were engaged in selling honours to donors.
But when in office Blair's government, having distanced itself from the trade unions, found that the unions cut back their donations and the party was cash-strapped. Hence the trawl for rich donors.
As everyone now knows, key Blair fundraiser was tennis partner Lord Levy (more precisely Baron Michael Levy), who made his money in the music business.
He is also Blair's personal representative to the Middle East (a totally unofficial posttion, but one with full prime ministerial backing).
Lord Levy is close to the
Israeli Labour Party. His son
Daniel has worked in the offices of Israeli Labour
politicians Edhud Barak, a
former prime minister, and
Knesset member Yossi Beilin.
Described by music producer Peter Waterman as "the
best salesman I ever met",
Levy earned the nickname
"Lord Cashpoint" for his
fundraising efforts for Labour. In 1997 Levy secured a £1m. donation from Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, shortly after which the government changed its policy to allow Formula One be continue to be sponsored by tobacco companies. The subsequent turore prompted the Labour Party to return the donation. The significance of the role of Lord Levy is not so much the rather obvious pro-Israel bias in his Fifty-six percent of all voters and even 43 percent of Labour voters think Blair should step down now, and a growing number of Labour MPs are worried about the effects on their prospects
international role, but the way it symbolises the closeness of the Blairites to big business leaders. Numerous individuals and businesses have made donations to Labour, something unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago. According Independent: 'It was not only Lord Levy who schmoozed millionaires. Labour officials, advisers and apparatchiks were also in on the game. A few years ago, Sir Christopher Evans was attending a presentation at Downing Street when a senior government adviser sidled up to him. The official told Sir Christopher, who is the founder of Merlin Biosciences: "Your stock has risen so high, and a lot of people are saying very posi tive things about you".
Now Lord Levy has been arrested twice, and government publicity head Ruth Turner has also been arrested - although both deny everything - officially. But Levy is reported to be ready to tell the police that the Prime Minister is to blame for the cash-forpeerages scandal.
Blair's message to party workers is "stay calm" and do not to be diverted by "things that embarrass us". But no one thinks he will survive for long if any of his entourage the are charged over the scandal.
Fifty-six per cent of all
voters and even 43 percent of
Labour voters think that he
should step down now, and a
growing number of Labour
MPs are worried about the
effects on their prospects at