'We should be very worried': Starmer blasted for being 'swayed by political extremists' after accepting £1 MILLION from ex-Just Stop Oil backer

'We should be very worried': Starmer blasted for being 'swayed by political extremists' after accepting £1 MILLION from ex-Just Stop Oil backer

WATCH: Minister attacks Labour’s 'mother of all U-turns' on green investment pledge

GB NEWS
Millie Cooke

By Millie Cooke


Published: 08/03/2024

- 11:54

Updated: 08/03/2024

- 16:29

The party has previously faced calls to return money received from Vince as a result of his links to the protest group

The Labour Party has been criticised after accepting another £1 million donation from ex-Just Stop Oil backer Dale Vince. The energy tycoon handed the money to Starmer's party in November, figures have shown.

Tory MP Philip Davies told GB News that voters should be "very worried" about the "sway" that he claims "political extremists" have over the party.


Davies told GB News: “Behind the facade, political extremists still have huge sway over the Labour Party.

"Starmer is a net zero fanatic and his policies would make people poorer and incur huge costs.

Starmer/Dale Vince

Tory MP Philip Davies told GB News that voters should be "very worried" about the "sway" that he claims "political extremists" have over the party

PA

"The fact that one of Just Stop Oil’s former backers is now giving huge sums to Labour should make people very worried”

In addition to the seven-figure sum, he also donated £10,000 to the local branch in Slough.

The party has previously faced calls to return money received from Vince as a result of his links to the protest group which has wreaked havoc across the UK in a series of disruptive demonstrations.

Vince had previously handed more than £340,000 to the group. But he cut ties with the group in October, saying he thinks further protests would now be "pointless" and "counterproductive".

While he said he still "lauds their conviction and bravery", he said he would no longer financially support the movement as he thinks it is more important to vote the Conservatives out at the general election.

Last year, the party came under mounting pressure to return £1.5million in donations received since 2014 as a result of Just Stop Oil's actions.

At the time, the then Tory Party Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson described the acceptance of the money as a "slap in the face to hardworking Brits trying to get on with their lives".

Meanwhile, Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns said the general public are "tired of road blocks and disruptions", adding: "Enough is enough."

But at the time, Labour frontbencher Nick Thomas-Symonds said Vince was a "perfectly legitimate person to take money from", adding that he was entitled to "give money to other causes".

The latest donation from Vince comes as the Labour Party hailed its "best fundraising year ever".

Party Chairman Anneliese Dodds said: "Thanks to Keir Starmer’s leadership last year was our best fundraising year ever.

"Labour will turn the page on 14 years of Tory failure with a plan to deliver the change Britain deserves.”

Starmer

The Labour Party has been criticised after accepting another £1 million donation from ex-Just Stop Oil backer Dale Vince

PA

The Labour Party is currently more than 20 points ahead of the Conservatives in the polls.

Despite Wednesday's Spring Budget, which saw the Chancellor unveil a further 2p National Insurance cut, polling published by YouGov for the Times put the Tories 27 points behind Labour.

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