SNP facing financial challenge as membership drops

John Swinney's party has lost about 8,500 members in a year

The SNP has acknowledged it is facing financial challenges from falling membership and the loss of MPs in last year's general election.

The party's latest accounts show a deficit of £455,254 for 2024, though that is not unusual in an election year.

Membership fell to 56,011, down by more than 8,500 since 2023.

Treasurer Stuart McDonald said the party had made the "very difficult" decision to cut backroom staff, but that the move would result in "significant spending reductions".

The SNP recorded a deficit of £455,254, down from a surplus £661,568 in 2023.

The party pointed out that it had similar or greater deficits in other recent election years. In 2021, for example, the SNP had a deficit of more than £750,000.

Mr McDonald said: "It is also important to point out that significant steps have been taken to improve financial performance, and the one-off costs of some of these steps account for much of that deficit, but have already delivered significant savings since."

The SNP lost 39 seats in last year's general election, held just weeks after John Swinney succeeded Humza Yousaf as leader.

In a period of significant turmoil for the SNP, former chief executive Peter Murrell - estranged husband of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon - was also charged with embezzling party funds.

Mr Murrell made no plea when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March and was granted bail.

Sturgeon was arrested as part of the police probe but later told she would face no further action. She announced in January that the couple were ending their marriage.

The accounts show the party still owes £60,000 to Mr Murrell in an outstanding loan dating back to 2021.

The SNP still owes money to former chief executive Peter Murrell

As part of the police investigation into SNP finances, a £100,000 motorhome was seized outside the home of Mr Murrell's mother in Dunfermline in April 2023.

The latest accounts list the motorhome among the party's assets, with a depreciated value of £41,284.

A note in the accounts states: "The party retains ownership of the motorhome and expects its future release."

Mr McDonald, a former MP who lost his seat last year, described the general election result as a "significant setback" in filings submitted to the Electoral Commission.

The defeat led to cuts in income from a levy paid to the party by its MPs, and to UK parliament grants.

Mr McDonald said despite donations rising to the highest level since 2017, the sums the party could commit to election campaigning were "not in the same ballpark" as in previous years.

The SNP remains by far the largest membership party in Scotland but Mr McDonald said membership had declined to 56,011 as of June this year, down from 64,525 last year.

He said the party took the "very difficult" decision to cut its backroom staff in December, leading to the departure of "very talented and committed" colleagues.

Finances 'stabilising'

The number of party staff has declined to 19, down from an average of 26 last year.

Mr McDonald said: "These steps, though difficult, have stabilised our finances."

The SNP also increased the levy on its MPs and changed the balance of membership income shared between the central party and branches.

SNP income from membership fees stood at £1,833,039 in 2024, down from more than £2m the previous year.

Donations ramped up in 2024 to £937,167, increasing from £369,308 in 2023.

However, fundraising, investment, conference, grant and "miscellaneous" income were all down on the previous year.

The filings also showed chief executive Carol Beattie, appointed permanently in March, had a salary of £80,000.

And as in previous years, auditors were only able to give a "qualified" opinion on the accounts due to a lack of documentation on receipts for some membership, donation, and raffle income prior to July 2023.

Mr McDonald added: "This report cannot and does not comment on any matters subject to ongoing police investigation or to prosecution."