Conservatives rake in 26 times more than Labour in big-money general election donations
2 min read
The Conservatives have raised 26 times more than Labour from big-money donations in the first week of the election campaign.
Figures released by the Electoral Commission revealed that the Tories received a staggering £5.6m between 6 and 12 November, compared to Labour's £218,500.
Jeremy Corbyn's party even lagged behind both the Liberal Democrats and the Brexit Party, who received £275,000 and £250,000 respectively.
The figures cover all donations of more than £7,500, which must be publicly declared.
In all, the Conservatives pulled in £5,673,646, with several donors pledging over a quarter of a million pounds to the Tory fighting fund.
The party's largest donor, theatre producer John Gore, handed over a whopping £1m, while property management firm, Countrywide, and travel company, Trailfinders, each donated £500,000.
Labour chair Ian Lavery said the figures showed the Tories were in hock to the well-off.
"While the Conservative party is in the pockets of vested interests and the super-rich, we are proud that that the Labour Party is funded by hundreds of thousands of people donating what they can afford to build a fairer society," he said.
"Labour is on the side of the people and the Tories are on the side of the billionaires."
Earlier this month, Jeremy Corbyn announced Labour had received £1m in small donations in the first 10 days of the election campaign, with the average donation totalling around £26.
Pro-Corbyn campaign group Momentum announced they had also raised a further £300,000 in small donations during the same period.
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