The Electoral Commission has just published details of party spending (for those who coughed up less than £250,000) for the Assembly Election back in May.
And interesting reading they make too. Plaid Cymru, flash with their newly-bequeathed cash, spent £245,475 - that's a value-for-money £81,825 for each of the extra seats they picked up. The Tories got through £245,972.60 picking up just one extra seat, while the Liberal Democrats managed to burn £239,799 in order to end up exactly where they were before.
Couple of other curious lines: did the UK Independence Party really manage to spend £152,367 given that the only candidate anybody saw was Sir Dai Llewellyn, and he didn't even splash out on a map (one Wales on Sunday reporter found him campaigning in Cardiff Central, blissfully unaware he was in the wrong constituency)? If People's Voice did not spend a penny, were they really not involved in the organisation and running of Trish Law's campaign? And, given the Welsh Christian Party was entirely funded by the royalties from 'So Macho', the 1986 Sinitta hit written by party leader George Hargreaves, how many times did it need to be played on Belgian radio to make up the £1,629 it spent?
Party Total expenditure incurred (to the nearest pound)
British National Party £22,880.00
Christian Party ‘P C Lordship’ £1,629.00
Christian Peoples Alliance £1805.00
Communist Party of Great Britain£8,930
Conservative Party £245,972.60
Co-operative Party £178.00
English Democrats £4,360.00
Green Party £28,082.00
Neath Port Talbot Ratepayers Nil
New Millennium Bean Party £171.13
Peoples Voice Nil
Plaid Cymru £245,475.00
Respect – The Unity Coalition £1,158.70
Socialist Alternative £550.00
Socialist Equality Party £2,300.00
Socialist Labour £2,560.51
UK Independence Party £152,367.00
Welsh Liberal Democrat £239,799.00
Alwyn ap Huw wrote...
I can't see a mention of Labour in the list, is there a reason?
Posted by: Alwyn ap Huw | August 30, 2007 1:13 PM