Financing of political partiesPolitical parties need funds to be able to pay for electoral campaigns, salaries, etc. Donations can range from as little as £5 a year to millions of pounds, including funding for offices and equipment. Often, a party spends far more money in a year than it will receive in donations or dues. To see how parties are financed, it is best to look at them individually. The Liberal Democrats, in comparison with the big two, have a relatively low income, around £3 million. For the Lib Dems, their 85,000 members are essential to their existence, as they lack the support of institutions and wealthy individuals, which handicaps them in elections. Furthermore, their members are vitally important for election campaigns, as the Liberal Democrats do not have the support of a newspaper and cannot afford to spend huge sums of money. This means they have to spread their resources very thinly between constituencies and, therefore, will not gain many votes as they struggle to get their manifesto through. The Conservatives have increasingly worrying financial problems, as their income continues to fall. Even though they have more money on paper than they did a while ago, it doesn't keep up with inflation, so they are losing money. One of the main reasons for this is the decline in membership. In the 1950s, the Conservatives boasted over 2 million members, but this figure fell to 330,000. The Conservatives benefited from huge donations from wealthy individuals and corporations (in the early 1950s). 90s in particular), although there is a sleaze factor to it. Wealthy families in Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait donated huge sums to the conservative party and obtained military aid in return for their generosity. They also received funding from Li Ka-Shing and Rong Yiren; in exchange, they received passports to come to this country. The Conservatives have been criticized for being funded by a handful of wealthy individuals. Most of the Labor Party's income comes from unions, although they