Labour Party membership slides but party enjoys financial boost as Tory income slumps

Labour Party membership continued to slide last year even as the party enjoyed one of its most financially successful years in recent history.

Annual accounts published by the Electoral Commission on Thursday show Labour had 407,445 members at the end of 2022, down almost 25,000 compared with 2021.

This was well below the recent membership peak recorded at the end of 2019, when there were 532,046 Labour members.

But Labour still achieved some of its highest income levels outside an election year, raising £47.2 million and returning a £2.7 million surplus after losing £5.2 million in 2021.

A report from party treasurer David Evans said “difficult decisions” on reducing costs had contributed to returning Labour to surplus, while membership income “exceeded targets” thanks to new members and “an improved rate of retention”.

Turbulent

Meanwhile, the Conservatives recorded a loss of £2.3 million in what the party described as a “turbulent year”.

Income from donations fell by £2.4 million compared with 2021, with party officials saying this was partly due to “donor pledges moving into 2023”.

The party does not publish its total membership figure, but income from membership fees fell slightly from £1.99 million to £1.97 million. Around 170,000 people were eligible to vote in the summer leadership election last year.

The Liberal Democrats recorded a deficit of £753,789 in 2022, including a £185,839 loss incurred due to cancelling the party’s annual conference following the death of Elizabeth II.

The party did, however, record a slight increase in membership from 94,706 to 97,493.

Plaid Cymru reported a surplus of just over £28,000 from income of £970,293 and expenditure of £942,273 last year.

The SNP recorded a deficit of £804,000 during 2022, which it said was not “out of keeping with other years in which nation-wide elections were fought”.

The party’s accounts also show a significant decline in membership since the end of 2021, when there had been 103,884 SNP members.

By the end of 2022, that figure had fallen to 82,598 while the accounts show that number had fallen even further by the end of June 2023, reaching 73,936.