The Tories received almost £4million in donations in the third quarter of 2021 as the Conservative Party’s treasurer gifted £750,000 to Boris Johnson’s elections war chest.
Data published by the Electoral Commission showed the Tories received £3.7million in donations, excluding public funds.
That figure is double the £1.8million which was handed to the Labour Party in the same July to September period.
The single biggest donation in the quarter was from Malik Karim, the co-treasurer of the Conservative Party, who gave the Tories £750,000 which was accepted on August 5.
The Conservative Party received almost £4million in donations in the third quarter of 2021
Malik Karim, co-treasurer of the Conservative Party, donated £750,000 to the Tories in the third quarter of 2021, according to data published by the Electoral Commission
Labour’s biggest donations came from unions, with Unite the Union giving the largest amount of £362,625 while Unison gave £291,575 and GMB gave £290,125.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats received £783,334 in total donations while the SNP got £86,097.
The Tories were also the most generous party in terms of the total number of donated funds, receiving 200, compared to Labour’s 73 and the Lib Dems’ 128.
The Electoral Commission numbers showed that the Tories accepted £407,916 in public funding while Labour accepted £2.16million.
The total numbers for cash received when including public funds put the Tories on £4.14million for the quarter and Labour on £3.99million.
For the Lib Dems the number was £1.39million and for the SNP it was £302,463.
A total of £11.5million in donations and public funds was recorded in the third quarter of this year across all parties. That compares to £9million in the same period in 2020.
Each political party must submit quarterly loan and donation returns to the Electoral Commission.
Boris Johnson’s Tories were the recipients of 200 total donations during the quarter. Labour received 73, and the Lib Dems 128.
A total of £11.5million in donations and public funds was recorded in the third quarter of this year across all parties
Those returns must include details of all donations accepted above a threshold of £7,500.
Louise Edwards, director of regulation at the Electoral Commission, said: ‘Transparency in political finance is important to public confidence and trust in our democratic processes.
‘Over £11million in donations was accepted by political parties in the third quarter of the year, and these data allow voters to see where that funding came from.’