SNP fork out £7m on road to Westminster

THE SNP spent £7 million last year during a dramatic 12 months in which the party lost the independence referendum but saw its support surge in the run-up to the election.

The SNP also outspent Scottish Labour by £6m, the new figures show.

Labour and the Conservatives, meanwhile, were almost neck and neck, spending £35.3m and £36.9m respectively.

Overall, spending by political parties across the UK topped £100m to December last year, according to the elections watchdog, the Electoral Commission.

During that time the SNP became the third largest in the UK in terms of membership.

A poll released this week suggested the SNP is on course to win a landslide in nex t year’s Holy rood election.

The TNS sur vey put support for the Nationalists at 62 per cent, 42 points ahead of Labour.

The latest figures also show that the Lib Dems, who crashed from more than 50 to just eight MPs in the election, spent £8.8m last year.

Next in the list was the SNP, who spent £7.2m, followed by Ukip on £6.7m.

Both the SNP and Ukip also spent more than they earned.

Scottish Labour, meanwhile, which lost all but one of its 40 MPs , spent £1,038,737, while the Scottish LibDems spent £603,374.

Previously released figures show that No outspent the Yes campaign during the independence referendum.

Two parties, the Scottish Greens and the British National Par ty (BNP), missed a July deadline to declare their accounts.

The BNP also missed a second deadline earlier this month and is to be investigated by the commission.

In terms of income, Labour received the most, at £39.5m, with the Conservatives taking in £37.4m, the Lib Dems £10.3m the SNP £7m and Ukip £6.6m.

Scottish Labour received £905,142.