Labour outspent Conservatives by more than £18m in 2023 ahead of election

Labour outspent the Conservative Party by more than £18m in the year before the general election, documents filed with the Electoral Commission reveal.

Annual accounts by the main political parties show that Labour spent almost £59.3m last year, £18.3m more than the Conservative Party which spent around £41m.

Labour’s expenditure jumped by almost £15m from 2022, which registered treasurer David Evans and party treasurer Mike Payne said was “planned and in anticipation of a general election in 2024 increasing resources in the form of staff and office capacity”.

While the party’s income rose from £47.1m to £58.6m, Labour reported an annual deficit of £851,000, down from a surplus of £2.7m in 2022.

In a treasurers’ report, Evans and Payne said: “2023 was a year when the party needed to be moving to a state of readiness for a general election. In doing so, there was significant investment in staff capacity, the move to a more appropriate party head office, investment in technology and support for regional teams and their offices.

“The party was successful in a series of by-election victories in 2023 and more have followed in 2024. However, along with the rest of the country, the party is not immune to the issues that high inflation presents; cost pressures continue to grow each year and the party must remain fiscally responsible in its decision making. Our financial strategy is to ensure that the party remains sustainable.

“The general election victory changes the party’s financial dynamics significantly. The impact of potential changes in income and a need to manage expenditure will become even more critical. The party’s financial accountability and resource control will need to be robust and embedded across the organisation.”

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Labour’s commercial income rose substantially, from £4,149,000 to £7,929,000. The party’s income from donations also rose, from £10.5m in 2022 to £16.5m in 2023. Revenue from fundraising almost doubled to £1,271,000, from £640,000 in 2022.

The Conservatives saw a much larger increase in donations made to the party, which almost doubled from £18.1m in 2022 to £35.2m last year.

Among other parties, the Liberal Democrats reported £7.7m in expenditure in 2023, with the SNP reporting £4.1m, the Green Party £3.7m and Reform UK £1.3m.

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