Labour Party membership falls by almost 200,000 in five years

Labour has lost almost 200,000 members in the past five years, the party’s latest annual accounts have shown.

Figures published on Thursday showed the party had shed another 37,215 members over the course of 2024, around 10% of its total membership at the start of the year.

The losses bring Labour’s membership to 333,235 at the end of last year, well down on its recent peak of 532,046 at the end of 2019.

But the party is still the largest in the UK, despite a surge in membership for Reform UK.

Website ticker

Nigel Farage’s party did not include a membership figure in its own accounts, published by the Electoral Commission on Thursday, but a ticker on Reform’s website said it had 234,460 members.

The Liberal Democrats suffered a slight fall in membership from 86,599 to 83,174 despite recording its best electoral results, while the Greens gained around 5,000 new members.

The Conservative Party does not routinely publish its membership figures in its annual accounts, but did record an increase in income from membership fees of around £500,000. Some 131,680 people were eligible to vote in the Tory leadership election last year, 40,000 fewer than in the 2022 contest.

Thursday’s accounts also showed both main parties reporting deficits for the year after the most expensive general election in British history.

Labour recorded a loss of £3.8 million after spending £94.5 million over the course of the year, while the Conservatives spent £52 million and lost £1.9 million.

Other parties fared better. Plaid Cymru’ posted a loss of £12,687 after spending £1,045,798, while the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK recorded surpluses of £1.1 million and £1.5 million respectively, and the Greens enjoyed a £232,457 surplus.

Administrative delays

While most of the details were published by the Electoral Commission on Thursday, Labour’s figures were published on the party’s own website after it was late submitting its accounts to the watchdog.

It is understood that unforeseen administrative delays were responsible for the late submission, while a party spokesman said they expected the Electoral Commission to publish the document “imminently”.

The Electoral Commission said Labour’s “failure to meet the submission deadline” would be “considered in line with our enforcement policy”.

Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley and treasurer Mike Payne said last year’s loss reflected “the need to respond at pace to shifting circumstances in the general election campaign”.

It follows a loss of £851,000 in 2023 and comes despite incomes from donations more than doubling to £39.4 million.

Meanwhile, the Conservatives’ loss came as its income fell by more than £9 million, including a reduction in income from donations.

Tory chairman Nigel Huddleston and treasurer Catherine Latham said the party would now make “substantial investments in digital media infrastructure and staff and volunteer training” as it moved to create a “more dynamic and nimbler organisation”.

The Liberal Democrats reported £12.6 million in income for 2024, while Reform UK reported £10.8 million and the Greens £5.2 million.