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Political donations: Conservatives received most in final quarter of 2014 | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Conservatives received the most in donations in the final three months of 2014, according to new figures published by the Electoral Commission. | |
The party took home £8,345,687, compared to Labour's £7,163,988. | |
Donations to the Lib Dems totalled £3,038,500 - giving the party an annual record total - while UKIP reported £1,505,055 and the Greens £248,520. | |
It comes after a political row between the Conservatives and Labour over the tax affairs of party supporters. | |
In total, eight British political parties received £20.3m in donations between October and December 2014. | |
This figure is more than £5m higher than the previous quarter - and up £10m on the same three months in 2013. | |
BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins said donations were higher than normal because of the upcoming general election. | |
"There are still plenty of people out there who want to give their hard-earned cash to the parties," he said. | |
In addition to these donations, six parties accepted £3,834,816 from public funds during the final quarter of the year. | |
There have been £65.6m of donations for political parties in 2014. | |
The Conservatives received the most money last year - £28.9m, compared to £18.7m for Labour, £8.2m for the Lib Dems, £3.8m for UKIP and £3.7m for the SNP. | |
Despite recent poor poll performances, the Lib Dems set a new party record, raising £1.5m more in 2014 than their previous annual record. |