David Abrahams (Labour Party Donor)
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David Martin Abrahams (born 13 November 1944) is an English
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
, philanthropist and political activist.


Early life

Abrahams was born in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, and brought up in
Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around ...
as the only child in a strongly political family. His father Bennie Abrahams (1906–1990) was a Labour councillor for the Monkchester ward of
Newcastle City Council Newcastle City Council is the local authority for the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in the ceremonial county of Tyne and Wear in North East England. Newcastle has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. ...
for 35 years, and served as the city's lord mayor for one year in 1981-2. Abrahams' mother Marion Marcelline Abrahams was a concert hall violinist for the
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is a music organisation based in Liverpool, England, that manages a professional symphony orchestra, a concert venue, and extensive programmes of learning through music. Its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmo ...
and a Labour councillor in Newcastle. Abrahams was educated at Ascham House preparatory school, now Newcastle School for Boys in Gosforth, and passed his 11+ to Rutherford Grammar School. In 1977, Muhammad Ali paid a visit to the Abrahams family home in Gosforth, where his 105-year-old grandmother Annie Abrahams chatted to him about the underprivileged. In July 1979, he accompanied his grandmother aged 107 to meet queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
at Buckingham Palace.


Political career

Abrahams was a councillor for the Labour Party on
Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The county is ...
County Council for two and a half years from 1978 to 1981 when he lost to the Liberal candidate David Howarth who took 60% of the vote in a two way contest. His special interest was economic development. He was selected in 1990 as the Labour candidate for
Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is located at the point where Swaledale, the upper valley of the River Swale, opens into the Vale of Mowbray. The town's population at the 2011 census was 8,413. The t ...
in the 1992 general election but was subsequently deselected after the constituency Labour Party determined him to be unsuitable. He was replaced as the candidate by Ross Cranston. In 1997 he was unsuccessful in his attempt at selection for the safe Labour seat of Wansbeck near Newcastle. A close associate of
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
and
Lord Levy Michael Abraham Levy, Baron Levy (born 11 July 1944) is a British life peer and former chartered accountant who was chairman and CEO of a large independent group of music companies. A long-standing friend of former prime minister Tony Blair, ...
during the
New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...
-era, Abrahams faced high-profile media accusations in 2007 that he had secretly made £630,000 in donations to the Labour Party, by channelling the donations through four different individuals in what was thought to have been a breach of the electoral law on transparent disclosure. The Donorgate scandal put pressure on then Prime Minister
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
who set up an internal enquiry, although no report has ever been published. Abrahams was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by the police, in April 2008. In April 2016, following remarks made by a Labour MP
Naz Shah Naseem Shah (; born 13 November 1973) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford West since 2015. She served in the Opposition frontbench from 2018 to 2023, most recently as Shadow Minister for Cr ...
and the former
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
,
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
, Abrahams said that he would no longer financially support the Labour party, alleging that it was becoming increasingly
anti-semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. In an article for ''The Guardian'' he accused the hard left of perverting the principles of social justice and liberal, progressive politics. Following the election of
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
as Leader of the Labour Party, Abrahams resumed making regular donations. In December 2020, Muslim groups, including the
Muslim Council of Britain The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is an umbrella body of Muslim organisations in the United Kingdom, with over 500 affiliated mosques and organisations. It was formed in 1994 in response to British government's expressed wish for a single r ...
, called on Starmer to take action against Abrahams as a result of online comments he'd made, which were described as "abhorrent and Islamophobic" and "deeply disturbing". Among his comments was the claim that Muslims have "mixed loyalties"; he also stated "Don’t think I know how to divide political Islam from moderates and fundamentalists. It is the very nature of the beast!" and, commenting on Israel, he claimed that it was a "brand new hi-tech state with new inventions to benefit mankind" while its "close neighbours chose terrorism and invented suicide bombers". Mish Rahman, a member of the
National Executive Committee of the Labour Party The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the governing body of the UK Labour Party, setting the overall strategic direction of the party and policy development. Its composition has changed over the years, and includes representatives of affil ...
, called on Starmer to return Abrahams donations.


Other interests

Abrahams is a
Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...
and a member of the Reform Club in Pall Mall. Abrahams has been an active supporter of peace initiatives in the Middle East. His diplomatic efforts in many Middle East countries brought him into contact with Yasser Arafat as well as Hamas and other leaders establishing grounds for ongoing dialogue. In 2010 it was reported that Abrahams had met senior
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
officials including Palestinian Legislative Council speaker Aziz Dwaik and had appeared to wrest a significant change in tone from the Palestinian leadership. He indicated that Hamas officials were prepared to accept – but not necessarily recognise – the existence of Israel, and they would be prepared to nullify the part of the Hamas charter that calls for the obliteration of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. He became Vice President of
Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi) is a defence and security think tank with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1831 by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley ...
(RUSI), in Whitehall in 2008, and subsequently its first global ambassador. His first mission was to organise a conference of Arab foreign ministers to discuss normalisation of relations with Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state. During his term of office, he focused on promoting peace within the MENA region paying personal visits to most of the countries to discuss security and defence issues as well as geopolitical alliances whilst attending many conferences at the UN and throughout the area. Whilst at RUSI he initiated the All Party Parliamentary Group on Defence and Diplomacy and is one of their global ambassadors. In August 2013,
Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi) is a defence and security think tank with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1831 by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley ...
named
David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born 7 November 1952) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 2011 until his resignation in November 2012. Pri ...
as new senior vice president. In 2013 it was reported that he had donated two tranches of £250,000 to found a chair in International Politics of the Middle East at
Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of a ...
from 2005. He has also served as Vice-Chairman of the
Jewish Labour Movement The Jewish Labour Movement (JLM), known as Poale Zion (Great Britain) from 1903 to 2004, is one of the oldest socialist societies affiliated to the UK Labour Party. It is a member of the progressive coalition of Avodah/ Meretz/ Arzenu/ Amein ...
, Acting Director of Labour Friends of Israel and on the Executive of the Trade Union Friends of Israel. Since 1968, he has been involved North East Prisons After Care Society (NEPACS). He is currently a trustee and Board Member. He is a former founder and Vice Chair of North East Alzheimer’s Society and was for many years National Director of The Campaign For Pensioner Poverty. He served for twelve years as a trustee and on the executive of The Council for Christians and Jews, becoming their Director of Parliamentary Affairs.


Business

Abrahams founded the nationwide “London Girl” group of fashion shops and a chain of hotels in the north east. He has developed more than a hundred new homes in the former pit village of Haswell. In an interview with the
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
he spoke of the need to create jobs for people in “pit villages where there's a lot of deprivation, drugs and crime. People with nothing to do”. In 2009, Abrahams obtained planning permission to build a 540-acre business park to create jobs on a site which he owned, near
Bowburn Bowburn is a village in County Durham, England. It is situated about to the south-east of Durham, on the A177, between Coxhoe to the south-east, and High Shincliffe to the north-west. It is part of the Cassop-cum-Quarrington parish. Histo ...
, outside
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...
, with onsite connectivity to the main Edinburgh-London railway line and off Junction 61 on the A1(M). He said he would donate the profits from building the business park to “causes he has supported in the past”. In 2010, Abrahams was reported to be in talks with 15 potential tenants for a 540-acre site on the edge of Durham. He was subsequently reported to be selling the site. In 2018, it was reported that the Integra 61 project on the site would include industrial units, offices, a hotel, shops, gym, care home, pub and GP surgery. Persimmon Homes obtained permission to build up to 270 houses on the site. In 2019, it was reported that
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
had bought part of the site and were building a warehouse of almost 2 million sq. ft which would create 4,000 new jobs. It opened in September 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, David 1944 births Living people British businesspeople Businesspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne Jewish English politicians Labour Friends of Israel Labour Party (UK) donors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates