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In the past the Conservative Party has pointed out that the Labour Party is funded by the Trade Union movement and therefore under their control. The latest figures published by the Electoral Commission show that of the £21.5m received by the Labour Party in 2023, just £5.9m came from the trade union movement, compared with £14.5m from companies and millionaires – a huge increase on the previous year. Two wealthy individuals gave the Labour Party more money last year than all the trade unions combined. Gary Lubner, whose company played an important role busting international sanctions against the South African apartheid regime in the 1980s, gave £4.6m and supermarket owner, David Sainsbury, contributed £3.1m and his daughter Fran Perrin a £1m. All three are major funders of Labour Friends of Israel. (12)