David (Lord) Sainsbury, a short profile
David Sainsbury A multi-billionaire (he was once named as the third richest man in Britain in the Sunday Times Rich List), Sainsbury's donations to the Labour Party since 1994 total over £11 million. This sum is said to have included £1m to help clear the party's overdraft after the 1997 General Election campaign. (BBC Online September 8, 1999). In the 1980's he had famously helped bankroll the Social Democrats (SDP), but switched to Labour in the '90's following the collapse of the SDP/Liberal alliance, and Labour's move to the right. In 1997, less than 6 months after Labour came to power, David Sainsbury was duly rewarded for his generosity to Labour Party coffers. He was appointed to the House of Lords as Lord Sainsbury of Turville by Tony Blair. In July 1998, after further multi-million pound donations to the party, Sainsbury was drafted into the government a |
David (now Lord) Sainsbury is a crucial figure in the dispute over the building of the new primate research centre. Sainsbury is the key to why this government is so determined not only to build the primate laboratory, but also to impose GM crops and food products on the population, despite huge public opposition in both cases.