Hedging Your Bets
The Times reports that one of the Labour Party major donors has been unmasked as a wealthy hedge fund manager who has handed over nearly £600,000 in three years.
Now given that Martin Taylor seems quite relaxed about being associated with the Labour Party why in the world would anyone wish to keep his identity secret?
Hedge fund millionaire is Labour’s covert donor
Martin Taylor has given the Labour party almost £600,000 in three years
By Michael Savage - The Times
One of Labour’s biggest private donors is a wealthy hedge fund boss whose identity the party has repeatedly refused to reveal.
Martin Taylor, who has held at least one private meeting with Ed Miliband, has been unmasked as the mystery benefactor who has given the party almost £600,000 in three years.
The revelation will provoke accusations of hypocrisy against the Labour leader, who has attacked the Tories for being “the party of Mayfair hedge funds”. Mr Taylor runs a fund for Nevsky Capital from an office in Mayfair. At one time he managed more than £2 billion.
Labour’s refusals to confirm his identity have led to accusations that it was failing to live up to its pledge to be transparent about its backers. The party has not broken any rules because only the names of big donors have to be made public. Mr Taylor’s common name made it difficult to reveal his identity without the co-operation of the party.
The Times approached Mr Taylor this week, having first asked Labour about his identity several months ago. The party finally issued a statement from Mr Taylor, 46, yesterday. “There is no mystery,” he said. “This ‘Martin Taylor’ is me. I am a born and bred Londoner, who also happens to be a hedge fund manager. And I am proud to support the Labour party.”
He added that it may seem “a bit odd” to people that he backed Labour because “it is commonly believed that everyone in the financial sector supports the Conservative party, in a quest to pay ever lower levels of tax”.
He said that he had a strong belief that “everyone should contribute to society and that those who are lucky enough to earn a lot should contribute more”.
He added that he was domiciled here for tax purposes, and that his family history had played an important part in his support for Labour. “My dad was a local Labour councillor in Lewisham, southeast London, for more than 30 years and my mum rose to be the head teacher of a comprehensive school,” he said. “They taught me daily about fairness.”
He said that he opposed the government’s decision to cut the top rate of income tax to 45p, while he backed Labour’s mansion tax on homes worth more than £2 million. His support for the mansion tax comes despite the fact that he is listed as a director of a property developer specialising in luxury dwellings.
The company’s properties have included a converted Grade II listed oast house, which went on sale in 2012 for £1.8 million. “The owners of such houses [worth more than £2 million] have experienced a massive inflation-adjusted tax cut over the last 30 years as their annual property taxes have fallen,” he said.
Mr Taylor has said in the past that he has “made a lot of money out of the [hedge fund] industry” by working 100 hours a week for a decade. By 2010 he was overseeing funds worth more than £2 billion. He switched to running a smaller hedge fund in 2011, concentrating on eastern Europe, to allow him more time with his family.
Philip Hollobone, the Tory MP for Kettering, Northamptonshire, said that Labour should have revealed Mr Taylor’s identity far sooner. “Voters will be aghast at this,” he said. “The public want to see total transparency for party political donations, including who the named donors are, as soon as possible.”
In angry Commons exchanges on February 4, Mr Miliband accused David Cameron of “being funded to the tune of £47 million by the hedge funds”. The Labour leader added: “He is bankrolled by the hedge funds.”
Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, accused Labour of observing the letter, rather than the spirit, of transparency. “Labour should match their actions with their rhetoric,” he said. “My view is they should get an assurance from potential donors to say they would want to give information about their background.”
A senior Labour source denied the charge of hypocrisy. “Labour is not opposed to hedge funds,” he said. “We’re against being in the pockets of hedge funds and then rewarding them with tax breaks.”
One of Labour’s biggest private donors is a wealthy hedge fund boss whose identity the party has repeatedly refused to reveal.
Martin Taylor, who has held at least one private meeting with Ed Miliband, has been unmasked as the mystery benefactor who has given the party almost £600,000 in three years.
The revelation will provoke accusations of hypocrisy against the Labour leader, who has attacked the Tories for being “the party of Mayfair hedge funds”. Mr Taylor runs a fund for Nevsky Capital from an office in Mayfair. At one time he managed more than £2 billion.
Labour’s refusals to confirm his identity have led to accusations that it was failing to live up to its pledge to be transparent about its backers. The party has not broken any rules because only the names of big donors have to be made public. Mr Taylor’s common name made it difficult to reveal his identity without the co-operation of the party.
The Times approached Mr Taylor this week, having first asked Labour about his identity several months ago. The party finally issued a statement from Mr Taylor, 46, yesterday. “There is no mystery,” he said. “This ‘Martin Taylor’ is me. I am a born and bred Londoner, who also happens to be a hedge fund manager. And I am proud to support the Labour party.”
He added that it may seem “a bit odd” to people that he backed Labour because “it is commonly believed that everyone in the financial sector supports the Conservative party, in a quest to pay ever lower levels of tax”.
He said that he had a strong belief that “everyone should contribute to society and that those who are lucky enough to earn a lot should contribute more”.
He added that he was domiciled here for tax purposes, and that his family history had played an important part in his support for Labour. “My dad was a local Labour councillor in Lewisham, southeast London, for more than 30 years and my mum rose to be the head teacher of a comprehensive school,” he said. “They taught me daily about fairness.”
He said that he opposed the government’s decision to cut the top rate of income tax to 45p, while he backed Labour’s mansion tax on homes worth more than £2 million. His support for the mansion tax comes despite the fact that he is listed as a director of a property developer specialising in luxury dwellings.
The company’s properties have included a converted Grade II listed oast house, which went on sale in 2012 for £1.8 million. “The owners of such houses [worth more than £2 million] have experienced a massive inflation-adjusted tax cut over the last 30 years as their annual property taxes have fallen,” he said.
Mr Taylor has said in the past that he has “made a lot of money out of the [hedge fund] industry” by working 100 hours a week for a decade. By 2010 he was overseeing funds worth more than £2 billion. He switched to running a smaller hedge fund in 2011, concentrating on eastern Europe, to allow him more time with his family.
Philip Hollobone, the Tory MP for Kettering, Northamptonshire, said that Labour should have revealed Mr Taylor’s identity far sooner. “Voters will be aghast at this,” he said. “The public want to see total transparency for party political donations, including who the named donors are, as soon as possible.”
In angry Commons exchanges on February 4, Mr Miliband accused David Cameron of “being funded to the tune of £47 million by the hedge funds”. The Labour leader added: “He is bankrolled by the hedge funds.”
Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, accused Labour of observing the letter, rather than the spirit, of transparency. “Labour should match their actions with their rhetoric,” he said. “My view is they should get an assurance from potential donors to say they would want to give information about their background.”
A senior Labour source denied the charge of hypocrisy. “Labour is not opposed to hedge funds,” he said. “We’re against being in the pockets of hedge funds and then rewarding them with tax breaks.”
