Political parties accept over £24m in donations in third quarter of 2025
Political parties accept over £24m in donations in third quarter of 2025
Political parties registered in the UK have reported accepting £24,159,261 donations and public funds during the third quarter of 2025 (July to September), according to figures published today by the Electoral Commission.
This compares to £10,046,532 in the same period in 2024, and £11,191,843 in the previous quarter (Q2 2025).
Jackie Killeen, Director of Electoral Administration and Regulation, said:
“The UK political finance system has high levels of transparency, and we know that voters are interested in where parties get their money from. This quarterly publication is an important part of delivering this information for voters.
“However, we know there are parts of the system that need strengthening, and we have been calling for changes to the law for some time. The UK government’s proposed reforms to the political finance regime have the potential to improve the strength of donation controls and help ensure voters can have confidence in the political finance system. We will continue to work with the government so that any changes are evidence based and workable in practice.”
The political parties that reported donations in Q3 2025, including public funds, were:
| Party | Total reported | Donations accepted (excl. public funds) | Public funds accepted | Total accepted in this quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | £56,454 | £16,863 | £39,591 | £56,454 |
| Conservative and Unionist | £7,038,861 | £4,662,110 | £2,319,506 | £6,981,616 |
| Co-operative Party | £425,250 | £425,250 | £0 | £425,250 |
| Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. | £233,169 | £0 | £233,169 | £233,169 |
| Green Party | £371,753 | £30,439 | £313,860 | £344,300 |
| Labour Party | £2,564,786 | £2,190,340 | £374,446 | £2,564,786 |
| Liberal Democrats | £2,174,712 | £1,046,412 | £1,023,462 | £2,069,874 |
| People Before Profit | £4,302 | £0 | £4,302 | £4,302 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | £168.912 | £12,301 | £156,611 | £168,912 |
| Reform UK | £10,526,846 | £10,293,511 | £227,835 | £10,521,346 |
| Scottish Green Party | £5,874 | £0 | £5,874 | £5,874 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | £225,104 | £0 | £225,104 | £225,104 |
| SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) | £202,712 | £7,500 | £195,212 | £202,712 |
| Sinn Féin | £118,488 | £0 | £118,488 | £118,488 |
| Social Democratic Party | £24,000 | £12,000 | £0 | £12,000 |
| The Reclaim Party | £20,000 | £20,000 | £0 | £20,000 |
| The Socialist Party of Great Britain | £180,000 | £180,000 | £0 | £180,000 |
| Traditional Unionist Voice - TUV | £6,859 | £0 | £6,859 | £6,859 |
| Ulster Unionist Party | £18,214 | £0 | £18,214 | £18,214 |
| Total | £24,366,296 | £18,896,728 | £5,262,533 | £24,159,261 |
The value of donations reported by a political party to the Commission may be different to the value of donations it actually accepted in that quarter. This can be due to aggregated donations, impermissible donations, and/or late reported donations.
Borrowing
Three parties reported entering into a total of £1,008,000 of new loans in the third quarter of 2025.
Ends
For more information contact the Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0704, out of office hours 07789 920 414 or [email protected]
Notes to editors
- Political parties are required to submit quarterly donation and loan returns to the Electoral Commission. Within these returns, parties report:
- donations accepted above the £11,180 threshold (over £2,230 for accounting units)
- smaller donations from a single donor which exceed the reporting threshold when taken together
- impermissible donations they have received and the action taken in relation to these
- donations which ought to have been reported in previous quarters
- As parties only report donations and loans over these thresholds, the figures do not include all donations and loans to political parties. Donations and loans under these thresholds are recorded in political parties’ annual accounts. Information on the political parties’ most recent statements of accounts is available on the Commission’s database.
- Public funds are donations from the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament and the Electoral Commission. ‘Short’ and ‘Cranborne’ grants are available to parties in opposition in the House of Commons or House of Lords respectively.
- There were 395 registered political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland during quarter two of 2025. 60 were required to submit a quarterly donation report and 42 to submit borrowing information within the deadline. The remaining political parties have previously submitted four consecutive nil returns. Providing they have not received donations in the last quarter, they are exempt from submitting a report.
- An unincorporated association is defined by law as any association of two or more persons which carries on business or other activities wholly or mainly in the United Kingdom and whose main office is there. Unincorporated associations only become regulated if they make political contributions, and must register with us if they make political contributions over £37,420 in a calendar year.
- As parties only report donations and loans over these thresholds, the figures do not include all donations and loans to political parties. Donations and loans under these thresholds are recorded in political parties’ annual statements of accounts.
- The Electoral Commission is the independent body which oversees elections and regulates political finance in the UK. We work to promote public confidence in the democratic process and ensure its integrity by:
- Enabling the delivery of free and fair elections and referendums, focusing on the needs of electors and addressing the changing environment to ensure every vote remains secure and accessible
- regulating political finance – taking proactive steps to increase transparency, ensure compliance and pursue breaches
- using our expertise to make and advocate for changes to our democracy, aiming to improve fairness, transparency and efficiency
The Commission was set up in 2000 and reports to the UK, Welsh and Scottish parliaments.