SNP faces £1 million election crisis as desperate chiefs urge members to recruit pals

Desperate SNP bosses have launched a drive to rescue their declining membership numbers as they face a £1million bill to fight the General Election.

Party bosses have asked every one of its members to recruit five friends or relatives to boost its coffers.

Over the last two years the SNP has seen a slide in the number of members it has, falling from 103,884 in December 20201 to 69,235 by the same time in 2023.

Some have speculated the recent arrest and charge of the party’s former chief executive Peter Murrell over alleged fraud and embezzlement will have caused another drop in numbers.

But senior figures are hopeful John Swinney’s coronation as leader could reverse the party’s fortunes.

With the general election looming this year and a Scottish Parliament election in 2026, the SNP will need a significant sum for its campaign fund.

In 2021 the party spent a record £1.4m on the campaign for the Scottish Parliament elections - more than any other party.

General election spend is predicted to be more than £1m this year with the SNP spending just over that in 2019, £1.6m in 2017 and £1.4m in 2015.

An email sent this week to all SNP members urged them to help by recruiting five relatives or friends to the party.

It said: “The election of SNP leader John Swinney has marked the beginning of a new chapter for our party with hope and optimism at its heart.

“Unlike other parties who are backed by big business, we rely on our members to help get our message into communities across Scotland.

“You can do your bit this week by inviting five of your friends and family members to join the SNP by forwarding this email to them.”

The party’s latest accounts show an £800,000 deficit and donations to have seemingly dried up with none registered with the electoral commission yet this year.

No living person has donated to the SNP for more than a year with the total number of donations from companies or individuals registered under Humza Yousaf’s leadership totalling £77,072.59.

It has £60,000 to repay former chief executive Murrell after he gave the party a £107,000 loan in 2021, and another £40,000 loan from Bank of Scotland from 2017 is still outstanding, according to the election watchdogs’ register.

Last year the SNP reacted furiously to a Sunday Mail story which revealed a drop in 30,000 members which bosses wrongly claimed was inaccurate.

It led to the resignation of Murray Foote as communications chief - only to return as chief executive - and the resignation of Murrell.

An SNP spokeswoman would not confirm the party’s latest membership tally but confirmed it stood at 69,235 in December.

Asked if the latest membership drive was to help raise funds for the next election the spokeswoman said: “As the largest political party by far in Scotland, we encourage everyone who believes in our mission of delivering for people across the country by building a better future as an independent country to join the SNP.”

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