Labour raised £10m more than Tories in three months before election

A hedge fund gave Labour a £4m boost in May, while the Tories received another £5m from controversial businessman Frank Hester.

Labour significantly beat the Conservatives in donations in the three months before their general election victory, Electoral Commission figures show (PA) (PA Wire)

A £4 million donation from a hedge fund helped Labour raise £10 million more than the Conservatives in the second quarter of the year, new figures have revealed.

Data released by the Electoral Commission on Thursday showed Labour received £26.1 million in donations between April and June while the Conservatives received £16.1 million.

In total, political parties raised £51.6 million over the three months, more than double the amount raised over the same period in 2023, although the Electoral Commission’s Jackie Killeen said this was “not surprising” given it covered the election campaign.

Labour’s biggest donation came from hedge fund Quadrature Capital, which gave the party £4 million on May 28, just before the reporting period for the election began.

Owned by investors Greg Skinner and Suneil Setiya, it was Quadrature’s first political donation but the business’s charitable arm has previously given money to environmental causes.

Other significant Labour donations included £2.5 million from Lord David Sainsbury, a long-time Labour donor, and £2.1 million from Ecotricity, the company owned by environmentalist Dale Vince.

Hedge fund manager Martin Taylor gave another £2.1 million while Labour Together – which is heavily backed by Mr Taylor and businessman Sir Trevor Chinn – gave another £840,000.

Trade unions gave Labour around £5.5 million over the period, backing both central and local parties, with the biggest donors being Unison and Usdaw.

For the Conservatives, controversial businessman Frank Hester provided the biggest donation, handing the party £5 million in early May via his business The Phoenix Partnership.

Mr Hester, who has given the Tories £15 million since 2023, found himself at the centre of a scandal earlier this year after he was alleged to have said veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott made him want to “hate all black women”.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the Conservative Party should “hang its head in shame” at taking money from Mr Hester, and urged Tory leadership contenders to commit to handing back the donation and refusing any further offers.

The second quarter of 2024 saw the Lib Dems raise £5.3 million in donations, including more than £500,000 from businessman Safwan Adam while Reform UK raised £2.6 million including £500,000 from party chairman Richard Tice’s Britain Means Business campaign.

Former Reform deputy leader Ben Habib is listed as having donated £50,000 to Northern Ireland party Traditional Unionist Voice, with which the party had an electoral pact.

The Scottish National Party raised £259,481 in donations during the three-month period while the Green Party received £238,851.