THE Alba Party have recorded a deficit of more than £80,000 despite a rise in members.
Accounts published online by the Electoral Commission show the party recorded income of £418,577 in 2023 and expenditure of £499,268 – totalling a deficit of £80,691.
Meanwhile, the party’s reserves appear to have been drained. From a £80,192 surplus in 2022, a £499 deficit was recorded in 2023.
The party’s income decreased by more than £61,000 compared to 2022 while its expenditure increased by more than £36,000.
This is despite a reported increase in the party’s membership which stood at 7507 at the end of last year compared to 6162 at the end of 2022. The party said it has frozen membership fees since 2021.
Although the party took in more money from membership subscriptions in 2023 compared to the previous year, income from donations plummeted from £134,360 to £31,236.
The party said a decrease in donations is expected in a non-election year.
Alba Party General Secretary Chris McEleny said: “Alba Party’s membership is our greatest strength and it is the asset that fights our campaigns and provides the majority of the funds that support our independence related activities.
“Over the past couple of years we have held over 100 pro-independence public meetings to promote the case for Scottish independence. This is only possible thanks to the support of our members and supporters.
“We are now looking towards the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026 and we have the organisation, the membership and the campaign team to help return a pro-independence majority to Holyrood.”
Alba said surpluses recorded in 2021 and 2022 were invested in 2023 to increase the party’s staffing resource.
According to the accounts, the party spent £192,606 on staff costs in 2023 compared to £117,163 in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens posted a surplus of £70,840 in 2023.
The party’s total income fell to £529,111 from £566,443 in 2022, but expenditure also decreased from £594,634 in 2022 to £458,271 in 2023.
There was a decrease in membership income of £3000 while income from donations and fundraising fell by £53,000 to £210,000.
The Greens recorded an increase of £18,000 from conference income, while their reserves stood at £234,000 at the end of 2023 – from £163,000 in 2022.
The party's membership stands 7987 in August 2024, compared to 7850 in the same month of last year.
It comes after the SNP’s membership numbers were found to have fallen to 64,525 with a loss of 9411.
However, the party posed a budget surplus of £661,568 thanks to a levy imposed on local branches.
It marks a turnaround from last year’s accounts, when the party recorded a deficit of £804,278.
