Donations to Political Parties - Great Britain
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February 2006
The Electoral Commission published the donations to political parties for the last quarter of 2005 on 26th February.
In 2005 political parties reported donations totalling over £50 million to the Commission. This is an increase from the previous year, during which almost £38 million worth of donations were reported.
The New Politics Network has produced a briefing on the donations in Q4 of 2005 and explored the trends in political donations. Key points include:
- Conservative and Liberal Democrat donations almost double in comparison to the last quarter - no discernable "Cameron" effect or "Kennedy" effect;
- George Galloway MP fails to declare the speakers fee he earned which caused him to miss crucial Terrorism Bill vote.
A copy of the briefing can be found at here
Loans to Political Parties
  Our View Although the loans were not illegal they give the impression that the party was trying evade the disclosure rules. This only feeds the publics perception that politics and politicians are corrupt. This Labour Government was the first to seriously address the issue of sleaze and the funding of political parties with the passing of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act in 2000. It is because of the Act that we are able to know who donates money to political parties. But they have failed to move ahead with this issue and have still to respond to the Electoral Commission's report on the funding of political parties, which was published in December 2004. The New Politics Network has long campaigned for limited state funding of political parties, targeted at increasing engagement with the political process, to be introduced. We believe that party funding can be an important tool both in reducing the perception of sleaze and in re-engaging people and politics. Proposals such as a registered supporters system or matched funding enable political parties to raise funds that they need to be able to campaign and perform the roles that are fundamental to democracy but only through engaging with the electorate. |
The revelations that the Labour Party received £14 million in undeclared loans in the run-up to last year's General Election are regrettable but not surprising. Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act, parties have to declare the source of donations over £5,000 but the rules do not apply to loans made at commercial rates. We welcome the fact that both the Labour and Conservative parties have voluntarily agreed to publish the details and sources of future loans.
This loophole meant the fact that three of the lenders had been nominated for peerages would have gone unnoticed. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Chai Patel explained that he had been willing to make a declarable donation but was persuaded by party officials to loan the money instead. The reason behind this seems to have been that a donation would have been made public, and so would have raised suspicions were Patel to be nominated for a peerage soon afterwards. As Patel himself said 'there is clearly a history here and a reality of peerages for fundraising. The public has a right to be sceptical.'
This isn't merely a question of propriety. Accepting gifts in exchange for honours is an criminal offence under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925. Angus MacNeil, the SNP MP for Na h-Eileanan An Iar, has written to Sir Ian Blair, asking the Metropolitan Police to investigate the matter.
December 2005
On 15th November the Electoral Commission published details of the donations to political parties during the third quarter of 2005.
Political parties are required to make four quarterly returns to the Commission each year, providing details of cash and non-cash donations received. 15 political parties reported donations totalling £7,152,550.30 this quarter. Full details can be found on Party Watch
The third quarter saw Lakshmi Mittal make his first donation to Labour Party since the 2001 "Mittalgate" scandal. It also saw Labour Party donations hold up while Conservative and Liberal Democrat donations fell in post-election period.
The top ten donors in the third quarter were:-
- Lakshmi Mittal (Labour, £2,000,000.00) - steel magnate
- UNISON (Labour, £464,434.00)
- GMB (Labour, £380,964.00)
- Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers (Labour, £247,871.00)
- Ernest Neathercott (Conservatives, £104,568.39)
- Cloburn Quarry Company Limited (New Party, £102,000.00)
- Derek Tullet CBE (Labour, £100,000.00)
- Donald J Lewin (Conservatives, £100,000.00)
- The Leamington Fund (Conservatives, £93,000.00)
- Abbey Business Centres Ltd (Conservatives, £93,000.00)
Research by the New Politics Network has revealed that the Conservative Party is increasingly dependent on "unincorporated associations". Donations from unincorporated associations have effectively trebled since the same period in the previous electoral cycle, the majority of whom give money to the Conservative Party.
The third largest donation to the Conservative Party in the third quarter of 2005 was The Leamington Fund, which gave £93.000 to the Birmingham, Solihull & Coventry Conservative Association. Robert Edmiston, the businessman who is understood is due to be made a working peer in the New Year, is Chairman of the Midland Industrial Council which has given £760,000 to the Conservative Party since 2003.
A detailed analysis of third quarter donations can be found here
Our View The intention of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 was to prevent individuals from making anonymous donations, yet the loophole allowing unincorporated associations to make donations is now being stretched to breaking point. While the Conservatives are currently predominantly exploiting this loophole, if it isn't closed soon, other parties will almost certainly begin to follow suit. We are particularly concerned that extremist parties could exploit this and use it to fill their coffers with anonymous donations. |
March 2005
Donations to political parties during the fourth quarter of 2004 have been published today by The Electoral Commission. 16 political parties reported donations totalling £11,724,929 for the fourth quarter:
- British National Party £ 26,225
- Christian Peoples Alliance £ 9,000
- Co-operative Party £ 127,527
- Conservative & Unionist Party £ 4,610,849
- Forward Wales £ 2,700
- Green Party £ 23,789
- Labour Party £ 5,162,731
- Legalise Cannabis Alliance £ 2,600
- Liberal Democrats £ 1,149,844
- Liberal Party £ 661
- New Party £ 117,000
- Plaid Cymru £ 23, 608
- Scottish Green Party £ 11,055
- Scottish National Party £ 359,819
- Scottish Socialist Party £ 34,440
- United Kingdom Independence Party £ 63,081
For details of individual donations or previous quarters donations please see the Electoral Commission's website
