Inside Labour’s love affair with Lord Alli

00:00 04:57

James Heale has narrated this article for you to listen to.

As a peer who hates publicity, Lord Alli might have been expected to dodge the Labour conference – given the near-constant coverage of ‘donorgate’.

Yet there he was, clad in his 1990s telly executive uniform of white trainers and dark suit, nonchalantly strolling around Liverpool. It was public confirmation of what Alli’s friends say privately: that brushes with the press won’t deter him from bankrolling the party he has financed for 25 years.

Alli, who is thought to be worth £200 million, has found himself the unwelcome centre of attention over his gifts to members of the cabinet. He gave clothes and spectacles to the Starmers. He granted Angela Rayner the use of his luxury Manhattan apartment on New Year’s Eve. He has funded David Lammy’s staff, gifted Steve Reed a pair of £420 leather-lined wellies and bankrolled Bridget Phillipson’s 40th birthday party. His donations to the party have totalled more than £700,000 to date.

Various excuses were mounted this week in defence of Alli’s donations. ‘It is a noble pursuit, just like giving to charity – and we don’t recognise that enough,’ declared Wes Streeting, for whom Alli once threw a £4,600 fundraising dinner attended by actors Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman.

It is difficult to overstate Alli’s importance to Labour. His donations make up just part of his contribution. His bulging contacts book enables him to play a lead role in tapping up others. As chair of Labour’s election fundraising, he used his £18 million London penthouse to host weekly meetings to plot donation drives. Such was his familiarity with Starmer team’s that no one thought it odd that he was given a No.