Latest accounts show party had 518,659 members at end of 2018 and beat rivals’ fundraising

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Labour’s membership dipped slightly last year but remained above the half a million mark, suggesting the party is retaining the vast majority of the supporters it has gained under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.

Figures from the party’s latest accounts show it had 518,659 members in December 2018, down from a peak of 564,443 the previous year.

The accounts also suggest Labour raised significantly more money than its opponents last year.

The party said the fall in member numbers was “in line with previous experience” outside a general election or leadership campaign year.

Internal critics have blamed falling membership numbers on the party’s approach to Brexit and rows over its handling of antisemitism allegations. Membership figures leaked to PoliticsHome in July put the total at just under 485,000, including about 35,000 whose subscriptions were in arrears.

However, those figures are way above the level at the end of December 2014 under Ed Miliband’s leadership, when the party had 193,743 members.

Labour has by far the largest membership of any British political party, with the Conservatives reporting 159,320 members when Boris Johnson was elected leader.

Labour also raised the most income and spent the most in 2018, according to the various parties’ financial accounts.

The Electoral Commission published details from 11 parties in Great Britain, showing Labour’s income amounting to £45.6m and expenditure of £46.3m. The Conservatives were second with income of £34.2m and expenditure of £36.3m, while the Liberal Democrats received £6.2m and spent £6.5m.

Income and expenditure for most of the major parties decreased in 2018 compared with 2017, when there was a general election.

For the Conservatives, the treasurers’ review from Sir Mick Davis and Alan Mabbutt said the party’s income in 2018 was at the “highest level … achieved in the last 40 years outside a general election or European election year.”

Lib Dem membership was down from 97,403 in 2017 to 93,649 at the end of last year, but it had bounced back to about 105,000 at the time of the leadership contest, which was won by Jo Swinson.