Who pays for politics? Election battle of the hedge-fund financiers

Lord Stanly Fink - the 'godfather' of the hedge-fund industry and one of the wealthiest donors to the Conservative Party - is the latest outsider to pour money into the politics of Brighton and Hove.

Lord Fink, the former chief executive of the Man Group - who has given nearly Â£500,000 to the Conservative Party - has given Â£3,000 to Simon Kirby, the Conservative MP for Brighton Kemptown.

The disclosure, made in official Electoral Commission records, coincides with a second Â£10,000 donation to Brighton and Hove District Labour Party by Sue Ruddick, whose husband is Simon Ruddick, a hedge-fund financier with a personal fortune put at Â£45 million.

Members of the Ruddick family - which has a history of financing the Liberal Democrats - have personal connections to Peter Kyle, the Labour Party parliamentary candidate for Hove.

For full details of every political donation registered with the Electoral Commission and relating to political parties in Brighton and Hove, see our exclusive series of articles on donations to:

Conservative Party;

Labour Party;

Green Party.