Political parties in Great Britain and Northern Ireland have reported accepting a total of £12,522,311 in donations and public funds in the first quarter of 2022 (January to March), according to figures published today by the Electoral Commission. The total is made up of donations and loans from eighteen parties, and compares to £15,298,219 reported in the same period in 2021.
Commenting on the information published today, Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation, said:
“Political parties received over £12m in the first three months of this year. Parties are legally required to check that donations they accept are from permissible sources, and report these to the Commission. We publish donation details online to provide voters with transparency over the political finance process, and so that everyone can see how parties are funded.”
Political parties are required to submit quarterly donations and loans returns to the Electoral Commission, and include:
- donations accepted above the £7,500 threshold (£1,500 for accounting units)
- smaller donations from a single donor which exceed the reporting threshold when taken together
- donations which should have been reported in previous quarters
- impermissible donations they received and the action taken in relation to these.
The eighteen political parties that reported donations in quarter one of 2022, including public funds, were:
Party |
Total reported |
Donations accepted (excl. public funds) |
Public funds accepted |
Total accepted in this quarter |
Alliance - Alliance Party of Northern Ireland |
£58,622 |
£40,000.00 |
£18,622 |
£58,622 |
Conservative and Unionist Party (GB) |
£4,634,504
|
£4,576,049
|
£58,455 |
£4,608,213 |
Conservative and Unionist Party (NI) |
£7,534 |
£7,534 |
£0 |
£7,534 |
Co-operative Party |
£7,500 |
£7,500 |
£0 |
£7,534 |
Democratic Unionist Party - D.U.P. |
£98,926 |
£0 |
£98,926 |
£98,926 |
Green Party (GB) |
£166,046 |
£121,670 |
£44,376 |
£166,046 |
Labour Party |
£5,267,489 |
£5,267,489 |
£0 |
£5,229,989 |
Liberal Democrats |
£1,421,436 |
£1,132,774 |
£288,662 |
£1,368,419 |
Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales |
£74,436 |
£49,641 |
£24,795 |
£74,436 |
Scottish Green Party |
£8,456 |
£0 |
£8,456 |
£8,456 |
Scottish National Party (SNP) |
£364,606 |
£91,996 |
£272,610 |
£364,606 |
SDLP (Social Democratic & Labour Party) |
£58,430
|
£0 |
£58,430 |
£58,430
|
Sinn Féin |
£80,531 |
£0 |
£80,531 |
£80,531 |
The Reclaim Party |
£300,000 |
£300,000 |
£0 |
£300,000 |
Traditional Unionist Voice - TUV |
£30,000.00 |
£30,000
|
£0 |
£30,000
|
True & Fair Party |
£25,000 |
£25,000 |
£0 |
£25,000 |
Ulster Unionist Party |
£25,603 |
£2,000.00 |
£23,603 |
£25,603 |
Women's Equality Party |
£10,000
|
£10,000
|
£0 |
£10,000 |
Total |
£12,639,119 |
£11,661,653 |
£977,466 |
£12,522,311 |
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.
Nine 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 £167,000 of new loans reported in the first quarter of 2022. Loans with a value of £42,200 were fully paid off.
Donations accepted by regulated donees in Q1 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 first quarter of 2022, £930,175 in donations were accepted by sixty one 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 donee |
Value of cash and non-cash donations accepted |
Value of donations accepted towards overseas visits |
Total value of donations accepted |
Mayor |
£48,527 |
£0 |
£48,527 |
Members Association |
£121,500 |
£0 |
£121,500 |
MP – Member of Parliament |
£583,696 |
£154,452 |
£738,148 |
MSP – Member of the Scottish Parliament |
£0 |
£0 |
£0 |
Total |
£775,723 |
£154,452 |
£930,175 |
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 Q1 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)