On 25 May 2011, we published details of donations and borrowing received by political parties during Quarter 1 2011 (January, February and March).
This page provides data and charts on:
- donations accepted by political parties in Quarter 1 2011
- donations reported late in Quarter 1 2011
- donations from impermissible donors received in Quarter 1 2011
- donations accepted per accounting unit
- donor type
- top donors
- public funds
- borrowing reported in Quarter 1 2011 and total outstanding
The analysis on this page is based on data available on PEF Online Donations search which provides full details of all donations.
We also maintain several other registers of parties and finances.
For questions or requests, please contact the Party and Elections Finance Directorate by email (pef@electoralcommission.org.uk) or telephone (020 72710616).
Donations accepted
Ten political parties have reported accepting donations totalling £8,831,135 between 1 January 2011 and 31 March 2011 (excluding public funds, donations reported late, impermissible donations and donations from unidentifiable donors). Donations reported this quarter that should have been reported in a previous quarter (donations reported late) have not been included but can be viewed in the specific section below.
The figures do not include all donations accepted by political parties. Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendum Act 2000, parties are required only to report to us:
- donations above £7,500 to the central party (including aggregation)
- donations above £1,500 to accounting units (including aggregation)
Prior to 1 January 2010, parties were required to report donations above £5,000 to their party headquarters (HQ), and £1,000 to accounting units. Thresholds for reporting donations changed with the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 (PPE Act) which became law in July 2009.
Click here to find out more about the legislation on donations to political parties.
Table 1: Donations accepted by political parties in Quarter 1 2011 (January, February and March)
Figures are rounded to the nearest pound and may be subject to change if donations accepted in Quarter 1 2011 are reported late in future.
| Party | Cash | Non-cash | Total | |||
| Amount (£) | No. | Amount (£) | No. | Amount (£) | No. | |
|
Conservative and Unionist Party |
3,620,231 |
157 |
258,093 |
26 |
3,878,324 |
183 |
|
Labour Party |
2,777,519 |
129 |
105,246 |
24 |
2,882,765 |
153 |
|
Liberal Democrats |
762,645 |
60 |
47,384 |
13 |
810,029 |
73 |
|
Scottish National Party (SNP) |
651,409 |
16 |
3,000 |
1 |
654,409 |
17 |
|
Co-operative Party [The] |
393,500 |
3 |
7,250 |
2 |
400,750 |
5 |
|
Green Party |
101,830 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
101,830 |
10 |
|
UK Independence Party (UK I P) |
50,060 |
18 |
5,900 |
3 |
55,960 |
21 |
| Plaid Cymru - Party of Wales [The] |
15,000 |
3 |
12,067 |
1 |
27,067 |
4 |
| Christian Peoples Alliance |
10,000 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
10,000 |
2 |
| Scottish Green Party |
10,000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
10,000 |
1 |
|
Total |
8,392,194 |
399 |
438,940 |
70 |
8,831,135 |
469 |
Chart 1: Donations accepted by party in Quarter 1 2011
Note: Chart and figures may be subject to changes if donations are reported late in future quarters.
Donations reported late
Donations must be reported in the quarterly return for the period in which they were accepted. Any donation not reported in the quarter it was accepted is a donation reported late.
Seven parties reported 75 donations in the Quarter 1 2011 return that should have been reported in previous quarters totalling £1,696,967.
Click here to view full details and analysis of all donations reported late since Q1 2007 (XLS).
Table 2: Donations reported this quarter that should have been reported previously
The total has been broken down by National Party/HQ and accounting units according to the section of the party that failed to report the donation on time.
Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
| Party |
National Party/HQ |
Accounting Units |
Total | |||
|
Amount (£) |
No |
Amount (£) |
No |
Amount (£) |
No | |
| Labour Party |
1,001,180 |
2 |
26,698 |
4 |
1,027,878 |
6 |
|
Conservative and Unionist Party |
129,121 |
7 |
136,424 |
19 |
265,545 |
26 |
| Trust |
140,000 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
140,000 |
4 |
| Liberal Democrats |
7,881 |
2 |
108,894 |
27 |
116,775 |
29 |
|
Co-operative Party [The] |
106,500 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
106,500 |
1 |
| Green Party |
36,270 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
36,270 |
6 |
| UK Independence Party (UK I P) |
0 |
0 |
4,000 |
3 |
4,000 |
3 |
| Total |
1,420,952 |
22 |
276,016 |
53 |
1,696,967 |
75 |
Chart 2: Trend: level of donations reported late since 2007
Amount of donations reported late by quarter, broken down by party.
Donations from impermissible donors
Three parties reported receiving donations from impermissible donors totalling £2,900. Parties are required to return these donations to the donor within 30 days.Table 3: Donations from impermissible donors received during Quarter 1 2011.
| Party |
Amount (£) |
No |
|
Conservative and Unionist Party |
700 |
1 |
| Labour Party |
1,200 |
1 |
| UK Independence Party (UK I P) |
1,000 |
1 |
| Total |
2,900 |
3 |
Donations accepted per accounting unit
Table 4: Accounting units that received most donations (amount) during Quarter 1 2011
Parties' headquarters are excluded. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
|
|
Accounting Unit name | Party |
Amount (£) |
| 1 | Finchley & Golders Green | Conservative and Unionist Party | 153,850 |
| 2 | Scottish Labour Party | Labour Party | 122,027 |
| 3 | Scottish State Party | Liberal Democrats | 78,531 |
| 4 | National Trade Union Liaison Organisation | Labour Party | 39,544 |
| 5 | Wales Trade Union Liaison | Labour Party | 35,000 |
| 6 | Suffolk West | Conservative and Unionist Party | 30,000 |
| 7 | Liverpool Wavertree | Conservative and Unionist Party | 20,000 |
| 7 | Surrey Heath | Conservative and Unionist Party | 20,000 |
| 9 | Islington Borough | Liberal Democrats | 19,840 |
| 10 | Liverpool Local Government Committee | Labour Party | 18,000 |
Donor type
Parties can only accept donations from permissible sources. These are set out in the legislation and parties have got 30 days to decide whether they can accept or should return money received from the donor.
Click here to know more about eligible donors and the legislation on political parties finance.
Table 5: Amount received by political parties in Quarter 1 2011 by type of donor
Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
| Party |
Company (£) |
Friendly or Registered Society (£) |
Individual (£) |
Trust (£) |
Trade Union (£) |
Unincorporated |
Other donors (£) |
|
Christian Peoples Alliance |
0 |
0 |
10,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Conservative and Unionist Party |
1,152,817 |
2,500 |
2,652,804 |
6,500 |
0 |
63,703 |
0 |
|
Co-operative Party [The] |
0 |
400,750 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Green Party |
0 |
0 |
101,830 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Labour Party |
92,928 |
15,329 |
59,503 |
2,250 |
2,507,372 |
144,924 |
60,460 |
|
Liberal Democrats |
207,361 |
0 |
265,166 |
280,044 |
0 |
57,459 |
0 |
|
Plaid Cymru - Party of Wales [The] |
0 |
0 |
27,067 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Scottish Green Party |
0 |
0 |
10,000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Scottish National Party (SNP) |
3,000 |
0 |
651,409 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
UK Independence Party (UK I P) |
5,250 |
0 |
50,710 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
1,461,355 |
418,579 |
3,828,490 |
288,794 |
2,507,372 |
266,086 |
60,460 |
Chart 3: Breakdown by donor type of all donations received by parties in Quarter 1 2011
Chart 4: Breakdown (in percentage) of donations made to parties by category of donor
This charts presents how each of the different donor types contributed in percentage to the parties' Quarter 1 2011 donation income.
Chart and figures may be subject to change if donations are reported late in future quarters.
Top donors
Table 6: List of Quarter 1 2011 top donors
This table lists the top ten donors for Quarter 1 2011. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
The table only includes donations received in January, February and March 2011 (Quarter 1 2011). Donations reported late are not included.
| Donor name |
Total Amount (£) |
Recipient | |
| 1 | Unite the Union | 1,068,075 | Labour Party |
| 2 | Mr Brian Souter | 500,000 | Scottish National Party (SNP) |
| 3 | GMB | 493,992 | Labour Party |
| 4 | UNISON | 404,140 | Labour Party |
| 5 | The Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd | 394,750 |
Co-operative Party [The] |
| 6 | Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers | 296,649 | Labour Party |
| 7 | Lib Dem HQ (1924) Pension Fund | 280,044 | Liberal Democrats |
| 8 | JCB Research | 215,000 | Conservative and Unionist Party |
| 9 | Mrs Jean I Parmer | 150,000 | Conservative and Unionist Party |
| 10 | Shore Capital Group Plc | 125,000 | Conservative and Unionist Party |
Public funds
Six political parties reported receiving public funds in Quarter 1 2011 totalling £2,148,173.
Following the 2010 UK general election, the distribution of public funds has changed. For more information, please visit Parliament website.
Click here to find out more about public funds.
Table 7: Public funds received by political parties broken down by type
In brackets is the entity responsible for paying the provision. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
For more information on public funds, please follow this link.
|
Party |
Short money |
Cranborne money |
Financial assistance |
Policy development grants |
Total |
|
Conservative and Unionist Party |
0 |
0 |
19,088 |
342,459 |
361,547 |
| Green Party |
13,602 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
13,602 |
|
Labour Party |
1,381,922 |
202,217 |
108,379 |
0 |
1,692,517 |
|
Liberal Democrats |
0 |
0 |
23,023 |
0 |
23,023 |
|
Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales |
16,453 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16,453 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) |
41,031 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
41,031 |
|
Total |
1,453,008 |
202,217 |
150,489 |
342,459 |
2,148,173 |
Chart 8: Public funds received by political parties in Quarter 1 2011 broken down by type
In brackets is the entity responsible for paying the provision.
Borrowing
During Quarter 1 2011, five parties entered into new loans totalling £204,020 and the total amount of loans repaid or converted into donations was £41,181.
One party reported entering a new credit facility of £120,00 and two parties reported reducing the money available through credit facilities by £166,000.
Late reported borrowing
The Liberal Democrats reported one new loan of £3,000, full repayment of 13 loans totalling £41,974, partial conversion of two loans totalling £1,500 which should have been reported in previous quarter.
The Conservative and Unionist Party reported one new credit facility of £200,000 which should have been reported in a previous quarter.
The Labour Party reported late the full repayment of one loan of £21,000.
Trust reported late three new credit facilities and and conversion to donations of four credit facilities totalling £140,000.
Table 8: Loans outstanding by parties as at 31 March 2011
A loan is an agreement where a person (or organisation) makes a loan of money to the party. The conditions of the loan are agreed by the party and the lender. Parties are required to report not only the loan but also changes to the agreed terms and conditions, including when a loan ends. The amount displayed is the total amount to be lent under the agreement (not including interest).
Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
| Party | New loans or increment to the existing ones (£) | Loans repaid or converted into donations (£) | New loans that should have been reported in previous quarters (£) | Loans repaid or converted into donations that should have been reported in previous quarters (£) | Total loans outstanding (£) |
| Christian Party “Proclaiming Christ’s Lordship” | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200,000 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 10,000 | 3,000 | 0 | 9,860 |
2,612,497 |
| English Democrats Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108,041 |
| Jury Team | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 519,056 |
| Labour Party |
3,000 |
0 | 0 | 21,000 | 9,836,512 |
| Liberal Democrats | 4,500 | 28,181 | 3,000 | 43,474 | 416,989 |
| Pensioners Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8,436 |
| People’s Party for Better Government | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7,800 |
| Plaid Cymru – Party of Wales [The] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9,413 |
| Progressive Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100,000 |
| Respect | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18,417 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | 125,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 0 | 609,503 |
| Scottish Socialist Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 63,000 |
| Scottish Voice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 200,000 |
| Solidarity Scotland’s Socialist Movement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13,500 |
|
UK Independence Party (UK I P) |
61,520 | 0 | 0 | 61,520 | |
| Total | 204,020 | 41,181 | 3,000 | 74,334 | 14,784,684 |
Table 9: Credit facilities outstanding by parties as at 31 March 2011
A credit facility is an agreement where a registered party is entitled to receive a loan of money from time to time from another person (or organisation). The credit facility will generally have an upper limit specified in the credit facility agreement. Examples of common credit facilities include overdrafts and credit cards. The amount displayed is the maximum that can be borrowed and not the amount that is drawn upon at any one time.
Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
| Party | New credit facilities or increment to the existing ones (£) | Reduction of credit facilities (£) | New credit facilities which should have been reported in previous quarters (£) | Reduction of credit facilitieswhich should have been reported in previous quarters (£) | Total credit facilities outstanding (£) |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 0 | 150,000 | 200,000 | 0 | 10,349,000 |
| Jury Team | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Labour Party [The] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6,209,000 |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 16,000 | 0 | 0 | 1,042,000 |
| Plaid Cymru – Party of Wales [The] | 120,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 420,000 |
| Progressive Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5,000 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 307,000 |
| Scottish Socialist Party | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10,000 |
| Trust | 0 | 0 | 120,000 | 140,000 | 0 |
| Total | 120,000 | 166,000 | 320,000 | 140,000 | 18,362,000 |
Table 10: Connected transactions outstanding by parties as at 31 March 2011
A connected transaction is an arrangement where a person (or organisation) gives any form of security on behalf of a political party in respect of a loan or a credit facility arranged with someone other than the party or the person giving security. Where a person (or organisation) has provided security or a guarantee, it is the maximum that they could be liable to pay.
No party reported new connected transaction or changes to the ones previously reported.
| Party | Total outstanding connected transactions (£) |
| Conservative Party | 10,000 |
| Labour Party [The] | 600,000 |
| Liberal Democrats | 40,000 |
| Progressive Party | 105,000 |
| Scottish National Party | 190,000 |
| Total | 945,000 |
All figures are rounded to the nearest pound and are subject to change if borrowing are reported late in future quarters.
Details of all borrowings
All borrowing by political parties with full details and totals can be viewed on our PEF Online Transactions search.
All borrowing reported late from 2008 can be viewed by downloading this file (XLS).
Contact us
For any question or request, please contact the Party and Elections Finance Directorate by email (pef@electoralcommission.org.uk) or telephone (020 72710616).
