SNP accounts show deficit of more than £800,000 as memberships and donations fall
The SNP plunged more than £800,000 into the red last year following a slump in party membership numbers and donations, its latest accounts have revealed.
It is the party’s second-largest deficit ever recorded and its biggest in a year with no parliamentary election.
The accounts, published on Thursday by the Electoral Commission, also showed that the party ended 2022 with negative reserves of £219,629.
SNP membership has fallen almost 30% in 18 months from 103,884 at the end of 2021 to 73,936 in June.
Its membership income fell from £2,516,854 in 2021 to £2,286,944 in 2022. Reportable donations fell from £695,351 to £368,538.
The party recorded a total loss of £732,072 in 2021 and £804,278 in 2022.
A loan of £60,000 from the party’s “executive management” was still outstanding in 2022, with former chief executive Peter Murrell having previously loaned £107,620 to the party in June 2021.
Stuart McDonald MP, the party’s treasurer, said the soaring cost of living and public concern about the economy and job security were reasons given for cancelling or lowering membership payments.
The MP admitted the SNP was facing “challenges and uncertainty”.
He stated: “Like every membership organisation today, we face challenges and uncertainty in the face of rising inflation and the cost of living crisis which impacts on our members.”
The Electoral Commission publishes annual accounts of all parties that spend more than £250,000.
The Conservatives recorded a larger deficit than the SNP with £2.3m in the red. The Scottish Conservatives do not publish accounts.
Scottish Labour showed a deficit of £123,787, while the Scottish Liberal Democrats had a surplus of £291,287.
The Scottish Greens had a deficit of £28,191, while Alba recorded a surplus of £17,425.
The SNP had faced a race against time to file its accounts ahead of the Electoral Commission deadline last month after appointing new auditors in May.
AMS Accountants Group took on the job after Johnston Carmichael quit in September 2022.
A Police Scotland investigation into the SNP’s funding and finances is ongoing.
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, her husband and ex-SNP chief executive Mr Murrell, and former party treasurer Colin Beattie have each been arrested and released without charge as part of Operation Branchform.
On Wednesday, the party’s former spin doctor was announced as the new chief executive.
Murray Foote was forced to step down as head of communications earlier this year following a row over membership numbers.
Mr Murrell shouldered the blame for misleading responses to the media and also resigned.
Mr Foote, a former editor of the Daily Record, said he was “delighted” to take up the role of SNP chief executive, adding that he was looking forward “to helping build the campaign for independence”.
An SNP spokesperson said: “2022 was a challenging year for all political parties – with nationwide local authority elections, costs rising, and members understandably cutting back on donations due to a Westminster-made cost of living crisis.
“However, as we move forward, the SNP is determined to balance its accounts in preparation for the Westminster election in 2024.”