Conservatives break election donations record while unions turn on the taps for Labour
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The Conservatives have broken the record for the most amount of money raised in the first fortnight of a general election campaign.
Figures from the Electoral commission show the Tories were given £8.6m in large donations in the first two weeks of the campaign, while Labour lags behind on £3.7m and the Brexit Party on £2.25m.
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The Liberal Democrats have raised just £251,000.
Labour led the pack in the second week of campaigning as they were given £3.5m in large donations, including £3m from Unite the Union.
The Communication Workers Union also gave £425,000 to the party.
Businessman Christopher Harborne donated £2m to the Brexit Party, while the Tories attracted one donation of £250,000 from hedge fund manager Jonathan Wood.
The figures, which only show donations above £7,500, are a stark change from the first week of campaigning, where Labour attracted 26-times less than the Tories.
However, the Conservatives still had nine six-figure donations during the period.
American hedge fund manager Yan Huo and British billionaire David Harding both donated £200,000 to the Tories.
So too did Rosemary Said – the wife of Saudi billionaire Wafic Said.
Read more: General Election 2019: Conservatives and Labour fiscal plans are ‘not credible’
Meanwhile, analysis of Facebook advertising spending shows Labour and the Liberal Democrats spent £175,000 and £212,000 respectively over the past week.
The Tories spent just £18,000.