Labour donor Philip Harris returns to the Tory fold

He stumped up for Labour under outgoing PM Keir Starmer, but it looks like any hopes Andy Burnham had of getting his hands on Lord Harris of Peckham’s cash may have bitten the dust.

An update in Parliament’s Register of Members’ Interests has revealed Conservative peer and businessman Philip Harris has returned to the Tory fold after a brief dalliance with Labour and handed Kemi Badenoch a £60,000 cash donation, payable at £5,000 per month.

The Tory leader reported his donation, made between June 30 and July 1, as being given “in support of my role as leader of the opposition”. She also declared a £1,360 Wimbledon freebie for “myself and one guest”.

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Badenoch joins a distinguished list of former top Tories to have been funded by Harris, the roll call including George Osborne, Boris Johnson, Penny Mordaunt and one-time favourite Michael Gove among others. In total, Harris has donated £2 million to the Conservative Party directly and via investment company Harris Ventures.

The peer’s support for Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves was given ahead of the 2024 election, via a £5,000 donation to Reeves and a letter to the Times.

The carpet tycoon turned education charity founder wrote: “At this election it is no longer the Conservatives who are the party of high and rising standards, no longer the Conservatives putting our children and their schools front and centre.

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“Despite a merry-go-round of ministers in recent years, they are out of ideas. I have watched with slowly growing admiration as Sir Keir Starmer and Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s impressive education spokeswoman, have set out Labour’s stall. She gets teaching, knows that expanding and improving the teacher workforce and tackling the epidemic of mental ill health among our young people are both vital, and will focus on making schools better, not fiddling with how well run schools are operating.”

Now, with Labour cranking up the merry-go-round of ministers and Phillipson likely to be heading for the backbenches, Burnham has much to do. Labour trails the Conservatives in the latest donation stakes by £2 million, raising £4.1 million to the Tories’ £6 million in the first three months of 2026.

Under-fire Reform is ahead of both at £9.3 million – although the vast bulk of this comes from just two donors, Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne and entrepreneur Ben Delo.