Seventy-six people accounted for 41% of all individual and corporate donations made to the political parties and other political causes in Britain over the past five years, it has been reported.



The first Sunday Times Political Rich List, published this weekend, found that 25 individuals had given more than £1m each, accounting for 28% of £174.4m donated in private and corporate cash between 2010 and 2014.

The list is topped by the Scottish EuroMillions lottery winners Colin and Chris Weir who together gave £6.5m to the SNP and the Yes Scotland campaign, the paper said.

They are followed by the City financier Lord Farmer, who gave more than £5m to the Conservatives, while JCB chairman Lord Bamford and other members of his family were said to have given the Tories a combined total of £3.6m.

Lord Bamford (left) with George Osborne, the chancellor, on a visit to a JCB factory in Staffordshire. Bamford’s family are said to have given £3.6m to the Tories. Photograph: Rui Vieira/PA

Lord Sainsbury of Turville, former chair of Sainsbury and science minister under the last Labour government, was reported to have donated more than £3.5m to various political causes – including £542,329 to Labour and to David Miliband, although he stopped giving to the party directly since Ed Miliband became leader in 2010.

Other big donors on the list include property developer David Rowland (Conservatives, £3.4m); Stagecoach Group founder Sir Brian Souter (SNP/Yes Scotland, £2.1m); banker James Lupton (Conservatives £2.1m); hedge fund manager Sir Michael Hintze (Conservatives, £1.9m); businessman Lord Verjee (Liberal Democrats, £1.8m); and IM Group founder Lord Edmiston (Conservatives, £1.5m).