Rishi Sunak speaks to journalist on the Tory battle bus.Donations to the Tories have plummeted as the party braces itself for electoral wipeout.
New figures released by the Electoral Commission shows the Conservatives raised just £292,500 in the second week of the general election campaign.
That was 15 times less than Labour, who raked in £4,383,400, and around half of what they took in the week before.
Even more worryingly for Tory bosses, it was even less than Reform UK, who received £742,000 over the same period, and the Lib Dems, who raised £335,000.
The paltry Conservative amount will have a major impact on the party’s ability to pay for its campaigning activities between now and polling day and July 4.
It is also a sign of how big-money donors are now snubbing the Tories and backing Labour as the opinion polls continue to indicate that Keir Starmer is on course to secure a huge Commons majority.
The Conservative campaign has been beset by gaffes, controversies and scandals ever since Rishi Sunak announced the election date on May 22.
The prime minister was today forced to field more questions on allegations that senior Tories placed bets on when the election would take place shortly before it was called.
The Guardian first reported last week that Craig Williams, Sunak’s parliamentary aide before the election was called and the Conservative candidate in Montgomeryshire, was being probed by the Gambling Commission.
The scandal intensified when the BBC revealed that one of the PM’s close protection officers had been suspended after also allegedly placing a similar bet.
It then emerged that a second Tory candidate, Laura Saunders, was also under investigation by the Gambling Commission, as was her husband, Tony Lee.
He has taken a “leave of absence” from his role as the Conservative’s campaign director.
