All gifts and donations accepted by North East MPs

Taylor Swift concert passes, hospitality packages at football matches, theatre tickets, and a spot in Wimbledon’s Royal Box all feature among the declared items of the Parliamentary register of financial interest.

Labour has come under pressure over recent days amid a row surrounding donations that has grabbed headlines during the party’s annual conference in Liverpool, with Sir Keir Starmer, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Chancellor Rachel Reeves all saying they will no longer accept donations for clothes.

The Prime Minister has also faced questions over being given corporate seats at Arsenal matches and defended borrowing an £18 million flat from a Labour donor, saying he did so so that his son would have a place to study quietly for his GCSEs.

Analysis of the latest register of financial interests for the 20 MPs sitting across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, and County Durham, all of whom represent Labour, shows they have taken a combined £337,381.82 worth of gifts, donations, and foreign visits since summer 2023.

Hexham’s Joe Morris, Newcastle North’s Catherine McKinnell, and education secretary Bridget Phillipson have all faced criticism over accepting tickets to Taylor Swift’s sell-out Eras Tour.

Ms Phillipson, the MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, accepted the largest number of gifts among the North East MPs on the current register – also including tickets to Wimbledon and an Ashes test.

Below are the full details of all the gifts, hospitality packages, campaign donations, and foreign visits accepted by our MPs:
 
Joe Morris (Hexham, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality:

Two tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium. Value: £1,660. Donor: Premier League. Date accepted: 20 August 2024.

 
Donations:

• £3,750 from Gary Lubner. Registered 29 July 2024.
• £2,500 from Stephen Byers.Registered 29 July 2024.
• £2,000 from Unison. Registered 29 July 2024.
• £2,000 from the Community Union. Registered 29 July 2024.
• £2,000 from Andy Ness. Registered 29 July 2024.
• £3,000 from Alan Milburn and Ruth Briel. Registered 30 July 2024.
• £5,000 from Bill Esterson Campaigns Ltd. Registered 30 July 2024.

 
Total: £21,910.
 
David Smith (North Northumberland, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations:

£2,000 for the North Northumberland Labour Party general election campaign from Andrew Cribb.

 
Total: £2,000.
 
Ian Lavery (Blyth and Ashington, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations (total £20,000):

• £10,000 from Unite the Union. Registered 2 August 2024.
• £8,000 from the RMT union. Registered 2 August 2024.
• £2,000 from the FBU. Registered 2 August 2024.

 
Total: £20,000.
 
Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations (total £20,750):

• £2,000 from the GMB union. Registered 29 July 2024. 
• £500 from Unison for second-class mailing to party members. Registered 29 July 2024. 
• £7,000 from USDAW. Registered 29 July 2024. 
• £10,000 from Labour Together. Registered 29 July 2024. 
• £1,250 from Unison. Registered 29 July 2024. 

 
Total: £20,750.
 
Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle North, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality:

• One ticket to Newcastle United game with hospitality. Value: £500. Donor: Stephenson-Mohl Group. Date accepted: 13 April 2024.
• Two tickets with hospitality to Taylor Swift concert. Value: £2,000. Donor: Premier League. Date accepted: 21 June 2024.

 
Donations: None.
 
Total: £2,500.
 
Chi Onwurah (Newcastle Central, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality:

• Ticket to the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA) Gala Dinner. Value: £594. Donor: BVCA. Date accepted: 22 November 2023. 
• A ticket with hospitality to Lang Lang and Dinner at the Royal Albert Hall. Value: £332.33. Donor: PRS for Music. Date accepted: 21 November 2023.
• Corporate ticket to Newcastle United v Manchester United. Value: £780. Donor: Keith Brewis. Date accepted: 2 December 2023.

 
Donations:

• £10,000 from Dr Ewan Kirk. Registered 2 August 2024.
• £2,000 from Unison. Registered 2 August 2024.
• £23,302.50 from the Aziz Foundation as remuneration provided to an intern in her office between 2 October 2023 and 1 October 2024. Registered 10 October 2023.

 
Visits outside the UK:

Accommodation, flights and meals as part of a Labour Climate and Environment Forum delegation to COP28. Value: £1,519.65. Donor: Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit. Registered 5 January 2024.

 
Total: £38,528.48
 
Mary Glindon (Newcastle East and Wallsend, Labour)
None.
 
Sir Alan Campbell (Tynemouth, Labour).
None.
 
Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality:

Two tickets to the Edinburgh Tattoo with hospitality. Value: £600. Donor: Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Ltd. Date accepted: 24 August 2023. 

Total: £600.
 
Kate Osborne (Jarrow, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality:

• Two tickets with hospitality for England v Scotland UEFA Women’s Nations League fixture. Value: £240. Donor: Football Association. Registered 12 October 2023.
• Ticket with hospitality to a football match. Value: £360. Donor: Crystal Palace Football Club. Date accepted: 30 January 2024.

 
Donations: 

• £3,000 from Linda Riley. Date accepted: 28 May 2024.
• £6,000 from the Communication Workers Union. Date accepted: 4 June 2024.
• £3,000 from the RMT union. Date accepted: 5 June 2024.
• £10,000 from Unite the Union. Date accepted: 10 June 2024.

 
Total: £22,600.
 
Mark Ferguson (Gateshead Central and Whickham, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations: 

• £4,000 from Ian Shipley. Registered 22 July 2024.
• £2,000 from UNISON. Registered 22 July 2024.

 
Total: £6,000.
 
Liz Twist (Blaydon and Consett, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations:

• £3,380 from UNISON. Registered 26 October 2023.
• £2,000 from UNISON. Registered 1 August 2024.
• £2,000 from USDAW. Registered 1 August 2024.
• £1,667 from UNISON. Registered 8 March 2024. 

 
Total: £9,047.
 
Sharon Hodgson (Washington and Gateshead South, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations: None.
 
Visits outside the UK:

• Fact-finding visit to Israel and Palestine. Flights, accommodation and meals. Value: £2,200. Donor: Labour Friends of Israel. Registered 14 September 2023.
• Delegation to Washington DC for AIPAC International Policy Conference 2024. Flights, accommodation and meals. Value: £2,050. Donor: Labour Friends of Israel. Registered 25 March 2024.
• Delegation organised by Labour Friends of Taiwan to meet with the President, Foreign Minister, Speaker of the Taiwanese Parliament and other officials.  Flights, accommodation and meals. Value: £6,832. Donor: Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 
Total: £11,082.
 
Lewis Atkinson (Sunderland Central, Labour)
None.
 
Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality:

• Two theatre tickets plus hospitality at a drinks reception for a member of staff within shadow ministerial team and their guest. Value: £204. Donor: National Theatre. Date accepted: 28 June 2023.
• Three tickets for a member of parliamentary staff and two members of staff within shadow ministerial team to attend the Ashes Test at the Oval. Value: £345. Donor: England and Wales Cricket Board. Date accepted: 27 July 2023.
• Two theatre tickets plus hospitality at a drinks reception for a member of staff within shadow ministerial team and their guest. Value: £202. Donor: National Theatre. Date accepted: Date accepted: 29 June 2023.
•  Two tickets for a member of parliamentary staff and their guest to attend the Ashes Test at the Oval. Value: £230.  Donor: England and Wales Cricket Board. Date accepted: 28 July 2023.
• For MP and a guest, entry to the Great North Run and hospitality following the event .Value: £586. Donor: Nova International Ltd. Date accepted: 10 September 2023.
• Use of a meeting room for a shadow education team away day. Value: £345.56. Donor: GMB. Date accepted: 14 September 2023.
• Dinner for MP and two members of staff. Value: £403.20. Donor: Confederation of School Trusts. Date accepted: 20 November 2023.
• Use of a meeting room for a shadow education team away day (including provision of tea and coffee). Value: £494. Donor: Unison. Date accepted: 14 December 2023.
• Two hotel rooms for ASCL’s Annual Conference in Liverpool. Value: £310. Donor: Association of School & College Leaders. Date accepted: 8 March 2024.
• Use of a meeting room for a shadow education team away day. Value: £345.56. Donor: GMB. Date accepted: 26 March 2024.
• Hotel room in advance of a fundraising event and car back to London following the event. Value: £589. Donor: Matt Williams. Date accepted: 21 March 2024.
• Two tickets in the Royal Box tickets at Wimbledon. Value: £1,060. Donor: The All England Lawn Tennis Club. Date accepted: 13 July 2024.
• Tickets and hospitality for MP and a guest to the Taylor Swift concert on 15 August, 2024. Value: £522.54. Donor: The Football Association. Date accepted: 15 August 2024.

 
Donations:

• £2,500 from Trevor Chinn. Registered 3 May 2024.
• £5,000 from Tom Hay. Registered 14 May 2024.
• £10,000 from Paul Callaghan. Registered 14 May 2024.
• £5,000 from Fostermco Ltd. Registered 20 May 2024.
• £5,000 from Fostermco Ltd. Registered 20 May 2024.
• £10,000 from Waheed Alli. Date accepted: 13 November 2023.
• £4,000 from Waheed Alli. Date accepted: 11 December 2023.
• £2,000 from the Community Trade Union. Date accepted: 20 February 2024.
• £2,950 from Public First. Date accepted: 20 February 2024.

 
Visits outside the UK:

£3,000 for a member of parliamentary staff to attend a Labour Party staff and researchers study tour to Israel and Palestine. Donor: ELNET UK. Registered 1 September 2023.

 
Total: £52,586.86
 
Luke Akehurst (North Durham, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations:

• £5,000 from Stuart Roden. Registered 22 July 2024.
• £10,000 from Francesca Perrin. Registered 22 July 2024.
• £2,000 from Daniel Neidle.Registered 23 July 2024.
• £2,000 from Joelle Fuss. Registered 2 August 2024.

 
Total: £19,000.
 
Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations:

• £2,000 from the RMT union. Registered 1 August 2024.
• £2,000 from the Fire Brigades Union.Registered 1 August 2024.
• £10,000 from Unite the Union. Registered 1 August 2024.

 
Total: £14,000.
 
Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations:

• £5,000 from Gary Lubner.Registered 30 July 2024.
• £5,000 from Teescraft Engineering.Registered 31 July 2024.
• £2,000 from Labour Campaign for International Development. Registered 31 July 2024.
• £2,500 from Michael Broadbent.Registered 1 August 2024.
• £2,500 from Heather Smith. Registered 1 August 2024.
• £5,000 from Labour Together. Date accepted: 5 April 2024.
• £10,000 from the North Pennine Moorland Group. Date accepted: 10 October 2023.

 
Visits outside the UK:

Flights, accommodation, and meals on visit to Sri Lanka to UK Aid funded projects and meetings with political leaders from multiple parties. Donor: Coalition for Global Prosperity. Value: £3,323.48. Registered 31 July 2024.

 
Total: £35,323.48.
 
Grahame Morris (Easington, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations: 

• £10,000 from Unite the Union to Easington Constituency Labour Party. Registered 9 July 2024.
• £10,000 from the RMT union to Easington Constituency Labour Party. Registered 9 July 2024.
• £17,782 from the National Union of Journalists for the administration and coordination of the NUJ Parliamentary Group. Date accepted: 24 March 2023.
• £18,672 from the National Union of Journalists for the administration and coordination of the NUJ Parliamentary Group. Date accepted: 1 April 2024.

 
Total: £56,454.00.
 
Alan Strickland (Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, Labour)
Gifts and hospitality: None.
 
Donations:

• £2,000 from Jeremy Oppenheim.Registered 18 July 2024.
• £5,000 from Labour Together. Registered 24 July 2024.

 
Total: £7,000.