Lotto pair bankrolled £½m SNP election bid
THE SNP’s campaign for this year’s general election was almost single-handedly funded by a Scots couple who won the Euromillions lottery jackpot.
Colin and Christine Weir, who became Europe’s biggest lottery winners when they scooped £161million in 2011, handed the party another £500,000 in the run-up to the June snap election.
They provided the vast majority of the £596,000 the SNP brought in from donors.
Opponents said the figures show that, aside from the Weirs, financial support for the party is now drying up completely.
Other donations came from the artist Gerard Burns, who handed over £23,000, a £63,000 bequest from supporter Ian McNish and £10,000 from private individual Reid Moffat.
The latest gift takes total donations to the SNP from the Weirs to £4.5million in the last six years, while they have also handed over £2.1million in loans, half of which has been repaid.
In addition, they gave £3.5million to Yes Scotland. It confirms their status as the biggest donors to British political parties among private individuals.
But it also means the SNP has become increasingly reliant on investment from the couple, who have rarely spoken about the reasons for their huge donations.
Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: ‘This shows, aside from public cash from Westminster and two lottery winners, the SNP cash reserves have dried up.
‘And despite the half-million bonus from the Weirs, the SNP’s luck ran out in June as it lost seats right across Scotland. Scottish people clearly have more sense than to keep supporting the SNP with their cash or votes.’
The SNP received £596,000 in donations, as well as £375,342 in public funds from their Westminster short money and policy development grant. The party also received £100,000 of loans.
According to the latest data from the Electoral Commission, the donation was received by the SNP on April 27, just over a week after Theresa May called the June 8 ballot.
Figures published by the elections watchdog show that in the three months from April to June, political parties across the UK received a record £40.1million in donations.
The SNP received the fourth highest sum, with £596,000 of donations for the quarter, behind the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
Despite being the third-largest party at Westminster, the SNP’s donations were dwarfed by the Lib Dems. The Conservative Party received more than all the other parties put together, with nearly £25million from donors, compared to £9.5million for Labour, and £4.4million for the Liberal Democrats.
A spokesman for the SNP said: ‘We are very grateful for every donation – large and small – from our supporters, which all contribute to the ongoing success of the only party that always puts the people of Scotland first.’