Mandelson/Epstein matter. Critics have suggested that illicit funds could have aided Starmer’s ascent, though Labour officials have rejected these insinuations. Hollinrake has argued that the new information could justify a formal inquiry and even a referral to the police for possible breaches of political finance laws. Supporters of Starmer emphasize the party’s ongoing push to strengthen enforcement of funding rules, including a Bill advancing through Parliament that would tighten penalties for breaches and require swifter, more transparent reporting.

Labour Together’s enduring reach within the party remains evident as it continues to shape strategy and personnel decisions. The network is said to be involved in Bridget Phillipson’s bid for deputy leadership, with allies of rival candidate Lucy Powell noting Phillipson’s perceived advantage due in part to the group’s infrastructure. Supporters describe Labour Together as a critical spine of the current leadership’s operation, while opponents warn that its influence could complicate future attempts to subject party financing to stronger public scrutiny. The controversy underscores the ongoing tension between party reform efforts and the murky history of donor activity that critics say still haunts Labour’s present leadership.

In short, the funding irregularities around Labour Together have raised fresh questions about transparency and accountability at the intersection of party reform and leadership succession. As Parliament considers further reforms to political financing and as investigators review the veracity of donor disclosures, the affair is likely to shape public perception of Keir Starmer’s push for a higher standard of governance—and the extent to which Labour’s internal machinery can be trusted to operate above reproach.