Donor of the Week: Willie Haughey
Author: Jon Narcross
Published on Oct 16, 2012
Our Donor of the Week series aims to shed some light on the people, companies and organisations who are funding our political parties. Each week, we’ll look at the chosen donor’s political involvement, their donation history and any controversy associated with their actions, and question whether this really is the best system for financing our politics.
Who he is:
- Scottish businessman and founder of City Refrigeration Holdings
- His personal wealth was estimated to be £152 million in 2012
- Haughey was awarded a Knighthood in the 2012 Birthday Honours List for services to business and philanthropy
- Through City Charitable Trust he has donated over £5 million to charity
Political Involvement:
- Willie Haughey is one of the biggets donors to the Scottish Labour Party, and has given more than £1 million since 2003
Donations:
- Haughey's most recent donation to Labour was £53,700 on the 4th May 2012
- His three biggest donations were £330,000 at a time between 2003 and 2005
Controversy:
- Haughey referred himself to the Glasgow accounts commission after questions were raised over his dealings with the City Council; he insisted that deals with his company worth £2.1 million were not influenced by his donations to Labour
- A quango run by one of ex-council leader Steven Purcell's former advisers paid Haughey around £700,000 in a deal for land which he had previously purchased from Glasgow City Council
- Another land deal, which would involve Tesco and Cathcart Development Limited purchasing a site from Haughey, has been criticised by a former executive director of Glasgow City Council for running contrary to council policies and not benefitting local residents. Haughey stands to make millions of pounds if the deal is approved.
Notes:
- Date of the donation is the date the donation was accepted by the party
- Analysis refers to donations to main party, individual MPs, MEPs, local parties and affiliated groups, cash donations and non-cash donations
- Electoral Commission Donation Reports have only been available since 2001, and analysis does not consider any donations made before this point
- Variations of the same name e.g. Joe Bloggs, Mr Joe Bloggs, Sir J Bloggs, etc are all collated as the same donor
- Donations from companies that have moved address, changed name or have several subdivisions all making donations are also collated as the same donor, as are all previous forms of the same Trade Unions