What are the rules for political party donations?
The Electoral Commission has published the latest data on party donations as the Conservative Party faces questions on the issue.
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Your support makes all the difference.Party donations are in the spotlight after it was confirmed that the Conservative Party accepted another £5 million from Frank Hester, the businessman accused of saying Labour’s Diane Abbott “should be shot”.
As the Electoral Commission publishes details of donations in the first three months of this year, the PA news agency summarises the figures and details the rules governing the process.
Where do party donations come from?
The bulk of funding for political parties comes from a combination of membership fees and donations, either from companies, individuals or trade unions.
Figures for the first three months of 2024 show donations totalling £22.9 million were received by political parties collectively from 873 individual sources. This compares to £21 million in the same quarter of 2023.
Of these donations, £7.9 million was provided by 476 individuals, while £9.2 million was given by 164 companies and £1.3m by 39 trade unions.
What other sources of donations are there?
Over the period, parties also received 3.3 million in public funds distributed by the Electoral Commission as policy development grants. This funding provides support for parties to develop policies for their election manifestos.
In 2023, political parties received a total of £15 million in public funds.
The latest figures also show a total of just under £600,000 was donated by 107 of what are classified as “unincorporated associations”.
These are associations of two or more individuals who have “come together to carry out a shared purpose”.
How did Frank Hester make donations to the Conservative Party?
Electoral Commission data shows Mr Hester’s latest £5 million donation to the Conservative Party was paid through his healthcare software firm, The Phoenix Partnership, in January.
This was before he became embroiled in a row over alleged racist comments.
He also handed the Tories £10 million last year and separately donated a helicopter flight costing £15,900 to Rishi Sunak.
Which parties have received the biggest total donations so far this year?
Labour edged out the Conservatives to secure the highest overall level of donations received in the first three months of the year, with £9.5 million and £9 million respectively.
However, when public funds are excluded, the Conservatives secured the biggest total of £8.8 million, while Labour received £7.4 million.
The Liberal Democrats received donations totalling £2.8 million. The Green Party received £400,000, the SNP £317,000 and Reform UK £25,000.
What are the rules for donations?
The current rules do not place any limit on the size of donations to parties or individual politicians.
However, the regulations require donations to be made from a “permissible source”.
Donations can only be made from individuals who are on the UK electoral register, while companies and organisations such as trade unions must be registered in the UK.
It is the responsibility of political parties to check sources of donations and they must return any money if they cannot establish the origin of the payment.
The threshold for reporting donations to the Electoral Commission increased from January 1 this year following a change in law by the Government.
Parties are now required to report donations over £11,180, compared to a previous threshold of £7,500.
Meanwhile, MPs must declare all their interests on a public register.
How often are donations published?
Political parties are required to submit details of both donations and loans for three-month periods to the Electoral Commission.
The data is then published by the commission towards the end of the following quarter.
What about election spending rules?
While there are no limits on donations, there are limits on how much candidates can spend on an election campaign and controls on the sources of that money.
The limit varies in different constituencies because the more voters in an area, the higher the threshold.
When the election is over, candidates and their agents must submit a dedicated spending return detailing the level of spending and where the money originated from to the returning officer in charge of the election in that constituency.
Following a General Election, these returns are sent to the Electoral Commission, which makes the information available to the public.
If the commission identifies non-compliance with the rules, it is the responsibility of the police to take action.
What has the Electoral Commission said about the latest donation figures?
Louise Edwards, director of regulation and digital transformation at the Electoral Commission, said: “It is common to see donations to political parties grow ahead of an expected – and now scheduled – General Election.
“These figures also reflect the new reporting thresholds, which were changed by the UK Government last year, meaning there is a higher threshold for what parties need to report to us.”