Lord, what a waste!
Sainsbury’s heir (and Labour peer) gave £8m to Remain campaigns ... but still says he has no regrets
SUPERMARKET tycoon David Sainsbury spent more than £8million in a doomed campaign to keep Britain in the EU, figures revealed yesterday.
The Labour peer was already known to have spent more than £4million on the Britain Stronger in Europe (BSE) campaign that orchestrated ‘Project Fear’ against Brexit.
But figures released yesterday reveal he also gave Labour and the Lib Dems more than £2million each before the referendum vote for their pro-EU campaigns.
In total he spent almost £8.5million on the battle to keep Britain in the EU, Electoral Commission figures show.
His donations make him the biggest financial player in the referendum, outstripping the £5.6million given to the pro-Brexit camp by Ukip donor Arron Banks. The decision to fund Labour and the Lib Dems ensured the BSE campaign did not breach strict spending limits in the campaign’s final weeks.
But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell last night suggested that the peer should be kicked out of the Labour Party for giving millions to the Lib Dems.
Lord Sainsbury yesterday defended his spending, and said he hoped Theresa May would keep Britain in the EU’s single market.
He said: ‘During the last two years I have helped put together the Stronger in Europe campaign, and have provided them with funds.
‘I have also made donations to the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, and a number of other registered bodies. I did so because I believe strongly that coming out of Europe will be damaging to our economy and society, and dangerously so if we come out of the Common Market.
‘I am proud of what the Stronger in Europe campaign did in explaining honestly and clearly the benefits we get from being in Europe and the damage from coming out.
‘I am sorry that we failed to convince the British people as I believe the dangers of Brexit are very real, and I hope that thoughtful and care-mote ful leadership by the new Prime Minister will mean that my worst fears are not realised.’
The peer is a former director of Sainsbury’s and retains a substantial shareholding in the business.
Ukip MP Douglas Carswell said it was no surprise ‘plutocrats’ such as Lord Sainsbury had been desperate to stay in the EU.
He said: ‘We always knew that the argument we should stay in the EU was supported by the plutocrats and the elite, and it is precisely because the EU is the project of the elite that it was rejected.
‘Many of my constituents will resent the way in which grotesquely rich individuals are able to use their vast wealth to dabble in politics and pro-- their preferences as if they are more important than anyone else’s.
‘Lord Sainsbury’s interventions are all the more reason to shop at Aldi and Lidl.’
The peer was a science minister under Tony Blair, and gave millions to New Labour. But he stopped donating when Ed Miliband took over, though he continued to fund the Blairite Progress group.
Labour’s rules ban members from supporting rival parties. But a source at Labour HQ suggested an exception would be made for Lord Sainsbury because the £2.1million donation to the Lib Dems was given to support its anti-Brexit campaign.
However, Mr McDonnell suggested he should be kicked out. The Shadow Chancellor compared his treatment to that of Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union chief Ronnie Draper, a Corbyn ally who was suspended by Labour HQ yesterday for unspecified comments on Twitter.
He accused Labour officials of a ‘rigged purge’ against the party leader, adding: ‘While Ronnie, a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn, has been denied his say in Labour’s election, no action is being taken over the Labour peer, Lord Sainsbury, who has given more than £2m to support the Liberal Democrats.’
‘All the more reason to shop at Aldi’