Political parties accept over £9m in donations in third quarter of 2024
Political parties accept over £9m in donations in third quarter of 2024
Political parties registered in the UK have reported accepting £9,681,128 in donations and public funds during the third quarter of 2024 (July to September), according to figures published today by the Electoral Commission.
This compares to £25,662,843 in the same period in 2023, and £56,101,699 in the previous quarter.
Jackie Killeen, Director of Electoral Administration and Regulation, said:
“Over £9.6 million in donations were accepted by political parties in three months. This is considerably less compared to the previous quarter, but it is not unusual to see a decline in donations immediately after a general election.
“We know that voters are interested in where parties get their money from, and this publication is an important part of delivering transparency for voters. However, we’ve seen for some time that public confidence in the transparency of party and campaigner finance is declining. We continue to recommend to the UK Government that it introduces laws to help protect parties from those who seek to evade the law, and give voters more confidence in the process by requiring more checks on the identity of donors.”
The political parties that reported donations in Q3 2024, including public funds, were:
| Party | Total reported | Donations accepted (excl. public funds) | Public funds accepted | Total accepted in this quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alba Party | £108,825 | £0 | £108,825 | £108,825 |
| Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland | £58,659 | £16,500 | £42,159 | £58,659 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party (GB) | £3,162,665 | £1,547,014 | £1,424,872 | £2,971,886 |
| Conservative and Unionist Party (NI) | £10,387 | £10,387 | £0 | £10,387 |
| Co-operative Party | £299,300 | £299,300 | £0 | £299,300 |
| Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. | £92,317 | £0 | £92,317 | £92,317 |
| Green Party (GB) | £219,659 | £118,426 | £94,733 | £213,159 |
| Labour Party | £2,616,816 | £2,162,721 | £97,120 | £2,259,841 |
| Liberal Democrats | £1,941,891 | £842,799 | £934,691 | £1,777,490 |
| One Leicester | £4,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales | £153,322 | £15,000 | £133,322 | £148,322 |
| Reform UK | £136,500 | £70,000 | £0 | £70,000 |
| Scottish Green Party | £5,745 | £0 | £4,494 | £4,494 |
| Scottish National Party (SNP) | £879,958 | £682,220 | £197,738 | £879,958 |
| SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) | £79,869 | £17,500 | £62,369 | £79,869 |
| Sinn Féin | £144,888 | £52,398 | £92,490 | £144,888 |
| The Reclaim Party | £75,000 | £75,000 | £0 | £75,000 |
| The Socialist Party of Great Britain | £460,000 | £460,000 | £0 | £460,000 |
| Traditional Unionist Voice TUV | £4,513 | £0 | £4,513 | £4,513 |
| Ulster Unionist Party | £22,221 | £0 | £22,221 | £22,221 |
| Women's Equality Party | £14,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Workers Party of Britain | £2,000 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Total | £10,492,534 | £6,369,264 | £3,311,864 | £9,681,128 |
From 1 January 2024, the threshold for reporting donations to the Commission increased. Following a change in law by the UK Government, parties are now required to report donations over £11,180 (and over £2,230 for accounting units).
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. 5 parties included donations in their quarterly report that should have been reported in previous quarters. The Commission will consider these matters in line with its Enforcement Policy, if appropriate. Any sanctions applied will be published at a later date.
Borrowing
Three parties reported entering into £53,452 of new loans in the third quarter of 2024. Loans with a value of £38,935 were fully paid off.
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
- Pre-poll donations published before the general election covered donations received by parties from 30 May to 4 July.
• Political parties are required to submit quarterly donation and loan returns to the Electoral Commission. Within these returns, parties report:
o donations accepted above the £11,180 threshold (over £2,230 for accounting units)
o smaller donations from a single donor which exceed the reporting threshold when taken together
o impermissible donations they have received and the action taken in relation to these
o 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 392 registered political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland during quarter three of 2024. 67 were required to submit a quarterly donation report and 49 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 therefore exempt from submitting a report.
- 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:
o 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
o regulating political finance – taking proactive steps to increase transparency, ensure compliance and pursue breaches
o 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.