NIGEL Farage's Brexit Party collected a pre-election war chest of almost £3.4 million – second only to the Tories.

Official figures from the elections watchdog reveal the pro-Leave party amassed the sum in donations made between July and September.

The Conservatives collected more than £5.3m in donations over the same period – around £2m more – giving them the largest take of any UK political party.

The LibDems were third top for donations, taking in more than £2.9m, while Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party attracted a total of £2.8m in cash gifts.

In contrast, the SNP reported donations of £130,738, less than Farage's old party UKIP, which collected £161,501.

The figures do not include any public funds.

Political parties are required to give quarterly donation and loans reports to the Electoral Commission, revealing gifts of above the £7500 threshold.

Those who fail can be fined.

The watchdog says the £19m-plus registered in the third quarter of 2019 is almost £4.3m more than in the previous three months, even though that April-June period covered the European Parliament elections.

Louise Edwards, director of regulation at the Electoral Commission, said: “Publishing data about party donations and loans on our online database means voters can clearly see where political parties receive their funds from. This leads to a more trusted and transparent political finance system and helps ensure compliance.

“Where parties fail to deliver their return on time, and there is no reasonable explanation for such a failure, we will take a robust approach in dealing with this in line with our enforcement policy.”