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Byrne’s W Mids mayoral campaign crowdfund raises just £735 since Nov – and complaint lodged about use of parliamentary staff on campaign

Only eight people have donated – and Skwawkbox was not credited by ‘MSM’ for its exclusive on misuse of staff

A crowdfund set up last November by Labour’s candidate for West Midlands mayor Liam Byrne to help fund his mayoral campaign has seen only eight people donate, with less than a couple of weeks of the campaign left to run. And in the five months since it was set up, it has raised just £735 of its £5,000 target:

Donors to the co-founder of right-wing pressure group Progress include controversial former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, whose expense claims while a minister were described as ‘near fraudulent’ by a former chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Skwawkbox revealed earlier this month that Byrne had been using publicly-funded parliamentary staff – who should only be used ‘in support of [MPs’] parliamentary duties’ – to run his mayoral campaign, that a former staff member had complained that he owed them thousands of pounds in unpaid wages and that ‘half his team’ had quit.

The Birmingham Mail reported yesterday that a complaint has now been lodged with parliamentary authorities over Byrne’s use of publicly-funded staff on his political campaign. Skwawkbox was not credited for its exclusive on the scandal.

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7 comments

  1. Corruption appears to normal life in the Labour party.We should know in a few weeks what the general public think of the Labour party in Hartlepool and then the scrabbling for the leadership of the establishment Labour party that helped rob hartlepool of their hospital.and we have reached a position where the public dont even trust Labour with the NHS….can you blame them ?

  2. The name – second on the list of donors – says it all.

    One hundred quid, from Jacqui Smith, says it all. Perhaps she sold off her husband’s porn collection?

    In using his Parliamentary Staff, only highlights the residual sense of entitlement, of these original New Labour throw-backs.

    Seeing their names again – still, trying to grift The Electorate – only makes me feel nauseous.

  3. “Jacqui-near-fraudulant-Smith”. Love it!

    A healthy agile Labour party wouldn’t have people like her (or Byrne or Starmer) in it, never mind at its head.

  4. It sounds like New New Labour are missing the members who have either left or been kicked out of the party.

  5. I sincerely hope liam ‘No money keft: byrne is cosigned to total irrelevance and unemployment come the morning of May 7th.

    May the utterly useless, unemployable gobshite be subject to the same sanctions he wanted to impose on the unemployed, simply for their being unemployed. WHY would ANYONE employ THAT in ANY capacity?

    One horrible, horrible get, him. Even looks like a wrong’un. Stammerite version ian dummkopf-schmitt….Nigh-on impossible to choose of who I’d tire of hurling bucketloads of shit at first.

  6. 1 Rule for all Politicians and Crowd Funding.
    Crowd funding will only be successful if you are a Politician who clearly and visibly do your work FOR THE PEOPLE, then it will be THE PEOPLE who appreciate what you do for them, who will setup the Crowd Funder FOR YOU! AND it will be successful, no matter how low income your supporters are!
    If You are a Thatcherite Tory, of ANY flavour, you are already dodgy and your supporters are The Elites/Establishment/Machine, they do NOT EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES Donate ANY of their Money!
    Unless that is to ‘A Charity Laundromat’ that delivers Crisp, Clean, Packaged Laundry straight to The Bahamas, etc!
    The tiny bit of funds that you do get from pitying Colleagues and a handful of Deluded Followers speaks volumes about you, save yourself the embarrassment and Just KEEP ON DOING YOUR DODGY DEALINGS UNDER THE TABLE AND OUT OF SIGHT!

  7. ITs clear for all to see that the Americanisation of funding candidates is both obscene and anti democracy.How did we get to a position where powerful people work the election of individuals in the political system including the unions as well?..The Conservatives have always used the chumocracy,thats why they have private education and support Titles and badges of honour,but now we have the rise of powerful individuals that rule via “plants” through money and asset management.We have seen the Labour party including many fake left wing join the system of establishment corruption,using private education,chums and benefactors and just look were it got us.On entering politics a candidate must be “clean” and a private education and or Title must never be tolerated in a true democracy and a socialist working class movement.Labour’s corruption is beyond reform and thats why I left in disgust after half a century of Stay and fight….The treachery of the members who voted for the knight is still “breathtakingly” shocking in its broad church ,broad range corruption of the plainly bloody obvious..disgusted..!

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