The Conservatives raised more than 10 times as much money from large donors in the most recent week of the general election campaign.
Electoral Commission figures show the Tories took £3,772,550 in donations over £7,500 while Labour, the next largest donee, raised £331,499. The huge disparity in money with a narrowing in the polls, with Labour apparently gaining on the Conservatives despite a big cash shortfall.
The party to raise the next biggest cash pile was the Lib Dems, who were close behind Labour with £310,500.
The money raised refers to the reporting period between 17 May and 23 May. During general election campaigns parties are required to report larger donations to the Electoral Commission, which publishes them for transparency. Smaller parties are also included in the figures. The Women's Equality Party took £71,552, Ukip £16,300, and the Green Party £9,366.
National parties are limited to spending around £19m on their country-wide campaigns, with stricter limits in place for local candidates in local areas. Campaigners have however voiced concerns that the Electoral Commission's rules are not keeping pace with new technology, with highly targeted social media ads for local seats being counted as national spending, where limits are less strict.
