Parties have to record the donations and loans they receive, check they are from a permissible source, and report larger donations and loans to us. For parties on the Great Britain register, we publish these donation and loan reports every quarter on our online database to ensure transparency in the funding of parties. This page provides an analysis of the data, including:

• donations accepted by political parties
• top donors
• donor type
• public funds
• donations reported late
• borrowing reported in the most recent quarter and total outstanding

Donations accepted

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)

Find out more about the rules on donations to political parties

Chart 1: Donations accepted by political parties

Figures are rounded to the nearest pound and may be subject to change if donations accepted in previous quarters are reported late in future.

Table 1: Donations accepted by political parties

View donations accepted by political parties >

Top donors

Table 2: List of quarterly top donors

This table lists the top ten donors in the quarter selected. Figures have been rounded to the nearest pound.

Donations reported late are not included.

Donor type

Parties can only accept donations from permissible sources. These are set out in the legislation and parties have 30 days to decide whether they can accept or should return the donation received to the donor.

Table 3: Donations accepted by political parties broken down by type of donor

View donations accepted by political parties broken down by type of donor >

Chart 2: Donations accepted by political parties by type of donor

Public funds

Table 4: Public funds received by political parties broken down by type

View public funds received by political parties broken down by type

Chart 3: Public funds received by political parties broken down by type

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.

Chart 4: Donations reported late by party

Borrowing

During Quarter 3 2018, five parties entered into new loans totalling £91,994.

Table 5: Loans outstanding by parties as at 30 September 2018

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 below is the total outstanding by party as at the end of the last calendar quarter (not including interest).

Loans: This is the maximum value of loans entered into by a party. In some instances, amounts may have been repaid and converted to donations. Further detail is available on PEF Online

Credit facilities: Credit facilities are 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

Connected transactions: Connected transactions are 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.