LABOUR are haemorrhaging members with the ranks of the party faithful contracting by almost 10% in a year, according to the latest figures.
According to the party’s accounts published by the Electoral Commission, Labour lost 37,005 members between 2022 and last year.
That brings them down to 370,450 members, down 9% and way down on its Jeremy Corbyn-era peak in 2019 when membership hit more than 532,000.
But income from the membership has increased, up from nearly £16 million to just short of £17m.
Donations also rocketed in the year before the General Election, with the party embarking on a major charm offensive of deep-pocketed donors, including City fat cats and business tycoons.
The party was gifted £10.5m in 2022, rising to £16.5m last year. In total the party’s income rose from £47m to £58.6m in the year before the election.
The party posted a deficit of £851,000 last year, having recorded a budget surplus of £2.7m the year before.
The treasurers’ report, signed off by Labour’s general secretary David Evans and party treasurer Mike Payne, noted the deficit was better than expected because of “an increase in high value donations when compared to the previous year and delivery of a successful Labour Party conference, which had a significant increase in delegate attendance and delivered income above planned”.
They attributed far higher outgoings in 2023 – total expenditure was up from £44m to £59m – to a hiring drive, a head office move and more money going spent on technology and regional teams to get the party in a “a state of readiness for a General Election”.
The report also noted that Labour’s election victory changed their financial situation “significantly”, adding: “The impact of potential changes in income and a need to manage expenditure will become even more critical.
“The party’s financial accountability and resource control will need to be robust and embedded across the organisation.”
