´óÏó´«Ã½

Labour raised nearly 15 times as much as the Tories in large donations in the second week of the general election campaign, latest figures show.

According to the elections watchdog, Labour raised nearly £4.4m between 6-12 June, way ahead of the Conservatives on £292,500.

It considerably widens the gap between the parties in the first week of the official campaign, which stood at just under £352,000.

Latest Electoral Commission filings also confirm former Neighbours actor Holly Valance donated £50,000 to Nigel Farage's Reform UK.

The Australia-born former pop star, who sprang to fame in Britain with her 2002 hit Kiss Kiss and now lives in the UK, attended the press conference earlier this month where Mr Farage announced he would be standing as a candidate in the Essex seat of Clacton.

The figures mean the Conservatives raised £889,000 in the first two weeks of the official campaign, which began when Parliament was shut down on 30 May.

This is significantly down on the more than £8.6m the party raised in the first two weeks of the campaign in the last election in 2019.

The £292,500 it raised in the latest reporting period was less than the £335,000 posted by the Liberal Democrats.

It was also less than Reform UK, which raised £742,000, thanks largely to £500,000 donated by former leader Richard Tice through his company Britain Means Business Limited.

It stands in stark contrast to the £5.3m raised by Labour so far, including £926,908 during the first week of the campaign.

The Green Party posted a single £20,000 donation during the period.

The Scottish National Party (SNP), which raised £127,998 in the first week of the campaign, did not post any donations above the £11,180 declaration threshold.

The nearly £4.4m posted by Labour in the second week came largely from a huge £2.5m donation from former supermarket boss Lord David Sainsbury.

One of New Labour's biggest donors, the Labour peer has previously given to both Labour and the Liberal Democrats, but resumed donations to Sir Keir Starmer's party last year.

Other big Labour donations included £900,000 from Gary Lubner, the boss of Autoglass, who gave millions to the party last year, and £700,000 from hedge fund manager Martin Taylor.

The latest figures are further evidence of the party's pivot towards wealthy individuals and companies in its funding model under Sir Keir.

It claimed the £13m it raised last year amounted to its "best fundraising year ever" - although it lagged far behind the £48m raised by the Conservatives in 2023.

The Election spending limit for parties has nearly doubled at this election from £19m to £34m, following a decision by the Conservative government last year to increase it.

A full list of candidates standing in the Clacton constituency can be found here.