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Newly elected MPs Jack Abbott and Patrick Spencer have disclosed donations totalling more than £66,000 in the past year, along with other interests. The declarations are part of the required financial interest disclosures for MPs.
The big picture: MPs must declare financial interests within 28 days of a new Parliament starting, including gifts or benefits that could reasonably be seen to influence their actions as MPs.
Why it matters: These donations provide insight into the financial backing of Ipswich's political representatives and could influence their decision-making locally and in Parliament.
What the data shows:
Jack Abbott, Labour MP for Ipswich, has received nine donations from a total of seven different donors, totalling £56,727
Patrick Spencer, Conservative MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, has received four donations from four separate individual donors, totalling £9,500
Jack Abbott
Donations
CWU: £2,000.00
Gary Lubner: £15,000.00
EDF Energy Ltd: £2,000.00
PLMR Ltd: £7,603.30
Precision Print Management Services Ltd: £5,000.00
GMB: £10,000.00
Kevin Craig: £15,124.00
Trade unions: £12,000 (21%) of Jack's donations came from trade unions CWU and GMB.
The CWU is Britain's primary union for postal and telecom workers. It represents 110,000 Royal Mail employees and numerous others in various communication firms, including those handling phone, cable, and internet services.
The GMB is a diverse UK trade union with over 560,000 members. It represents workers across various sectors, including retail, security, education, distribution, utilities, social care, NHS, ambulance services, and local government.
Gary Lubner: The former CEO of Belron, the world’s leading automotive glass brand and parent company of Autoglass, Carglass, and Safelite, which operates in 38 countries. Following his retirement in 2023, Lubner remains on Belron’s board.
PLMR: PLMR is a Westminster-based PR agency that works with multinationals, FTSEs, the public sector, charities, trade bodies, SMEs, and disruptive start-ups. Their work has included securing the funding for the extension of London City Airport. They call themselves experts in understanding commercial priorities and aligning these to a bespoke communications programme.
Kevin Craig: Kevin Craig is the Founder of PLMR and the former Labour candidate for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich. He was famously suspended by Labour during the 2024 election campaign after betting against himself. Labour was understood to be returning £100,000 that he donated to the party, but it appears that more than £15,000 was donated to Jack.
EDF: EDF is a notable donor because the Sizewell C nuclear power plant was jointly developed by EDF and the UK Government. The Government is now the majority shareholder and is currently investing a total of £2.5bn in financial support for the project.
Registered interests
Property: Abbott only declared one registered interest, a property in Norwich.
Patrick Spencer
Donations
James Stewart: £2,000.00
Lord Michael Hintze: £2,500.00
Rupert James Matthews: £2,000.00
James Mellon: £3,000.00
Lord Hintze: Lord Michael Hintze is a Conservative Australian-British businessman and philanthropist. He's a serving member of the House of Lords with an estimated net worth of £1.5 billion in 2019.
James Mellon: The British businessman supported David Cameron in 2009 and opposed Labour's policies on non-domiciles. A key Brexit supporter, Mellon connected Arron Banks with Nigel Farage and donated up to £100,000 to Leave campaigns in 2015.
Registered interests
Property: Spencer declared two properties, one in London and one in Woodbridge.
Shares: He declared shareholdings in 2 companies:
IPGL: IPGL is the privately held family office established by Patrick Spencer's father, Michael Spencer, the Conservative billionaire, entrepreneur and House of Lords member, in 1986 to manage his business interests. It isn't specified how many shares Spencer owns in the company.
Suffolk Ventures Limited: On August 11th, 2024, Spencer terminated his directorship and transferred ownership of the company to his wife, Anna. This means he will no longer have to declare his interest in the company.
Other interests: Spencer also declared that he was an unpaid Governor of Hollesley Waldringfield Partnership and an unpaid Director of Blue WV Limited, although he resigned from the role on August 10th, 2024, the day before he transferred ownership of Suffolk Ventures Limited to his wife.
Further reading
Sources
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