Richardson learnt early the link between power and money, and became a prodigious fund-raiser for the party, pioneering some of the “access for donations” promises common on both sides of politics today. He always insisted that donations got you an audience, but no promise about the results of your lobbying. Over the years, however, it was often the party organisation, not ministers, who were brokering the deals donors were asking for. Richardson, whether as a minister, a party organiser, or, later, a lobbyist, was a “fixer” who could parlay his access and his influence, and sometimes cash, into getting the decision wanted.
