MPs in Sussex received hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations leading up to the General Election . Donors including the chief executive of cosmetics chain Lush and the chairman of an investment firm are among those to have donated thousands to candidates in the run-up to the July 4 election which saw a landslide Labour victory. In total, sitting MPs in Sussex received more than £800,000 in publicly declared donations.
Brighton and Hove MPs Peter Kyle and Sian Berry received among the highest donations in the county. Peter Kyle (Image: The Argus) Both received nearly £175,000 in financial interests including donations, gifts from the UK and visits outside the country. Mr Kyle, MP for Hove and Portslade and now Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, received £66,560 from digital consultancy firm Public Digital.
The money paid for a person to be seconded to work with Mr Kyle in his previous role in the Shadow Cabinet prior to the election. Mr Kyle also received £50,000 from Simon Ruddick, chairman of investment advisory firm Albourne Partners. He also attended the Brit Awards and a Madonna concert with the Football Association and Sky Arts respectively.
Sian Berry (Image: The Argus) New Brighton Pavilion MP Sian Berry also received around £175,000 in the run up to the General Election. Her biggest donors included Matthew Oakeshott, who also backed her predecessor Caroline Lucas, and Mark Constantine OBE, the co-founder of cosmetics company Lush. Ms Lucas also r.