The Conservatives raised three times as much as Labour in the last quarter boosted by £10m from the will of supermarket tycoon John Sainsbury, showing they are on course to benefit from No 10’s decision to raise election spending limits. The Tories brought in £15.8m overall for its election war chest in the three months to September, while Labour drew £3.1m in private donations from individuals and trade unions as well as getting £2.5m in public funds. Other major Conservative donors during the quarter were Graham Edwards, the party treasurer and a property boss, who provided £2m in “administration services”, and Malik Karim, a former treasurer, who donated £250,000. The party also received £250,000 from Flowidea Ltd, owned by Swiss-born banker Sir Henry Angest, and £125,000 from Global Education Holdings, owned by Indian executive Vishwajeet Rana. A further £70,000 was contributed to the Tories by a company called nChain, a provider of the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies. The firm is part-owned by Calvin Ayre [see footnote], a gambling and bitcoin multimillionaire who was previously pursued by the US authorities, and has been building hotels in Antigua where he is a special economic envoy. In 2017, Ayre pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanour charge in the US, resolving a five-year criminal case in which federal prosecutors dropped felony charges against Ayre and the company he founded, Bodog Entertainment Group.
Labour managed to raise £3.1m in the third quarter of this year, taking total donations to £15m for 2023. The party has also received £6.8m in public funding. Former Autoglass boss Gary Lubner was the biggest donor to the party giving £687,500, taking his contributions this year to £3m. He has pledged to donate £5m to the party before the next election. The party also received £250,000 from former international poker player Derek Webb, who is part of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, building on a £40,000 donation in March, and £100,000 from financier and former Goldman Sachs banker David Blood. Labour has vastly increased its donations from private individuals under Keir Starmer after they dropped off after the New Labour years. It has reached more than £10m since the beginning of the year, making it the most successful fundraising year outside of a general election. The Conservatives quietly raised the spending limits for general elections last year from £19m to £34m a year ago – meaning the parties are engaged in a race to raise and spend far more than ever before on the 2024 contest. So far, the Tories have raised more money, with the £10m from Sainsbury, £5m from former Egyptian government minister Mohamed Mansour, £5m from healthcare boss Frank Hester, and £4.5m from Edwards. The Liberal Democrats raised £2.4m in the third quarter of 2023, including a £100,000 donation from former aircraft parts supplier Stephen Gosling, taking its total for the year so far to £6m. • This article was amended on 11 June 2024 to rephrase reference to US authorities having previously pursued Calvin Ayre. In addition, Mr Ayre’s representative has asked us to make clear his position, as stated in later reporting, that nChain’s donation to the Conservatives had been made without his knowledge or board approval.