Tories' £5m donations boost before May called snap general election

The Conservatives received a huge boost in donations in the three months before Theresa May called a surprise general election, according to figures published by the Electoral Commission.

The party received £5.46m from January to March this year, more than twice the £2.65m given to Labour.

By the time the prime minister called the election on 18 April, the Tories had received £1.85m more in donations during the first quarter of the year than it had in the last three months of 2016.

The biggest individual donation came from the Conservative party treasurer, Michael Davis, who gave the party £317,000. The South African-born former mining executive is overseeing the party’s fundraising efforts, which have targeted wealthy businesspeople and city figures.

Last week, it emerged that the Conservatives had raised £1.5m more than Labour in the first week of the general election campaign, receiving more than £4.1m while Labour raised just over £2.7m.

The Conservatives are expected to get close to the £19m maximum they are permitted to spend during an election campaign. Labour is expecting to spend less than the Tories, amid a drive for donations from its 500,000 members.

In the first quarter of the year, the biggest private donation received by Labour was £300,000 from the former Formula One boss Max Mosley. Ukip’s biggest gift from an individual was £129,506 from spread-betting financier Stuart Wheeler.

The Liberal Democrats received £603,155 over the three months, including £50,000 from the Indian-born businessman Sudhir Choudhrie, who has been linked to the recent bribery scandal at Rolls-Royce.

Choudhrie was arrested in 2014 as part of the investigation into corruption by the Serious Fraud Office.

Lawyers for Sudhir Choudhrie have previously denied any wrongdoing by the businessman.

Last week, Choudhrie interviewed Tim Farron for Eastern Eye, saying he enjoyed the role of being the Lib Dems’ adviser on India and “had the pleasure of monthly meetings with the party’s leader, Tim Farron.”

The Lib Dems raised only £180,000 in the first week of the election campaign, which is likely to raise further questions about their appeal under Farron.

Other major donations to the Conservatives include £55,000 from the Rigby Group, which owns exclusive hotels including Bovey Castle in Devon, where the Olympic diver Tom Daley recently celebrated his wedding.

A company called Anglesource, run by the billionaire Arora brothers, also gave £50,000.

A property firm owned by a Palestinian-born businessman has given £65,000 to the Conservatives this year. CC Property UK is owned by Said Khoury, a billionaire who also owns CCC, the largest construction firm in the Middle East.

Other major donations came from Leopold Noe, the property developer, who gave the Conservatives £130,000. The hedge-fund manager John Armitage gave £125,000.

JS Bloor (Services), linked to the property tycoon John Bloor, gave £120,000. JS Bloor and Armitage also made donations in the first week of the election campaign, which are subject to different reporting rules.

According to the Electoral Commission, the Tory party also has a credit facility of £5,554,000, while Labour has access to borrowing £113,000.

Labour received £1.96m from trade unions, including £657,702 from Unite. Public funds are also listed for each party, which predominantly boost the totals for opposition parties.