Member News
Political parties received a total of £26.3m in donations between April 1 and June 30, figures published today reveal.
The Electoral Commission's quarterly report shows that the Conservative Party received £12,322,220 in donations, the most of any political party.
The Labour Party raked in a total of £10,864,653 over the same period while the Liberal Democrats received £2,047,070.
Covering the election period in May, the donations are the highest on record. The next highest quarter was January to March 2005, just prior to the 2005 general election, when political parties reported receiving just under £20.6m in donations.
The record donations were shared between sixteen political parties. But the fundraising machines of the three main parties vastly outstripped those of the smaller players.
While failing to secure a Westminster seat at the election, the UK Independence Party took in £368,745, the fourth largest amount of money.
The Scottish National Party received £277,437 in donations while their nationalist colleagues in Wales, Plaid Cymru, received £35,000.
And the Green Party, led by its single Westminster MP Caroline Lucas, took in £56,092.
Labour had borrowed the most money at the end of June, owing £16,645,172. The Conservatives owed £13,128,326 and the Lib Dems £1,600,314.
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 £433m.
"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."
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd