Political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland have reported accepting a total of £12,544,172 in donations and public funds in the second quarter of 2022 (April to June), according to figures published today by the Electoral Commission. The total is made up of donations to 21 parties, and compares to £12,046,046 reported in the same period in 2021.
Commenting on the information published today, Louise Edwards, the Electoral Commission’s Director of Regulation, said:
“We are committed to protecting and promoting a transparent political finance system for voters. Parties are legally required to check that donations they accept are from permissible sources and to report these to the Commission. We publish the details of these donations so that everyone can see how parties are funded.
“While these laws help voters to understand where political donations come from, reforms are needed to modernise and further safeguard the system. We have recommended for some time that the UK Government and Parliament work with us to improve controls that prevent foreign money being used in UK politics.”
Political parties are required to submit quarterly donation and loan returns to the Electoral Commission. Within these returns, parties report:
- donations accepted above the £7,500 threshold (over £1,500 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.
Parties can also report donations which should have been reported in previous quarters.
The political parties to report donations in quarter two of 2022, including public funds, were:
Party
|
Total reported
|
Donations accepted (excl. public funds)
|
Public funds accepted
|
Total accepted in this quarter
|
Alba Party
|
£158,961
|
£50,000
|
£108,961
|
£158,961
|
Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
|
£43,676
|
£25,000
|
£17,189
|
£42,189
|
Conservative and Unionist Party (GB)
|
£5,346,795
|
£4,760,071
|
£559,270
|
£5,319,341
|
Conservative and Unionist Party (NI)
|
£7,297
|
£7,297
|
£0
|
£7,297
|
Co-operative Party
|
£477,382
|
£469,882
|
£0
|
£469,882
|
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P.
|
£266,191
|
£33,250
|
£232,941
|
£266,191
|
Green Party (GB)
|
£214,678
|
£166,400
|
£46,778
|
£213,178
|
Labour Party
|
£3,847,555
|
£1,469,254
|
£2,336,119
|
£3,805,373
|
Liberal Democrats
|
£1,175,780
|
£774,696
|
£350,440
|
£1,125,136
|
People Before Profit Alliance
|
£10,800
|
£0
|
£5,554
|
£5,554
|
Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales
|
£168,887
|
£3,896
|
£164,991
|
£168,887
|
Reform UK
|
£20,000
|
£20,000
|
£0
|
£20,000
|
Scottish Green Party
|
£15,452
|
£9,786
|
£5,666
|
£15,452
|
Scottish National Party (SNP)
|
£383,589
|
£47,634
|
£332,955
|
£380,589
|
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party)
|
£58,817
|
£7,260
|
£51,557
|
£58,817
|
Sinn Féin
|
£183,049
|
£100,000
|
£83,049
|
£183,049
|
The Reclaim Party
|
£250,000
|
£250,000
|
£0
|
£250,000
|
Traditional Unionist Voice - TUV
|
£13,708
|
£0
|
£6,869
|
£6,869
|
True & Fair Party
|
£16,000
|
£16,000
|
£0
|
£16,000
|
Ulster Unionist Party
|
£23,409
|
£0
|
£23,409
|
£23,409
|
Yorkshire Party
|
£7,998
|
£7,998
|
£0
|
£7,998
|
Total
|
£12,690,024
|
£8,218,424
|
£4,325,748
|
£12,544,172
|
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.
Eight 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 £259,415 of new loans reported in the second quarter of 2022. Loans with a value of £163,000 were fully paid off.
Donations accepted by regulated donees in Q2 2022
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 2022, £546,816 in donations were accepted by 61 donees. The total includes cash and non-cash donations, as well as donations towards overseas visits. Full details of cash and non-cash donations (Opens in new window) are available on our website.
Type of regulated donnee |
Value of cash and non-cash donations accepted |
Value of donations accepted towards overseas visits |
Total value of donations accepted |
Mayor |
£84,716 |
£0 |
£84,716 |
Members Association |
£69,866 |
£0 |
£69,866 |
MP – Member of Parliament |
£273,068 |
£117,130 |
£390,198 |
Senedd Member |
£0 |
£2,037 |
£2,037 |
Total |
£427,650 |
£119,166 |
£546,816 |
A summary of donations reported by parties, including the highest donors and details of late reports, is available on the Commission’s website.
Full details of donations and loans reported in Q2 2022 are available on our political finance register (Opens in new window).
For more information contact the Electoral Commission press office on 020 7271 0704, out of office hours 07789 920 414 or press@electoralcommission.org.uk (Opens in new window)