They may be trailing both the party of government and the unofficial opposition in the polls, but it’s not all bad for the Conservatives. The latest Electoral Commission figures show that the Tories have managed to out-fundraise all other political parties when it comes to donations – for the third quarter in a row. Talk about a silver lining, eh?
The figures for the second quarter of 2025 – between April and June – show the Tories have topped the donation charts, accepting £2.9 million. Kemi Badenoch’s boys in blues managed to fundraise £300,000 more than Labour, which received £2.6 million (£1.6 million of which came from trade unions) – while Reform UK fell short, receiving just £1.4 million.
It follows a similar pattern seen in donations gifted during the first quarter of the year. The Tories received a whopping £3.3 million of donations between the 1 January and 31 March 2025. In fact, Badenoch’s party took £1 million more than the Labour lot who received £2.3 million (with over 50 per cent of this coming from trade unions) and over double the £1.48 million of donations Nigel Farage’s Reform UK took.
It’s good news for the blues, but Farage’s Reform lot may be bristling a little – especially after such a song and dance was made about property mogul Nick Candy coming aboard. While the Reform treasurer promised last year he would donate a ‘seven-figure sum’ to the party, the money has not yet appeared. Frustrations are growing, with the Financial Times reporting in June that senior party figures are growing irritated by Candy’s fundraising ability (or lack thereof) after the businessman claimed wealthy corporates were close to donating large sums. ‘He has been all talk and no trousers,’ one insider grumbled. Ouch.
Meanwhile the Tories will be hoping that with their rising donations, their support will start to soar too…
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