Electoral Commission
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NI political parties accept £723,576 in donations in second quarter of 2025
Political parties registered in Northern Ireland reported accepting £723,576 in donations and public funds during the second quarter of 2025 (April to June), according to figures published by the Electoral Commission (Opens in new window).
This compares to £477,461 in the same period in 2024, and £437,613 in the previous quarter (Q1 2025).
Cahir Hughes, Head of the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland, said:
“Over £700,000 in donations was accepted by political parties in the second quarter of 2025. We know that voters are interested in where parties get their money from, and this publication is an important part of delivering this information for voters.
“However, 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 system have the potential to improve the strength of donation controls and ensure voters can have confidence in the political finance system. We will continue to work with the government to ensure any changes are evidence based and workable in practice.”
The political parties to report donations in Q2 2025 were:
| Party | Total reported | Donations accepted (excl. public funds) | Public funds accepted | Total accepted in this quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance Party of Northern Ireland - Alliance | £57,216 | £16,863 | £40,353 | £57,216 |
| Democratic Unionist Party - DUP | £208,814 | £0 | £104,325 | £104,325 |
| People Before Profit | £12,713 | £0 | £6,453 | £6,453 |
| SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) | £90,037 | £7,500 | £75,037 | £82,537 |
| Sinn Féin | £457,642 | £338,550 | £119,092 | £457,642 |
| Traditional Unionist Voice - TUV | £13,521 | £0 | £6,859 | £6,859 |
| Ulster Unionist Party | £8,544 | £0 | £8,544 | £8,544 |
| Total | £848,487 | £362,913 | £360,663 | £723,576 |
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.
Further information
The Commission has also published the donations and loans for parties across the United Kingdom.
Full details of donations and public funds for political parties in Northern Ireland are available on our political finance register (Opens in new window), as are details for political parties in Great Britain (Opens in new window).
For more information contact the Electoral Commission press office on 028 90 894 032, out of office hours 07789 920 414 or press@electoralcommission.org.uk
- 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 (£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 action taken by the party 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 statements of accounts (Opens in new window).
- Public funds are donations from the House of Commons, the House of Lords, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Electoral Commission. ‘Short’ and ‘Cranborne’ grants are available to parties in opposition in the House of Commons or House of Lords respectively.
- 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 30 registered political parties in Northern Ireland during quarter 2 2025. Ten were required to submit a quarterly donation report and five 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.
Original article link: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/media-centre/ni-political-parties-accept-ps723576-donations-second-quarter-2025
