‘Addicted to big money’– SNP election bill equal to main rivals’

THE SNP spent more than £1 million on its Holyrood election victory this year – almost the same as the other three main parties put together.

The election fund, which helped the party on its way to the first majority in Holyrood, came before the £2m windfall which the party received in donations from the late makar Edwin Morgan and lottery winners Chris and Colin Weir.

The Nationalists are now facing opposition claims of being “addicted to big money” and ready to change policy for its donors to secure cash.

Electoral Commission figures released yesterday show the SNP spent £1.14m in the May election, which saw First Minister Alex Salmond secure a landslide majority victory.

This was down from £1.38m four years before, which was in line with a dramatic fall in election spending across the board.

It marks a dramatic turnaround in the party’s financial fortunes over the past decade, after it sold up its well-heeled Edinburgh headquarters to help balance the books as it wrestled with a six-figure overdraft.

Labour spent £816,889, down from £1.1m, while Tory party spending more than halved from £601,982 to £273,462.

The Liberal Democrats spent the least of the main parties at £176,300 – just over £35,000 for each of its five MSPs elected.

SNP business convener Derek MacKay said: “Winning elections takes more than money. These figures reveal that we spent less than four years ago and achieved our historic win spending less than our main opponents in getting MSPs elected.

“The momentous results in May were built on our record in government, our outstanding team, and our vision for the future of Scotland.”

It is a remarkable change from 2000 when then treasurer Ian Blackford was suspended and the SNP hierarchy faced calls for an inquiry into its finances. It had run up an overdraft of £180,000, even after the sale of its New Town headquarters.

The SNP was left £1m from Morgan in his will earlier this year and received a further £1m from supporters Colin Weir and wife Chris after they won £161m on the EuroMillions.

But Labour MSP Drew Smith said: “This shows the SNP is addicted to big money, reliant on huge donations from a small number of wealthy individuals. “No wonder the SNP wants to dodge the Electoral Commission spending rules when it comes forward with its referendum in the coming years.”

The party has previously received major donations from Stagecoach tycoon Brian Souter.

A Lib Dem spokeswoman said: “Today we are seeing where the big money in Scottish politics is spent. These figures reveal the SNP spent the campaign soaking up money from big business.”

The Greens were the only party to see a rise in their spending from 2007, as they jumped by a third from £99,132 to £132,464. It made little impact at the ballot box, though, as the party again returned two MSPs.

The commission said 22 parties spent about £2.6m in the regulated period between 6 January and polling day on 5 May. This was a major fall from £4m in 2007. The latest figures cover the three parties that spent more than £250,000. Lesser figures were published in September.