Gordon Brown began preparing Labour for a general election last night as the party staged one of the largest fundraising events in its history.
The party hired Wembley Stadium for a fundraising dinner that attracted sporting stars alongside business leaders and wealthy donors. It was estimated to have raised £500,000.
Labour styled the evening as an occasion to celebrate Britain’s sporting achievements in the ten years since it took office and as a means of broadening its guestlist beyond established party supporters.
Beneath the toasting of British sporting triumphs, however, was a serious money-raising operation to begin the process of replenishing Labour’s finances, which have been heavily in debt since the 2005 general election campaign.
But it was some of Labour’s old faces who led last night’s fundraising efforts. Tony Blair made one of his first public appearances since stepping down as prime minister and joked about his difficulties coming to terms with life after Downing Street. He confessed to being confused when his driver stopped at a red light, because as prime minister he used to go straight through them. He said that he had also needed lessons on how to use a mobile phone. When he finally managed to send a text message, he said, he received the reply: “Who are you?”
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Appearing alongside him was his successor, Gordon Brown, who made light of his famously turbulent relationship with Mr Blair, saying that he had already experienced his first row with the new Chancellor, Alistair Darling.
The unlikely duo of Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former director of communications, and Richard Caborn, the former Sports Minister, conducted an after-dinner auction that aimed to generate £100,000.
Tickets for the event, which was attended by more than 600 people including the Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce, were sold at a starting price of £1,000, for tours of the stadium followed by a reception and a dinner.
The proceeds will make inroads into the party’s debts, which last year reached £27 million. Labour emphasised that not all those attending were party supporters, and money was also raised for a charity promoting inner city sport.
Others who attended included John Motson, the BBC commentator, Dickie Bird, the cricket umpire, Steve Cram, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Tessa Sanderson and Fatima Whitbread.