Labour’s ‘challenging’ finances continue upturn
Labour has secured the most donations from members of the public, the latest figures on party funding show.
The Electoral Commission reported UK political parties attracted nearly £14 million in the second quarter of this year, the bulk of which was divided between the Conservatives and Labour.
The Conservatives received £6,323,388 compared to Labour’s £5,033,964.
However, the Conservatives’ total included £1.7 million worth of public funding for policy development – which Labour cannot claim as the party in government.
Labour’s individual donations increased slightly on last quarter, suggesting the harm caused by the cash-for-honours investigation is dissipating.
However, Labour remains the most indebted party, with borrowing totalling £20 million. The Conservatives also recorded debts of £16 million.
A Labour spokesman said: “Our finances remain in a challenging position but the upturn of recent months continues to be reflected in the figures from the Electoral Commission.
“Donations to the end of June 2007 show an increase of £3.6 million on the same stage in 2006.”
Labour’s finances had been cited as a major barrier to an early election, despite heightened expectation Gordon Brown will go to the polls before 2009 to capitalise on his initial strong showing.
Earlier this week the union Unite said it had a multi-million pound fund set aside to help Labour fight a general election.
In a possible indication the party is attempting to clear its debts as it builds up a war chest, the Electoral Commission figures show Labour did not undertake any new borrowing in the past quarter.
This compares to the Scottish National Party, who were forced to borrow £250,000 to fund their successful Scottish election campaign.
The figures for April to June also show the Liberal Democrats received donations worth £1,288,062, Plaid Cymru £47,302, the SNP £623,610 and UKIP donations of £8,973.
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