Conservatives break election donations record while unions turn on the taps for Labour
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.
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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.