In the last three weeks of the EU referendum campaign, the rival sides of the argument must find some means of funding their battle buses, photo opportunities and leaflets adorned with big scary numbers. And the money is rolling in.
At the Electoral Commission’s last count of donations, more than £7,500 (the ones that have to be declared), groups arguing for a leave vote had raised £12.1m, while £9m had been given to those backing remain. That leave figure is already £1.5m higher than all the declared donations raised by both sides in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the 2011 referendum on the parliamentary voting system combined.
Leave being ahead is significant, but there are caveats. The lead campaigner for remain, Britain Stronger in Europe, has £7.9m, more than their counterpart Vote Leave’s £6.3m. Both these groups are only allowed to spend £7m on their activities during the official campaign period, which began on 15 April, while all other campaigners except political parties are limited to £700,000. Oh, and there is the £9m spent by government on delivering a pro-EU leaflet to every household before the official campaign even started. Don’t mention that sore point to Brexiters.
