Usually Dale Vince, the Ecotricity green tycoon and Labour donor, confines himself to harrying the Government for cleaner energy solutions or proffering occasional Budget advice. This week he ventured into being a reputational danger to the party.

Vince faced condemnation for saying the Israeli government is partly responsible for the rise in anti-Jewish sentiment globally, after the murder of 15 people at a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach near Sydney. In a post sent on Sunday afternoon, the same day as the Bondi attack, he quoted Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that “antisemitism spreads when leaders stay silent”, linking the attack to the war in Gaza and adding that “Netanyahu wants antisemitism to be a thing, it validates him”. A day later he clarified, calling the attack an “atrocity” but repeated his attack on the Israeli prime minister.

His intervention was a gift to the opposition. The Conservatives immediately demanded Sir Keir Starmer condemn Vince, who has given more than £5m to Labour. He’s also given smaller sums to the Greens and Liberal Democrats.

The case reflects a debate over how much power and influence party donors wield, and simultaneously whether their donations buy them more attention than they deserve. While Vince was indeed a Labour donor, he hasn’t given them any money since May last year and isn’t a party........

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