Tories rake in £10m donations
David Cameron's general election war chest was bulging today after figures showed the Tories had attracted twice as much money as Labour in donations.
The Conservatives raked in more than £10.4 million in the last three months of 2009, dwarfing the £4.9million given to Gordon Brown's party.
The Liberal Democrats attracted £1million for the last quarter of the year, the Electoral Commission found. With just weeks to go before polling day, the figures underline how successful the Tories have been in pulling in high-value donors.
Some of the cash has been pumped into targeted leaflet drops for key marginal seats and poster campaigns.
The Tories' biggest donor was City property tycoon David Rowland, with a £738,000 gift. Other significant names included Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover and finance guru Stanley Fink, who each gave £500,000. Michael Bishop, boss of BMI airline, gave £335,000, while JCB boss Joseph Bamford gave £400,000.
