Political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland have reported accepting a total of £12,608,764 in donations and public funds in the second quarter of 2021 (April to June), according to figures published today by the Electoral Commission. The total is made up of donations and loans from 24 parties and compares to £9,867,578 reported in the same period in 2020.

Commenting on the information published today, Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation, said: 

“Publishing this data gives voters important information on how parties in the United Kingdom are being funded, in order to enhance public confidence and trust in our democratic processes.”

Political parties are required to submit quarterly donation and loan returns to the Electoral Commission, and include:

  • donations accepted above the £7,500 threshold (£1,500 to accounting units)
  • smaller donations which add together to exceed the reporting threshold
  • donations which ought to have been reported in previous quarters; and
  • impermissible donations they have received and action taken in relation to these.

Donation and loan reports from this quarter also include furlough payments which are included in the public funds category. 


The 24 political parties that reported donations in quarter two of 2021, including public funds, were: 

Party

Total reported 

Donations accepted  (excluding public funds)

Public funds accepted 

Total accepted 
Alba Party £33,169 £28,169 £0 £28,169
Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland £32,636 £12,500 £18,649 £31,149

Communist Party of Great Britain

£10,000

£10,000

£0

£10,000

Conservative and Unionist Party

£4,446,613

£4,249,253

£181,215

£4,430,468

Co-operative Party

£435,635

£435,635

£0

£435,635
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P £242,302 £9,041 £233,261 £242,302

Green Party (Great Britain)

£118,022

£73,646

£44,376

£118,022
Green Party (Northern Ireland) £11,525 £0 £11,525 £11,525

Labour Party

£5,095,311

£3,068,042

£1,968,547

£5,036,589

Liberal Democrats

£898,601

£377,681

£456,018

£833,699

London Real Party

 £11,155 £11,155 £0 £11,155
People Before Profit £9,036 £0 £4,518 £4,518

Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales

£214,887

£37,500

£177,387

£214,887
Reform UK £25,000 £25,000 £0 £25,000

Renew

£28,600

£28,600

£0

£28,600

Scottish National Party (SNP)

£682,845

£282,981

£398,864

£681,845
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) £44,869 £0 £44,869 £44,869
Sinn Fein £96,858 £5,736 £85,122 £90,858

The Reclaim Party

£250,000

£250,000

£0

£250,000
Traditional Unionist Voice - TUV £13,726 £0 £6,840 £6,840

UK Independence Party (UKIP)

£9,032

£9,032

£0

£9,032
Ulster Unionist Party £23,603 £0 £23,603 £23,603

Women’s Equality Party

£30,000

£30,000

£0

£30,000
Yorkshire Party £10,000 £10,000 £0 £10,000

Total

£12,773,425

£8,953,971

£3,654,793

£12,608,764

The amount that a political party reports to the Commission may be different to the amount it accepts in a quarter. This is because the amount that a party reports can include donations that were returned because they were impermissible and / or donations reported as part of the wrong quarter. 

Parties will likely have received other donations, from different individuals or bodies, that are below the thresholds for reporting to the Commission. Taken as a total sum these can amount to substantial sources of income for parties.


12 parties failed to meet the reporting deadline for this quarter. The Commission will consider each of these matters, as well as donations reported late, in line with its Enforcement Policy, if appropriate. Any sanctions applied will be published at a later date.

Borrowing

There were £495,240 of new loans reported in the second quarter of 2021. Loans with a value of £22,500 were fully paid off and £0 in loans have been fully converted to donations in this quarter. 

Donations accepted by regulated donees in Q2 2021 

The Commission also publishes details of donations accepted by regulated donees. Regulated donees are members of registered political parties, holders of relevant elective office and members associations.

In the second quarter of 2021, £745,572 in donations were accepted by 24 donees. The total includes cash and non-cash donations, as well as donations towards overseas visits. Full details are available on our website . 

Type of regulated donee Value of cash and non-cash donations accepted Value of donations accepted towards overseas visits Total value of donations accepted
Mayor £354,259 £0 £354,259
Members Association £105,000 £0 £105,000
MP- Member of Parliament £286,313 £0 £286,313
Totals  £745,572 £0 £745,572

Further information

A summary of donations reported by parties in the second quarter of 2021, including the highest donors and details of late reports, is available on the Commission’s website. 

Full details of donations and loans are available on our registers.

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

  1. 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, focussing 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, Scottish and Welsh parliaments.

  1. The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA) requires registered parties to report cash and non-cash donations and borrowing to the Electoral Commission on a quarterly basis. Political parties must report all donations and borrowing over £7,500 relating to the central party, or over £1,500 relating to an accounting unit. This includes aggregates of donations and loans from the same source during the calendar year.

  2. As the 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Some donations appear on the register as being from the Electoral Commission. These are Policy Development Grants, which were established by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 for parties represented in the Commons by two or more sitting members. The grants are intended to assist parties in developing the policies that they will present in an election manifesto. The legislation provides the total sum of £2 million annually for this purpose. Policy Development Grants became reportable as donations for the first time in quarter three of 2006 as a result of the Electoral Administration Act 2006.

  5. There were 356 registered political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland during quarter two 2021. 63 were required to submit a quarterly donation report and 50 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.

  6. More information on what constitutes a regulated donee and their legal reporting requirements is available on our website.

  7. Members of Parliament report their accepted donations to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

  8. Members of Scottish Parliament report their accepted donations to the Register of Interests for the Scottish Parliament.

  9. All other regulated donees report their donations directly to us. We then publish this information monthly as part of our role in providing greater transparency in political finance in the UK.