Given declining membership, internal divisions and the failure to deliver a referendum, it’s hardly surprising that the coffers of the Scottish National party appear to be emptying rather rapidly. The Electoral Commisson records that the SNP received only £4,000 in donations in the first quarter of 2023, down from over £90,000 in the same period last year. The Scottish Labour party raised £100,000 in those months — as did the Scottish LibDems.
The last time a living person made a reportable donation to the party was in 2021.
The SNP has always relied disproportionately on individual donations rather than corporate money from business or wealthy trade unions. That £4,000 came from the will of one donor, Mr James Murdoch (no relation). Mind you, it has had the support of some very wealthy individuals in the past. There was the Stagecoach bus magnate Sir Brian Souter, property developer Dan MacDonald and the EuroMillions lottery winners, Colin and Christine Weir, who donated
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