UK's Electoral Commission Reveals Labour's Nearly Fivefold Donation Increase After Election Win

By Jose Resurreccion

Jul 15 2024, 12:56 PM EDT

New UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (centre front) stands with Labour Party MPs, including some who won seats in the recent general election, at Church House in Westminster on July 8, 2024 in London, England. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The Electoral Commision of the United Kingdom revealed that the Labour Party, which won a landslide victory in this month's general election, received almost five times as much campaign donation money as the Conservative Party did.

The Conservatives, locally known as the Tories, were toppled from power after 14 years in government, and they raked in £1.8 million ($2.34 million), with the Westminster Development Services becoming one of the top Tory donors, giving the party a £50,000 ($64,867) donation.

In contrast, the Daily Mail reported that Labour received over £9.5 million ($12.34 million), a nearly fivefold advantage against the Conservatives due to businesses and individual supporters flocking to remove the Conservatives from power and send its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, to Downing Street.

The figures were released Monday (July 15), which showed that former professional poker player Derek Webb donated £250,000 ($324,335) for Labour. Trade unions also gave six-figure donations to the party.

However, the BBC reported that the largest individual donor recorded for this year's election was Lord David Sainsbury, who gave a £2.5 million (3.24 million) donation.

Lib Dems, Reform Rake In Donation Money

Aside from Labour and the Conservatives, other parties have had very significant monetary donations.

Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, reportedly used the campaign period doing multiple stunts to gain support from younger voters during the campaign, which resulted in them winning 71 seats and making them the third largest party in Westminster.

Nevertheless, the party placed third in the election cash battle at £1.67 million ($2.17 million), including an almost £480,000 (almost $623,000) donation from Adam Management.

Prior to the vote, Bloomberg reported that Reform UK, the right-wing party of Nigel Farage, also had a significant volume of donations.

The party has since accumulated £1.62 million ($2.1 million) in monetary donations, including a £500,000 ($648,670) donation from Britain Means Business, and won four seats, including Farage's local constituency.