UKIP Receives $1.5Mln Donation From Daily Express Owner

The owner of Express Newspapers donated over £1 million to the United Kingdom Independence Party.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The owner of Express Newspapers Richard Desmond donated over £1 million ($1.5 million) to the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a statement on the Express website said Thursday.

"I firmly believe in Ukip. It's a party for good, ordinary British people. It is not run by elitists. They are struggling to have a voice. They do not have a massive party machine or highly paid public relations people," Desmond said, commenting on his decision.

Following the Express proprietor’s move, Nigel Farage, the UKIP’s leader called for other people wishing to make a private donation to back the party.

Desmond, who owns the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star newspapers and OK! magazine, had already supported the UKIP’s general election campaign by donating £300,000 ($448,000) in 2014.

The UK general election is slated for May 7, 2015. The two major parties — the Conservatives and the Labour party – are running neck and neck, with some 36 and 35 percent of the vote respectively, according to opinion polls issued by UK Political Info. UKIP is third with around 10 percent of votes.

Another poll, conducted by a BBC tracker that measures public opinion, revealed that the Conservative Party and the Labour party secured 34 percent of votes in Britain each. UKIP ranked third with 14 percent of the ballot.