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.
The party remains the largest in the UK, despite a surge in membership for Reform UK.
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 claimed it had 234,460 members.
The LibDems suffered a slight fall in membership from 86,599 to 83,174 despite recording its best electoral results, while the Greens gained around 5000 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.
In Scotland, the SNP recorded 56,011 members, compared with 64,525 in 2024 – which the party said means it remains the largest north of the Border.
Thursday’s accounts also showed Labour and the Tories reporting deficits for the year after the most expensive General Election in British history.
Labour recorded a loss of £3.8 million after spending £94.5m over the course of the year, while the Conservatives spent £52m and lost £1.9m. The SNP, meanwhile, recorded a deficit of £455,254 after spending £4.5m.
Smaller parties fared better. The LibDems and Reform UK recorded surpluses of £1.1m and £1.5m respectively, and the Greens enjoyed a £232,457 surplus.
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 £39.4m.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives’ loss came as its income fell by more than £9m, 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 £12.6m in income for 2024, while Reform UK reported £10.8m and the Greens £5.2m.
