News releases

Fifteen political parties reported £8.1 million in donations accepted between January and March of 2008, according to new figures from the Electoral Commission. Six parties received payments from public funds totalling just under £2.4 million during the same period. As at 31 March 2008, total borrowing stood at £33 million.

The Commissions registers of donations and borrowing for the first quarter of 2008 show that:

Donations

• 15 political parties reported donations totalling £8,126,338 (excluding public funds) accepted between 1 January and 31 March.
• Six parties reported donations this quarter that should have been reported in previous quarters. The total amount of donations reported late was £251,186.
• Six parties received a total of £2,394,377 in public funds.
• 37 registered parties in Great Britain failed to provide a donation return on time.

Loans

• Four parties entered into new borrowing totalling £95,239.
• One party reported a new borrowing this quarter that should have been reported in a previous quarter. The total amount of new borrowing reported late was £2,000.
• A total of £2,028,525 was repaid during this quarter.
• Two parties reported repaid borrowings that should have been reported in previous quarters. The total amount of repaid borrowings that were reported late was £814,908
• Total borrowing now stands at £33,098,574.
• 67 registered parties in Great Britain failed to provide a borrowing return on time.

The latest figures can be viewed on the Commissions website: www.electoralcommission.org.uk

Peter Wardle, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said: We are disappointed at the scale of late reporting this quarter. We have already written to the parties and theyve given us assurances that they are taking steps to ensure more timely reporting in line with the requirements of the legislation. We continue to monitor the parties closely and expect to see significant improvements in future reporting.

We have repeatedly made clear the need for the Commission to have a more flexible and proportionate range of penalties which would help us to deal with this issue. We hope to see these in the Governments White Paper on reform of party finance and expenditure.

In the meantime, we will be using our current powers and imposing civil penalties on those parties who failed to send us their returns on time.

DONATIONS

Donations to political parties accepted in quarter one 2008 (January to March)

Public funds

The Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru received a total of £1,574,312 in Short money, which is paid directly by the UK Parliament to opposition parties in the House of Commons. The Conservative Party, Labour Party, Scottish Green Party and Liberal Democrats received £221,960 in assistance paid directly to opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament. The Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats also received a total of £262,823 in Cranborne money which is for opposition parties in the House of Lords.  The Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru received £335,282 in Policy Development Grants which are allocated by the UK Parliament according to a formula and paid by the Electoral Commission.

BORROWING

New borrowing in quarter one 2008 (January to March)

Note: Further details including the date the loan was entered into, date repayable, interest rate (whether fixed, variable or nil), whether security was given and details of the lender are available on the Electoral Commission website www.electoralcommission.org.uk

Borrowing repaid in quarter one 2008

Total borrowing (including loans, overdrafts, credit cards and connected transactions) by party as at 31 March 2008

LATE REPORTING

Donations reported this quarter that should have been reported in previous quarters totalled £251,186 and borrowing reported in this quarter that should have been reported in previous quarters totalled £2,000. In addition, repaid borrowing reported in this quarter that should have been reported in previous quarters totalled £814,908.

Donations accepted in previous quarters and reported late this quarter

Borrowing taken in previous quarters and reported late this quarter

Borrowing repaid in previous quarters and reported late this quarter

Note: The Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000 (PPERA) requires parties to report to the Commission any changes to the reported details of a loan, including its repayment.

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For further information contact

The Electoral Commission press office on 0207 271 0704

Out of office hours 07789 920414

Email press@electoralcommission.org.uk

Notes to editors

1. The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the UKs democratic process. We regulate party and election finance and set standards for well-run elections.

2. The figures reported for donations and borrowing have been rounded to the nearest £. Exact figures are available on our website.

3. Charts and tables providing comparisons to previous quarters can be accessed at: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/regulatory-issues/partyfinanceanalysis.cfm

4. To search the register for donations, visit the Commissions website www.electoralcommission.org.uk and go to 'Register of donations to political parties using the 'donations' link on the home page.

5. A table detailing loans repaid and outstanding can also be found here.

6. Table of donations reported in quarter one 2008 which should have been reported previously can be found here.

7. Table of borrowing reported in quarter one which should have been reported previously can be found here.

8. This is only the third time the Commission has separated out public funds from the total donations reported so please take care when comparing overall figures to previous quarters.

9. The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) requires GB and NI registered parties to report cash and non-cash donations and GB registered parties to report loans on a quarterly basis to the Electoral Commission. Parties must report any donation above £5,000 made to the central party, or donations exceeding £1,000 made to a local accounting unit

10. The penalties for failure to submit statutory returns on time can be found at section 147 of PPERA

11. Parties may accept donations of over £200 only if they are deemed 'permissible' under the terms of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act (PPERA) 2000 at the time the donation was made. 'Permissible' donors include individuals who are listed on a UK electoral register, or companies which are registered under the Companies Act 1985 and incorporated within the UK or another EU member state, and carrying on business in the UK

12. Some donations appear on the register as being from the House of Lords or House of Commons. These are Short and Cranborne grants which are available to parties in opposition in the House of Commons and House of Lords respectively.

13. Some donations appear on the register as being from the Electoral Commission. These are Policy Development Grants which were established by PPERA 2000 for parties represented in the Commons by two or more sitting members. The grants are intended to assist parties in developing the policies that they will present in an election manifesto. The legislation provides the total sum of £2 million annually for this purpose. Policy Development Grants became reportable as donations for the first time in quarter three of 2006 as a result of the Electoral Administration Act 2006.

14. Quarter four 2007 figures on donations and borrowing were published by the Electoral Commission on 20 February 2008. The press release can be found here.

15. From 1 November 2007 parties on the Northern Ireland register of political parties were required to conform to donation controls. Quarter four returns 2007were the first to be reported to the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland. As required by the legislation, permissible donations reported to us will not be published. These are transitional arrangements that will apply to donations reported until October 2010.