River Island Chairman donates £100,000 to the Labour Party

Clive Lewis, Chairman of River Island and Blue Coast Capital is among a list of wealthy individuals on the Labour Party's 2022 donors list.

As suggested by the Electoral Commission records, Labour is seeking to build its funds and credibility with the business community before the next general election.

According to the commission’s records, which date back to 2001, many businesses are supporting Labour for the first time this year. Among these investors is the son of Bernard Lewis, who founded River Island in 1948. Lewis donated £100,000 in a personal capacity to the Labour Party in August.

The Labour Party hosted a business conference at Canary Wharf earlier this month to encourage and nurture business unions. The conference welcomed the likes of Tesco’s Chairman John Allan and Aviva's Chief Executive Amanda Blanc.

The party matched the Conservatives for donations in Q3, raising approximately £2.8 million from July to September, during the time when Lis Truss took over from Boris Johnson. Labour received £725,000 from Unite, £300,000 from the GMB and £200,000 from Unison.

A spokeswoman for Labour commented: “Donors are coming back to Labour because they can see we are a changed party that is serious about getting into government and building a fairer, greener, more dynamic Britain.”