On 5 November, journalist Paul Holden releases The Fraud. This work of non-fiction covers how shady tactics and undeclared donations propelled Keir Starmer to the top spot. Highlighting the spidery nature of this donation network, author Tom Mills has published a diagram showing the links between Labour donors and Labour politicians:

Thanks to Paul Holden’s ‘The Fraud’, the Labour Right’s vehicle Labour Together is in the spotlight again. Here’s the core of its funding network constructed from Electoral Commission data. Donors blue, ‘donees’ red. pic.twitter.com/R3FD4beZ35

— Tom Mills (@ta_mills) October 30, 2025

The Fraud

Mills provided further context on how he produced the diagram online. He also highlighted that:

There’s a total of £49,255,200 changing hands in this network, although since Labour Together gives & receives donations, this double counts. So taking net for Labour Together there’s £47,631,589.

— Tom Mills (@ta_mills) October 30, 2025

Having seen Starmerism in action, it’s not surprising it cost them so much to get it off the ground.

As Mills makes clear, these are declared donations, and as such the connections are in the public domain. ‘Public domain’ does not mean ‘sufficiently reported on’, however, as the media was happy to turn a blind eye to most of this stuff. One particularly dodgy moment involved a donation from Trevor Chinn in 2020, as John McEvoy reported for the Canary:

Recently published data shows Labour leader Keir Starmer received a £50,000 donation from pro-Israel lobbyist Trevor Chinn – information which was not disclosed until after polls had closed in the leadership election.

McEvoy added:

Throughout the Labour leadership election, Starmer consistently refused to name the full list of those who donated to his campaign.

Starmer’s lack of transparency was challenged by fellow candidates. In February, Rebecca Long-Bailey published a full donor list of those who offered more than £1,500 to her campaign. Starmer, the front-runner, did not follow suit.

Would Starmer have won the Labour leadership race if members knew he was in the pocket of Israel lobbyists?

We’ll never know.

We do know Starmer’s support for Israel and its genocide has done nothing for his popularity:

BREAKING | Starmer is now the most unpopular Prime Minister in history – WORSE than Truss

Starmer – 13% satisfied, 79% dissatisfied

Liz Truss – 16% satisfied, 67% dissatisfied

Via @Ipsos_in_the_UK, 11-17 Sep pic.twitter.com/ktfOVowwgf

— Stats for Lefties (@LeftieStats) September 27, 2025

The Fraud covers the fact that Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney broke the law by not declaring £700,000 in donations from Chinn to Labour Together (the group which conspired to put Starmer in power). Holden also writes that:

Chinn, who would become a major donor to both Labour Together and Keir Starmer, is a wealthy entrepreneur with a long history of funding figures on the Labour right. Chinn made donations to Tony Blair (while MP), Ruth Smeeth, Tom Watson, Rachel Reeves, Ian Austin, and Wes Streeting – all of whom would express hostility to the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. He has long been associated with Labour Friends of Israel and has an extended history of involvement in pro-Israel causes. For twenty years between 1973 and 1993 he chaired the Joint Israel Appeal (now United Jewish Appeal), which raised funds for cultural and educational endeavours in Israel.

You can read a serialisation of The Fraud’s opening chapters here.

You should also remember, remember the 5th of November, because that’s when the book comes out:

Incredible analysis Tom! If you’re around, we’d love to see you at ‘The Fraud’ launch event next Wednesday, Nov 5th at Conway Hall in Holborn https://t.co/Z86uekkuag pic.twitter.com/x0thSkvx8j

— The Fraud (@StarmertheFraud) October 31, 2025

You can pre-order a copy of The Fraud here.

Additionally, you can find Tom Mills’ book The BBC: Myth of a Public Service at Verso.

Featured image via Tom Mills

By Willem Moore

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