On 22 May 2012, we published the donations accepted and borrowing by all political parties during Quarter 1 2012 (January, February and March).
This page provides data and charts on:
- donations accepted by political parties in Quarter 1 2012
- donations reported late in Quarter 1 2012
- donations accepted per accounting unit
- donor type
- top donors
- public funds
- borrowing reported in Quarter 1 2012 and total outstanding
The analysis on this page is based on data from our 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 £8,858,790 between 1 January and 31 March 2012 (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 2012 (January, February and March)
Figures are rounded to the nearest pound and may be subject to change if donations accepted in Quarter 1 2012 are reported late in future.
| Party | Cash | Non-cash | Other | Total | ||||
| Amount (£) | No. | Amount (£) | No. | Amount (£) | No. | Amount (£) | No. | |
| British National Party | 28,737 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28,737 | 1 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 3,637,057 | 154 | 442,290 | 36 | 6,750 | 2 | 4,086,097 | 192 |
| Co-operative Party | 402,497 | 2 | 1,250 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 403,747 | 3 |
| Green Party | 12,500 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12,500 | 3 |
| Labour Party | 3,180,905 | 101 | 271,536 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 3,452,441 | 125 |
| Liberal Democrats | 462,272 | 52 | 122,452 | 20 | 22,000 | 3 | 606,724 | 75 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | 58,456 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58,456 | 2 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | 145,845 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 145,845 | 5 |
| The Socialist Party of Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,758 | 1 | 26,758 | 1 |
| UK Independence Party (UK I P) | 35,985 | 10 | 1,500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37,485 | 11 |
| Total | 7,964,255 | 330 | 839,028 | 82 | 55,508 | 6 | 8,858,790 | 418 |
Other donation types include visits and donations from Trusts.
Chart 1: Donations accepted by party in Quarter 1 2012
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.
Five parties reported 19 donations in the Quarter 1 2012 return that should have been reported in previous quarters totalling £107,323.
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 central 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 | Central party/HQ | Accounting units | Total | |||
| Amount (£) | No. | Amount (£) | No. | Amount (£) | No. | |
| British National Party | 31,119 | 3 | 2,000 | 1 | 33,119 | 4 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 19,200 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19,200 | 1 |
| Co-operative Party | 0 | 0 | 7,138 | 1 | 7,138 | 1 |
| Labour Party | 23,390 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23,390 | 1 |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 24,476 | 12 | 24,476 | 12 |
| Total | 73,709 | 5 | 33,614 | 14 | 107,323 | 19 |
Chart 2: Trend: level of donations reported late since 2007
Amount of donations reported late by quarter, broken down by party.
Donations accepted per accounting unit
Table 3: Accounting units that received most donations (amount) during Quarter 1 2012
Parties' headquarters are excluded. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
| Accounting unit name | Party | Amount (£) | |
| 1 | London Region | Liberal Democrats | 144,980 |
| 2 | Scottish Labour Party | Labour Party | 103,556 |
| 3 | National Trade Union Liaison | Labour Party | 89,871 |
| 4 | Liverpool Local Government Committee | Labour Party | 28,000 |
| 5 | Ashfield & Mansfield | Liberal Democrats | 25,000 |
| 6 | Richmond Park | Conservative and Unionist Party | 23,400 |
| 7 | Stockport | Liberal Democrats | 20,000 |
| 8 | Nottingham South | Conservative and Unionist Party | 18,250 |
| 9 | Hazel Grove | Conservative and Unionist Party | 18,000 |
| 10 | Grwp San Steffan/Westminster Group | Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | 17,483 |
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 4: Amount accepted by political parties in Quarter 1 2012 by type of donor
Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
| Party | Company (£) | Friendly or Registered Society (£) | Individual (£) | Trade Union (£) | Unincorporated Association (£) | Trusts (£) | Other donor types (£) |
| British National Party | 0 | 0 | 28,736 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 1,389,768 | 0 | 2,458,962 | 0 | 208,617 | 6,750 | 22,000 |
| Co-operative Party | 0 | 403,747 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Green Party | 0 | 0 | 12,500 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Labour Party | 179,088 | 50,000 | 418,223 | 2,560,274 | 160,208 | 0 | 84,646 |
| Liberal Democrats | 170,306 | 0 | 351,099 | 0 | 63,319 | 22,000 | 0 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | 0 | 0 | 58,456 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | 0 | 0 | 145,845 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| The Socialist Party of Great Britain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26,758 | 0 |
| UK Independence Party (UK I P) | 0 | 0 | 37,485 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,739,162 | 453,747 | 3,511,308 | 2,560,275 | 432,145 | 55,508 | 106,646 |
Chart 3: Breakdown by donor type of all donations received by parties in Quarter 1 2012
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 2012 donation income.
Chart and figures may be subject to change if donations are reported late in future quarters.
Top donors
Table 5: List of Quarter 1 2012 top donors
This table lists the top ten donors for Quarter 1 2012. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.
The table only includes donations accepted in January, February and March 2012 (Quarter 1 2012). Donations reported late are not included.
| Donor name | Total amount (£) | Recipient | |
| 1 | Unite the Union | 918,568 | Labour Party |
| 2 | UNISON | 547,901 | Labour Party |
| 3 | GMB | 407,738 | Labour Party |
| 4 | The Co-operative Group (CWS) Ltd | 403,747 | Co-operative Party |
| 5 | Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers | 351,683 | Labour Party |
| 6 | Mr Peter A Cruddas | 215,244 | Conservative and Unionist Party |
| 7 | Mr Andrew Rosenfeld | 200,000 | Labour Party |
| 8 | Mr Michael S Farmer | 183,950 | Conservative and Unionist Party |
| 9 | Communication Workers Union CWU | 162,957 | Labour Party |
| 10= | Lord Loomba | 150,000 | Liberal Democrats |
| 10= | National Conservative Draws Society | 150,000 | Conservative and Unionist Party |
Public funds
Six political parties reported receiving public funds in Quarter 1 2012 totalling £852,461
Following the 2010 UK general election, the distribution of public funds has changed. For more information, please visit Parliament's website.
Click here to find out more about public funds.
Table 6: 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.
| Party | Short money (House of Commons) | Cranborne money (House of Lords) | Financial assistance to parties (Scottish Parliament) | Policy Development Grants (Electoral Commission) | Total |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 0 | 0 | 27,012 | 0 |
27,012
|
| Green Party | 14,454 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
14,454
|
| Labour Party | 489,472 | 45,821 | 104,445 | 0 |
639,738 |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 11,669 | 114,153 |
125,822 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | 17,483 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
17,483 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | 27,952 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
27,952 |
| Total | 549,361 | 45,821 | 143,126 | 114,153 |
852,461 |
Chart 5: Public funds received by political parties in Quarter 1 2012 broken down by type
In brackets is the entity responsible for paying the provision.
Borrowing
During Quarter 1 2012, three parties entered into new loans totalling £29,247.
The total amount of loans repaid or converted into donations this quarter was £74,907. Two late loan repayments totalling £13,000 were reported this quarter.
The Labour Party reduced the amount available through credit facilities by £1,139,000.
Table 7: Loans outstanding by parties as at 31 March 2012
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).
| Party | New loans (£) | Loans repaid or converted into donations (£) | Total loans outstanding (£) |
| Christian Party “Proclaiming Christ’s Lordship” | 0 | 0 | 200,000 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 6,947 | 30,387 |
2,660,913 |
| English Democrats Party | 0 | 0 | 108,041 |
| Jury Team | 0 | 0 | 519,056 |
| Labour Party | 11,900 | 0 | 9,867,923 |
| Liberal Democrats | 10,400 | 3,000 | 397,270 |
| Pensioners Party | 0 | 0 | 8,436 |
| People’s Party for Better Government | 0 | 0 | 7,800 |
| Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales | 0 | 0 | 59,413 |
| Progressive Party | 0 | 0 | 100,000 |
| Respect | 0 | 0 | 18,417 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | 0 | 30,000 | 424,503 |
| Scottish Socialist Party | 0 | 0 | 63,000 |
| Scottish Voice | 0 | 0 | 200,000 |
| Solidarity Scotland’s Socialist Movement | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UK Independence Party (UK I P) | 0 | 11520 | 0 |
| Total | 29,247 | 74,907 | 14,634,772 |
Table 8: Credit facilities outstanding by parties as at 31 March 2012
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.
| Party | New credit facilities (£) | Reduction of credit facilities (£) | Total credit facilities outstanding (£) |
| Conservative and Unionist Party | 0 | 0 | 10,161,000 |
| Jury Team | 0 | 0 | 20,000 |
| Labour Party | 0 | 1,139,000 | 1,793,000 |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 1,042,000 |
| Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales | 0 | 0 | 350,000 |
| Progressive Party | 0 | 0 | 5,000 |
| Scottish National Party | 0 | 0 | 7,500 |
| Scottish Socialist Party | 0 | 0 | 10,000 |
| Total | 0 | 1,139,000 | 13,388,500 |
Table 9: Connected transactions outstanding by parties as at 31 March 2012
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.
| Party |
Connected transactions extinguished (£) |
Total outstanding connected transactions (£) |
| Labour Party | 0 |
600,000
|
| Liberal Democrats | 0 |
40,000
|
| Progressive Party | 0 |
105,000
|
| Total | 0 |
745,000 |
All figures are rounded to the nearest pound and are subject to change if borrowing is 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).
