Lovefilm tycoon behind drive for ‘new political party’
1 min read
A new political party created by Lovefilm tycoon Simon Franks has been operating for more than a year and has access to millions of pounds in funding, it has been revealed.
According to the Observer, the business mogul has been employing full-time staff on the project and has access to a fund of up to £50m drive it forward.
The newspaper understands that the scheme has the backing of senior business and charity figures as well as some former Tory donors.
A source said: “They know that they might fail and that they will need some luck.”
“But they care about this country and they want to challenge the way things are currently done by our current crop of professional politicians.
“They want to break the mould of Westminster politics.”
A person familiar with the project added: “They have the resources, but I’m not sure they have a viable plan.”
Mr Franks – who has previously donated cash to the Labour party - was contacted by the Observer but was unavailable for comment.
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
