Burnham received £345,000 of donations ahead of becoming PM

Andy Burnham has registered accepting £345,000 in donations over the past twelve months, including £164,347 from businessman Lord Sainsbury. The contributions appear in the most recent entry of the MPs' register of interests, external link, marking his first declarations since his election to Parliament in June. Separately, Burnham has listed hospitality and gifts he received in the year before his return to Parliament, such as trips to Glastonbury, Lancashire Cricket Club and Aintree Racecourse. A Labour Party spokesperson said: "It's close that governmental campaigns are funded by the generous enactment of enactment donors, alternatively than via the nationalist purse." "All declarations person been made successful enactment with Parliamentary and Electoral Commission rules." New MPs must register all current financial interests and any registrable benefits (other than earnings) received in the twelve months preceding their election within one month of taking office. Lord Sainsbury's donation supported Burnham's bid to become Labour leader. Businessman Gary Lubner and former Greater Manchester night‑time tsar Sacha Lord contributed £25,000 and £35,000 respectively to the campaign. The TV production company Charlie Parsons Creative gave £50,000, while the think‑tank ThinkLabour, formerly known as Labour Together, provided £22,186. The donations covered office space, IT equipment, staffing, polling, travel, social‑media support and polling testing. Burnham’s register also shows £20,000 in donations towards his mayoral campaign from the trade unions Unison, the Communications Workers Union and the Fire Brigades Union. Labour peer Lord Blunkett is recorded as having donated £2,000 toward Burnham’s bid to become the MP for Makerfield. Gifts and hospitality Burnham accepted while he was mayor of Greater Manchester include: - Four tickets to Glastonbury, where he was speaking at an event, from the festival organisers and £1,000 for accommodation from the campaigning group PRS for Music. - Tickets worth £3,800 to the Brit Awards in Manchester from Sony Music Entertainment. - Two tickets worth £500 for the Aintree Racecourse from the Jockey Club Racecourse. - Two tickets, valued at £458, from Lancashire Cricket Club for a match in The Hundred tournament. - A hamper and Wedgewood beverage set worth £340 from the ambassador of Qatar. Shortly after becoming prime minister in 2024, Sir Keir Starmer became embroiled in a controversy over the gifts he had accepted, including tickets to a Taylor Swift performance and thousands of pounds for clothing. He subsequently repaid more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality. He also tightened the rules so that serving ministers had to see "the request to support the public's assurance successful the modular of propriety" when accepting gifts.