Party Funding

• Party Funding Themes

  1. Short Money
  2. Large and Sizeable donations
  3. Trade Union funding
  4. Attempted Reforms
• Short Money

  Allows opposition to play their part effectively

  • Conservatives will receive £3.2 mil (2024)

  
  

  Not equal between parties/ reinforces two party system

  • Lib Dems received £1.2 mil less despite only have 50 less seats than the Conservatives (2024)
• Large Donations


  allows parties to run smoothly without worrying about finances

  • eg Frank Hester, TPP donated £10m to Conservatives in 2023

  Controversial and have caused uproar in the past

  • Peter Cruddas donated £500,000 to the Conservative Party and was given peerage to sit in the House of Lords in 2021
• Trade Union Funding


  Provide a regular source of income

  • UNISON donated £1.5 mil to Labour before the election.

  Inconsistent and only fund Labour

  • during 2024 GE Labour raised over £9.5 mil and more than all the parties combined
• Attempted Reforms


  policies have been put in place to ensure funding is done effectively and are legitimate

  • parties can only spend £30,000 per constituency to maintain balance

  Policies have been altered to benefit major parties

  • the amount for declare donations was raised from £7500 to £11,180 in 2023