Potter author in £1m Labour gift

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Source: BBC

Potter author in £1m Labour gift


Harry Potter author JK Rowling has donated £1m to the Labour Party, the party has announced.

Ms Rowling said she was motivated by Labour's record on child poverty and opposed a Conservative plan to give tax breaks to married couples.

Her donation will boost Gordon Brown as he tries to calm unrest among party members at Labour's annual conference.

The party has seen a surge in funding from private individuals, who donated a total of £3.8m between April and June.

Ms Rowling, whose fortune was estimated at £560 million in this year's Sunday Times Rich List, is known to be a personal friend of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah.

Other high-profile donors to have contributed this year include comedian Eddie Izzard, who gave almost £10,000, and Steve Lazarides, graffiti artist Banksy's dealer, who gave £120,000.


The Labour government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and is one of the leading EU countries in combating child poverty
JK Rowling

A statement from Rowling, who wrote the first of her best-selling books about boy wizard Harry Potter while an impoverished single mother, pledged support for Mr Brown's long-running campaign against child-poverty.

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Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7626589.stm