2 days ago
Boost for Kemi Badenoch as Tories raise twice as much as Reform in political donations
The Conservatives have received twice as much money from donors as Reform in the first three months of this year, even as they sink in the polls.
The financial backing will come as a boost to the under-pressure Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, days after her party dropped to fourth place in a major poll.
Ms Badenoch's party took in £3.36m, Reform £1.5m, Keir Starmer's party £2.3m and the Liberal Democrats £1.5m, the Electoral Commission statistics show.
The Tories hit out at Reform — also under pressure after losing and regaining its chairman in recent days — saying it had 'failed to secure the donations they claimed were coming' and had a 'fantasy approach to finances'.
The Conservatives said Reform UK party sources had in January 'claimed a dinner in Mayfair had secured over £1 million in pledges yet there is no evidence in the latest Electoral Commission figures that support this.'
They also pointed to figures which show 42 per cent of Reform UK's donations during the three months rely on £613,000 from deputy leader Richard Tice's company. But Mr Farage hit back, accusing Labour and the Conservatives of having relied on their ability to hand out peerages to bankroll their parties for decades.
Asked about the donation figures, the Reform leader said: 'Is it easy to raise big money in politics? It's not... because I have not got any peerages to give out.
'The honours system is corrupted beyond belief, we don't have any gongs to give out.' Mr Farage went on to stress he is confident he is building relationships with the donors Reform needs, while stressing that the bulk of its revenue comes from supporters giving between £25 and £50.
That almost a third of the money raised by the Conservatives came from one donor, however, will do little to ease Tory MPs fears their leader is not doing enough to build the kind of wide support needed to win the next election.
The largest single donation was £1m from former Labour supporter Jez San, a computer game entrepreneur.
David Ross, the founder of Carphone Warehouse, who halted donations to the party during its post-Boris Johnson years, is also listed as giving £40,000, in two separate donations.
Mr Ross, who once 'facilitated' accommodation for Mr Johnson on the island of Mustique, will become the party's senior treasurer later in the year.
Reginald Collins, a longtime member of Labour, was the party's largest individual donor, leaving it £350,000 when he died.
The Liberal Democrats had the most individual donors, at 246. The Tories had 122, Labour 93 and Reform 70.
The Tories said the latest figures build on the momentum of the previous quarter, where the party raised £1.9 million – more than all the other major political parties combined.
The party said major donors were returning 'to support Kemi Badenoch's mission of renewal to completely rewire Britain for the 2030s, based on Conservative values of sound money, lower taxes, and a smaller government that does fewer things but better.'
Lord Dominic Johnson, co-chairman of the Conservative Party, said: 'The Conservative Party's finances are in great shape. These impressive figures show momentum, building on the strong figures last quarter.
'It marks stark contrast with Labour, ever more reliant on union donations, and Reform, still reeling from internecine warfare, struggling to make good on fantasy pledges and having to be bailed out by Richard Tice.
'We are the party of sound money and economic credibility and donors old and new are backing Kemi's mission of Conservative Renewal.'
