Balls boosted by author’s £100k donation
By politics.co.uk staff
Ed Balls’ bid for the Labour leadership has received a £100,000 donation from author Ken Follett, potentially reshaping the race to become leader of the opposition.
The shadow education secretary’s six-figure donation was the largest single donation in the latest round of declarations.
Mr Follett contributed the bulk of the £103,000 raised by Mr Balls in July. He is the husband of former Labour MP Barbara Follett.
Meanwhile Liverpool footballer Jamie Carragher donated £10,000 to Andy Burnham’s campaign – despite the fact the shadow health secretary supports Everton.
The defender said he appreciated Mr Burnham’s support for his charity and that it would be good to have a Labour leader from his “neck of the woods”.
Frontrunner David Miliband declared a total of £138,835 by the end of the July, with £32,218 in ‘small donations’ of less than £1,500.
His brother Ed Miliband’s donations reached £46,450 last month, the BBC reported. Mr Miliband’s campaign said he had received an additional £58,000 in small donations, averaging £85.
