Jim Murphy has faced further embarrassment after it emerged that the new Labour donor David Garrard previously donated to the Tories – because he thought Margaret Thatcher was “fantastic and wonderful”.
David Garrard previously said that he was “not a political animal” but did “support the Conservatives because I thought Margaret Thatcher was fantastic and wonderful” – and made “irregular donations” to the Tories during the eighties and nineties including donating £70,000 in the lead-up to the 1997 General Election.
Mr Garrard was also involved in the cash for honours row – after being nominated for a peerage in 2005 but asked for his name to be withdrawn after the House of Lords appointments commission barred his ennoblement when it emerged that he was among those who had given Labour secret loans.
Commenting, SNP Westminster Leader Angus Robertson said:
"As Jim Murphy’s ‘reverse honeymoon’ as new leader continues, Labour are now turning to a millionaire, a former Tory donor who thinks that Margaret Thatcher was 'fantastic and wonderful' - and who was embroiled in the cash for honours scandal.
“It speaks volumes that a millionaire who donated to the Tories during the 1980s and 90s when Mrs Thatcher was in power, now chooses to put his money on the Blairite Jim Murphy. Mr Garrard clearly sees Labour as the same as the Tories – and given Labour support for £30 billion more Tory austerity and £100 billion for Trident renewal, that's no surprise.
“Left to their own devices, Labour have made it crystal clear they would continue with Tory austerity. A strong team of SNP MPs holding the balance of power at Westminster will use our clout to be the force for change – as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made clear earlier this week, the SNP would invest in growth to make Scotland’s families better off and protect them from the impacts of unfair Tory cuts.”
