SNP received no cash donations in 2024, says Electoral Commission

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The Scottish National party received no reportable cash donations in 2024, according to data that illustrates the challenge facing the party as it struggles to hold on to its dominant position in Scotland.

Scotland will be a major battleground at the UK general election, with Labour expected to take a swath of the 48 seats won by the SNP in 2019. The party, which seeks Scottish independence from the UK, has struggled since the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon as leader a year ago.

The scandal of a police investigation into alleged embezzlement of SNP funds by former party chief executive Peter Murrell, who is Sturgeon’s husband, has hampered fundraising efforts.

John Swinney, SNP leader and first minister, has acknowledged the funding crisis affecting the party, whose membership has also declined in recent years. The party veteran, appointed last month, has given an assurance that donations will be spent appropriately. 

Electoral Commission data published on Thursday showed that UK political parties raised £23mn in the first quarter of 2024, up from £15mn the previous year. Labour brought in £9.5mn, compared with £9mn by the Conservatives in the first three months of the year.

Since the election was called, there have been hints of financial pressure on the SNP. While the Labour party has spent about £33,000 on advertising on Facebook and Instagram in Scotland, the SNP has spent £326. Its party political broadcast, featuring Swinney and his deputy Kate Forbes, was mocked for its cheap production values.  

SNP insiders have said the party can rely on its membership base, listed at 73,000 in its last accounts. “The SNP is proud to be overwhelmingly funded by our ordinary members who want to see a better future for Scotland as an independent country,” the party said.

Under current rules, parties must publish details of any donations above £11,180. Donations of more than £2,230 made via local bodies must be reported.

The Conservatives accepted £5mn in donations from the health entrepreneur Frank Hester in the first quarter of this year, bringing his total contributions to the party to more than £15mn since the start of 2023.

The bulk of his donations took place before reports that he had made controversial remarks about veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott, including that she made “you just want to hate all Black women”.

The Conservatives accepted a further £150,000 from Hester days after his remarks, allegedly made in 2019, had been published and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was put under pressure to return previous donations.

Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labour party, said on Thursday that Sunak should have returned the donations. The Conservative party said Hester had apologised for his remarks and shown contrition, adding that it considered the matter resolved.

Labour took £1.75mn from Dale Vince, founder of green energy company Ecotricity, in the first quarter of this year and £700,000 from Martin Taylor, a Mayfair-based hedge fund manager, who also donated more than £1.3mn to affiliate group Labour Together, which is close to the party’s leadership.

Vince told the Financial Times that he had given a further £1mn to Labour on May 23, the day after the election was called. This brought his total donations to more than £5mn.

The Liberal Democrats raised almost £3mn in the first quarter of this year, including £250,000 from venture philanthropist Stephen Dawson and £40,000 from William Reeves, a US hedge fund manager, who also donated £50,000 to Labour Together.