Electoral Commission fines Tories £10,000 for inaccurate donation reporting

In a recent turn of events that adds to the woes of the Conservative Party, the Electoral Commission has fined Tories for failing to accurately report donations. The sum reportedly is around £10,000. This development emerges amidst a turbulent week marked by controversy over comments made by a Tory donor, igniting a race row that has dominated headlines.

The infraction involves under-reporting non-cash donations. Specifically, it relates to the secondment of a staff member by donor Richard Harpin to the Conservative Party. This occurred between April 2020 and December 2023. Harpin, a long-standing supporter and founder of HomeServe, along with Checkatrade, has contributed nearly £3 million in cash and non-cash donations to the Tories since 2008. The misreporting involved a discrepancy of over £200,000. This happened when the seconded employee transitioned from part-time to full-time work within the party.

The party has since paid two fines amounting to £10,750 on March 6, attributing the oversight to an “administrative error” and asserting that it was not intentional. Tories Fined, as they are colloquially known, faced scrutiny over the incident.

This fine marks the largest the Conservative Party has paid since December 2021, reflecting ongoing challenges in maintaining accurate financial records and donation reports. Louise Edwards, the commission’s director of regulation and digital transformation, emphasized the importance of transparency in party funding to uphold public confidence in the political finance system. She noted that the commission’s investigation found several inaccuracies in the party’s donation reports, underscoring the necessity of full and clear reporting.

The timing of the fine coincides with efforts by the Conservatives to move past a donations controversy involving remarks made by businessman and Tory donor Frank Hester. Hester’s comments, deemed racist and inappropriate by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, have prompted discussions about the ethics of accepting and retaining such donations. Despite Sunak’s condemnation of the remarks, the party’s decision to accept a £10 million donation from Hester last year has been met with scrutiny, especially in light of an additional £5 million donation that has yet to be declared.

As the Conservative Party grapples with the fallout from this latest sanction and the broader implications of its donor relationships, the focus remains on maintaining transparency and accountability in political financing. The party’s acknowledgment of the Electoral Commission’s findings and its commitment to addressing administrative errors reflect ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.