Tory Party receive more in fees from the dead than from living members
The Conservative Party received more money from the dead last year then it did from living members.
Figures released yesterday by the Electoral Commission show the Tories received £835,000 from membership fees in 2017, compared to £1.7m from bequests.
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Members’ dues dropped 43 per cent from 2016 when the party received £1.5m from membership fees.
In contrast the Labour Party received £16.2m in membership fees in 2017, up 12.5 per cent from £14.4m it received the previous year.
The Conservative Party’s total income for 2017 was £45.9m, with donations consisting of £35.9m of the total, fundraising £677,000 and commercial activities £409,000.
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Labour’s total 2017 income was £55.7m with £18.4m of donations, £7.4m from grants and £4.2m from commercial activities.
The Liberal Democrats had a total income of £9.7m with £1.3m coming from membership dues and £6.1m from donations.
The Scottish National Party had an income of £5.8m, the Green Party had an income of £2.4m and the United Kingdom Independence Party had an income of £1.7m.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Unlike the Tories who rely on a few super-rich donors to bankroll them, we’re proud to be powered by small donations from hundreds of thousands of people across the country.”
In early 2018 former Conservative Party chair Grant Shapps said the party’s failure to “come clean” on its failing membership numbers was “embarrassing”.
According to a House of Commons paper published in May, Labour had 522,000 members compared to 124,000 Conservative members.