Reading the BBC's latest report on declared party donations, it seems as though it is indeed business as usual, including parties being late getting their paperwork in.
In the latest round of compulsory declaration of large donations, the past trends seem to be continuing, with the big funding coming in to the 'big two': The conservatives got a whopping £4.2 million and Labour £3 million.
When you consider that this was before the local elections and the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, then it seems that no party is in a healthy state.
It seems that Labour have improved on their Dec 2006 position, but both the Tories, and LibDems have less money than back then. Until the Electoral Commission publish the Dec 2007 accounts figures, which the large parties should have submitted by 31st March, we'll not know for sure, as they could easily have cash on hand, as well as outstanding loans.
A notable point to consider is how disproportionate these figures are compared to the votes cast in the May elections, where Labour got 24%, the LibDems 25% and the Conservatives 44%.
If the same £8.1m had been divided up by share of the vote, which is effectively the idea in proposed reforms of party funding, then the funds raised would be:
In the latest round of compulsory declaration of large donations, the past trends seem to be continuing, with the big funding coming in to the 'big two': The conservatives got a whopping £4.2 million and Labour £3 million.
| Party | Jan - Mar | Balance end Mar |
|---|---|---|
| Cons | £4.2m | -£12m |
| Lab | £3.0m | -£17.8m |
| LibDem | £0.47m | -£1.1m |
When you consider that this was before the local elections and the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, then it seems that no party is in a healthy state.
It seems that Labour have improved on their Dec 2006 position, but both the Tories, and LibDems have less money than back then. Until the Electoral Commission publish the Dec 2007 accounts figures, which the large parties should have submitted by 31st March, we'll not know for sure, as they could easily have cash on hand, as well as outstanding loans.
A notable point to consider is how disproportionate these figures are compared to the votes cast in the May elections, where Labour got 24%, the LibDems 25% and the Conservatives 44%.
If the same £8.1m had been divided up by share of the vote, which is effectively the idea in proposed reforms of party funding, then the funds raised would be:
| Party | Income (diff) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cons | 44% | £3.56m (-£0.64m) |
| Lab | 24% | £1.95m (-£1.05m) |
| LibDem | 25% | £2.03m (+£1.56m) |
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