Rowling Gives $1.8M to Beleaguered Labour Party

Beleaguered British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has at least one big fan: JK Rowling gave a whopping $1.8 million to the Labour party at its annual meeting today, the Guardian reports. The Harry Potter author, who is estimated to be worth a little over $1 billion, said she gave in light of Brown's record on tackling child poverty; Rowling was a struggling single mom when she wrote the first of her best-sellers.

“Gordon Brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity," she said, adding that she was particularly irked by a Conservative party promise of "tax perks for the married," which overlook the needs of financially strapped single parents.
(More Harry Potter stories.)