This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/dec/17/ukip-outspent-labour-lib-dems-european-elections

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Ukip outspent Labour and Lib Dems in European elections, new figures show Ukip outspent Labour and Lib Dems in European elections, new figures show
(about 3 hours later)
Ukip has outspent Labour for the first time in a national election, according to new figures released by the Electoral Commission. Ukip has outspent Labour for the first time in a national election, according to the Electoral Commission.
The party spent £2.96m at this year’s European election, and now sends 24 representatives to Brussels as the biggest British party in Europe. Nigel Farage’s party spent £2.96m at this year’s European election, and now sends 24 representatives to Brussels as the biggest British party in Europe.
Labour spent just over £1m compared with £2.3m in 2009, which some observers claim is evidence of a cash crisis. The party holds 20 seats. Labour spent just over £1m compared with £2.3m in 2009, which some observers claim is evidence of a cash crisis. The party has 20 MEPs. It is understood that Labour decided to reduce spending on the European election in order to withhold money for the general election.
The figures have been released as the commission examined the expenditure of the six biggest parties in May’s election. The figures have been released after the commission examined the expenditure of the six biggest parties in May’s election.
The Liberal Democrats spent more than £1.5m, £400,000 more than in the last European election, but managed to get just one MEP elected and lost 11 seats. The Tories spent £2.98m, a fraction more than Ukip, but now holds 19 seats. The commission’s data also sheds new light on Ukip’s internal row over the expense claims of Neil Hamilton, the former Tory MP, who was forced to stand down as a prospective MP for Basildon South and East Thurrock. The data shows for the first time that Hamilton spent around £11,000 on transport during the European elections, while Farage spent £350 on transport during the same campaign.
This year, Ukip has attracted a number of high-profile backers including former Tory backers Paul Sykes and Arron Banks as well as the newspaper proprietor Richard Desmond. A letter written by Ukip’s finance committee to Hamilton and leaked to Channel 4 News queried his expense claims during the election, but did not mention the amount of money involved. Hamilton described the leaking of the letter as a dirty trick to deliberately destabilise the hustings, saying some of the queries it contained had already been answered. This year, Ukip has attracted a number of high-profile backers including former Tory donors Paul Sykes and Arron Banks as well as the newspaper proprietor Richard Desmond.
Ukip’s booming donor base comes as it consistently attracts more than 12% of voters. It now has two MPs in parliament, following byelections sparked by two Tory MPs who stood down after defecting, and is targeting up to 20 seats next May. A party insider told the Guardian on Monday that the party now has 42,000 members. A Liberal Democrat spokesman said they have 44,556.
The Liberal Democrats spent more than £1.5m, £400,000 more than in the last European election, but managed to get just one MEP elected and lost 11 seats. The Tories spent £2.98m, a fraction more than Ukip, but now hold 19 seats. Including the SNP’s £267,372, the six highest-spending parties spent a total of £9,347,087 on campaigning, the Electoral Commission said.
A spokesman for Ukip said: “It was an election we wanted to win and we did all we could to do so. It worked.”A spokesman for Ukip said: “It was an election we wanted to win and we did all we could to do so. It worked.”
Regarding Hamilton’s expenses, the spokesman added that Hamilton was the party’s European deputy chairman of the regions and was spending money legitimately. “He was commissioned specifically to travel around the regions. That was his job,” he said.