Tories raise less than £300k in second week of election campaign, as over three-quarters of all donations go to Labour
21 June 2024, 17:02
The Conservatives raised less than £300,000 in the second week of the General Election campaign, with more than three-quarters of donations over the same period going to Labour.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Sir Keir Starmer's party raised nearly £4.4 million between June 6 and 12, a figure that included a £2.5 million donation from Lord David Sainsbury.
By contrast the Conservatives brought in just £292,500 over the same week, bringing their total for the first two weeks of the campaign to £889,000.
Donations are important because the money often allows political parties to campaign more effectively, and improve their chances of gaining more seats at the election.
The Tories raised £8.7 million over the first two weeks of the 2019 General Election campaign, which they ended up winning heavily.
The low amount of money flowing into the Conservatives' coffers may be seen as another sign of a stuttering campaign.
It comes after a week in which a series of polls predicted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was on course for a record defeat and his campaign was overshadowed by allegations about gambling.
The Conservatives' top donations between June 6 and June 12 were £50,000 each from Bestway Wholesale, ultimately owned by Tory peer Lord Zameer Choudrey, and an organisation called "The Spring Lunch".
Other than Lord Sainsbury, other significant Labour donors in the second week of the campaign included Autoglass chief Gary Lubner, who gave £900,000, and hedge fund manager Martin Taylor, who gave £700,000.
Trade union Aslef provided £100,000 to the party, as did former Cable and Wireless executive Nick Razey.
Labour's total donations for the first two weeks of the campaign amounted to £5.3 million.
Nigel Farage's Reform UK raised £742,000 in the second week of the campaign, largely thanks to a £500,000 donation from Britain Means Business Ltd, a company controlled by party chairman Richard Tice.
The party also received £50,000 from former pop star and Neighbours actor Holly Valance.
Reform raised £882,000 in major donations during the first two weeks of the campaign - only just below the figure received by the Conservatives.
The Liberal Democrats received £335,000 in the second week of the campaign, taking their total for the election to £789,999 in donations.
This included another £150,000 from businessman Safwan Adam and a £100,000 bequest from John Faulkner, a long-standing party member who left the party £1 million in his will in 2023.
