The UK’s political parties received more than £24m in donations over the past three months, as campaigners look towards the general election which is expected in 2024.
The Conservatives showed some recovery in their funds after a tumultuous 2022, securing just shy of £10m from donors.
But the Labour Party received a record level of funding between April and June this year, totalling almost £7.5m.
While the Liberal Democrats’ numbers were much smaller at £1.5m, a familiar name was among their backers – former party leader and ex-deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, who put £25,000 into the coffers.
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Political parties in the UK are required to submit their quarterly donation and loan numbers to the Electoral Commission in what it says is an “important part of delivering this transparency for voters”.
But on releasing the figures on Thursday, the commission’s director of regulation and digital transformation, Louise Edwards, called for stronger rules, saying: “We’ve seen for some time that public confidence in the transparency of party and campaigner finance is declining.
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“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.”
The Conservatives will be pleased with their donations for the three-month period as it shows the party recovering from the turmoil of last year, that saw the exit of Boris Johnson, the short-lived tenure of Liz Truss and, in turn, donations falling to £7.5m for the last six months of 2022 – contributing to an overall financial loss.
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There has been a bit of a bounce back in 2023 with Rishi Sunak at the helm, with £22m already raised for the party this year.
More than half of this quarter’s cash came from healthcare tycoon Frank Hester, who Sky News revealed earlier this week had donated £5m to the Tories.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard also gave the party £1m, making it his largest donation yet.
Labour continued to secure strong donations from trade unions – a combined £739,000 from the GMB, Unison and Usdaw – but the majority of its record funding came from two individuals.
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Lord Sainsbury, who had ceased his financial support for the party during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, gave £3m in the period, while the former chief at Autoglass, Gary Lubner, donated £2.3m.
Mr Lubner has also promised to bring his total to £5m by the time the general election arrives – which has to be called before January 2025.
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Welcoming the £11.9m in donations the party has received so far this year, a Labour spokesperson said: “Thanks to [Sir] Keir Starmer’s leadership, the Labour Party saw significant financial growth throughout 2022, and our finances have gone from strength to strength this year as we set out our five missions to transform Britain.
“The Labour Party is a changed party that is serious about getting into government and building a better Britain.”
