Sixteen political parties registered in Great Britain reported receiving £26.3 million in donations between 1 April and 30 June 2010, according to new figures published by the Electoral Commission, the independent party funding watchdog.
Total donations reported in the second quarter of 2010, a period that included the UK Parliamentary general election, are the highest on record. This is despite changes to legislation that mean that, since 1 January 2010, the threshold at which parties have to report donations has risen.
The next highest quarter was January to March 2005, just prior to the 2005 UK general election, when political parties reported receiving just under £20.6 million in donations.
During the second quarter of 2010, five parties also received payments from public funds totalling just over £1 million.
As at 30 June 2010, the total loans entered into by parties stood at over £15 million, credit facilities (such as overdrafts) at £18.25 million and connected transactions (such as guarantees) at £945,000.
By law, political parties must report all donations and borrowing over £7,500 to the central party, or over £1,500 to an accounting unit, to the Electoral Commission. For donations and borrowing accepted before 1 January 2010, the reporting thresholds were £5,000 and £1,000 respectively. All donations over £500 must be from a permissible source. The Commission publishes all donations over these thresholds on a quarterly basis.
Political parties were also required to report donations to the central party on a weekly basis during the UK general election period, which ran from 6 April to 6 May. Therefore, some donations that the Electoral Commission has published today in the quarterly report may have already appeared in the weekly reports.
For individuals who stand as candidates at Parliamentary and local elections, there are separate reporting requirements. By law, candidates must report donations that they received to the Returning Officer for the constituency they contested. Candidates are not required to report donations to the Electoral Commission.
The Commission’s registers of donations and borrowing accepted in the second quarter of 2010 show that:
Donations- Sixteen political parties reported donations totalling £26,265,964 (excluding public funds) accepted between 1 April and 30 June.
- The three political parties to accept the most in donations were:
- Conservative Party — £12,322,220
- Labour Party — £10,864,653
- Liberal Democrats — £2,047,070
- Five parties also received a total of £1,086,285 in public funds.
- Four political parties reported 47 donations totalling £205,152 in this quarter that they should have reported in previous quarters.
- The Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats reported receiving a total of four donations amounting to £25,806 from impermissible sources, which they returned to the donor within the 30 days allowed.
- The Conservative Party also reported receiving two impermissible donations amounting to £1,275, which they did not return to the donor within the 30 days allowed. The Commission is currently discussing the matter with the party.
- The Labour party reported receiving a £1,000 donation from an unidentifiable source, which they returned to the donor within the 30 days allowed.
- Thirteen of the 397 registered parties have not yet provided their required donation return and six parties submitted a donation return late. The Electoral Commission will issue these parties with a penalty notice.
- The total amount of loans outstanding at 30 June 2010 was £15,253,478.
- Seven parties entered into new loans totalling £565,406.
- The total amount of repaid loans reported (including loans converted to donations) was £424,400.
- The Liberal Democrats reported two new loans totalling £14,000 and a new credit facility of £2,000 in this quarter that they should have reported in previous quarters.
- The Conservative Party reported repayment of £63,445 of loans and the closure of a £3,500 credit facility in this quarter that they should have reported in previous quarters.
- The total amount currently available to all parties through credit facilities is £18,251,000.
- The total amount of connected transactions on behalf of parties is £945,000.
- Fifteen out of the 397 registered parties have not yet provided their required borrowing return and nine parties submitted a borrowing return late. The Electoral Commission will issue these parties with a penalty notice.
Peter Wardle, Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission, said: “Since 2001, we have made public details of almost 30,000 donations to political parties, with a total value of just over £433 million.
“Voters have come to expect a high level of transparency about the way political parties are funded, and never more so than for the period covering a general election in the UK.
“Voters will want to see who funded political parties during the election campaign, and contributed towards this record breaking quarter.”
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