The Financial Times speaks to Gary Lubner About His Motivations for His Financial Backing of the Labour Party

In June 2023, the Financial Times spoke to the founder of ‘This Day’, Gary Lubner about his motivations for his financial backing of the Labour Party in the lead-up to the 2024 General Election, his philanthropic ambitions, and the impact of his childhood growing up in apartheid South Africa. 

Speaking to the Financial Times at his offices in London’s West End, Lubner said he wanted to give away “the vast majority: of his personal wealth, dedicating funds primarily to charitable causes”. This decision, the article notes, stems from a deeply personal philosophy that is rooted in his firsthand experience with what he called the “brutal apartheid system in South Africa.” 

On Labour, Lubner expressed his horror at the antisemitism under previous Labour leadership, crediting Sir Keir Starmer for addressing the issue. Lubner also expressed to the Financial Times his strong opposition to the Conservative government’s failures, pointing to Brexit, as a key driver for his support for the Labour Party. 

In the interview, Lubner makes it clear that his political donations are not intended to secure a peerage, instead, he advocates for abolishing both political donations and the House of Lords. According to the Financial Times, Lubner’s backing positions him as one of Labour’s largest individual donors of the last parliament, and provided the Labour Party with crucial financial firepower ahead of the 2024 General Election. 

Read the full article on the Financial Times here.