Tories rake in £6.4m as donations pour in to all political parties

In the second highest figures for a quarter outside a general election, the Conservatives attracted nearly half of all money handed over.

Despite the MPs' expenses scandal, donations increased to £13.2 million, up almost 50 per cent, the Electoral Commission said.

The cash injections once again favoured the Tories, while Labour's coffers were boosted by £4.4 million and the Liberal Democrats received £1.1 million. It is the first time they have received more than a million in a quarter.

But the Tories received more than £1  million in a single gift. The £13.2 million figure is the total for all political parties in the UK.

With a general election no more than nine months away at most, fundraising efforts are already being stepped up significantly.

The only quarter in which more donations have been reported to the Commission was the final one of 2007, when Gordon Brown had been expected to call a snap poll. The British National Party was criticised by the Commission and faces another fine from the watchdog after failing to submit its funding records.

"This was the fourth highest quarter ever for donations — the second highest outside a general election quarter — and we received donations reports from a larger number of parties than usual," said Commission chief executive Peter Wardle.

"This is something we'd expect, given the level of campaigning at the European elections this June."