SNP to lose nearly £1m a year of public money after disastrous general election

The SNP is set to lose out on nearly £1m of public money a year due to its disastrous general election result.

The Nationalists could receive £950,343.13 less annually due to losing dozens of MPs and half a million votes.

It comes as the party is facing a financial crisis having received no major donations in the first three months of this year.

Each party receives £21,438.33 each financial year in 'short money' per MP it has elected. It also receives £42.82 per 200 votes.

In 2019, the SNP won 48 seats and 1,242,380 votes. It received £1,029,039.84 for the seats and £265,993.56 for the votes.

This amounted to £1,295,033.40 per financial year.

But this time round, the party has only won nine constituencies and 708,759 votes.

This means the party will only receive £192,944.97 for the seats and £151,745.30 for the votes.

This amounts to £344,690.27 per year.

The party will receive slightly more money after the result of the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire seat is confirmed.

The amount depends on whether the SNP wins the seat or not. It would receive £21,438.33 if it wins but will get only a few thousand pounds maximum for votes.

It follows party leader John Swinney pleading with the public to give money to the SNP during the campaign.

This came after it revealed no reportable donations in the first three months of this year.

The SNP leader gave "a wee handy reminder" to the public that the party is "not in any way full up with donations" during a visit to Glasgow in June.

The party received no donations from either individuals or companies of more than £500 in the first three months of this year.

Although it did receive £325,000 in public funds.

Opponents suggested that people were not donating to the SNP because of Operation Branchform, the three-year investigation into the party's finances.

The party was also at risk of losing £1m in short money last year as it struggled to appoint auditors.

The accounting firm the SNP relied on for 10 years had ended its business relationship in 2022 - but many senior parliamentarians were not told at the time.

It also sparked a spat between Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and his predecessor Ian Blackford after Flynn claimed he only became aware of the lack of auditors in February, 2023 despite becoming the group’s leader in December 2022.

The party would have lost out on £1.2m if it had not found auditors before the end of May last year, but it managed to do so with weeks to spare.

The police investigation into the SNP's finances surrounds £600,000 of missing cash which was crowdfunded for a second independence referendum.

Former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell was charged with embezzlement earlier this year as part of the investigation.

Sturgeon and ex-treasurer Colin Beattie were arrested last year but were released without charge.

The SNP was approached for comment.

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