Labour MP and gambling critic Chuka Umunna has accepted a £20,000 donation from gambling giant Coral, it has been reported.
Umunna has publicly spoken out against the number of betting shops in the UK, and has recently been reported to have accepted a donation from a member of the Gala Coral Group, one of Britain’s biggest bookmakers.
The donation of nearly a quarter of a million came from Neil Gouldon, chairman emeritus of the huge gambling company. The rising labour MP has been accused of adopting double standards after promising that “new powers [will] control the number of betting shops.”
This isn’t the first report of Umunna making hypocritical remarks. Earlier this year his office was accused of altering his Wikipedia page in order to have allusions and comparisons to Barack Obama. He also once commented that West End in London was just full of C-list celebrities and “trash” when he in fact used to DJ in those areas.
However, representatives of Umunna claim that the donation from Neil Gouldon was in complete accordance with the rules, and was properly declared. The donation was made by an individual Labour party supporter in a personal capacity, and should not be interpreted as a political statement. However, conservatives claim that it cannot be a coincidence that Coral has two bookmaker branches in the Labour MP’s constituency.
Mr Goulden spent ten years as MD, chief executive and chairman of the Gala Coral Group, and continues to provide consultancy services to the company despite his commitments as the chair to the Responsible Gaming Trust. Along with many other business positions, he chairs the Affinity Sutton Housing Association and serves on the Low Pay Commission.
He obviously thinks a lot of himself if he’s going around changing his Wikipedia entry to sound like an up and coming Obama! But to be fair to him, politicians accept all kinds of donations in the run up to elections.