MP donations: Who is funding Scottish Labour, LibDem and Alba MPs?

Using an interactive tool created by Tortoise and Sky News, the Westminster Accounts database, we previously ranked Scottish Tory MPs by how much in donations, gifts, and secondary income they had received. Leader Douglas Ross topped the list with a whopping £100,000 since 2019.

And, we also ranked all 45 SNP MPs using the same methodology, with Glasgow South West's Chris Stephens coming out on top of the list with just over £92,000 in donations.

But what about the eight remaining Scottish MPs from Labour, the LibDems, Alba and one independent?

READ MORE: Douglas Ross says nationalist MSPs should be 'ignored' during FMQs

We logged donations, gifts and outside earnings from those remaining parliamentarians since the end of 2019, and ranked them below using the available data, taken from each MP's register of interests.

The research also widened out to include which All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) the MP is or has been a member of, and how much cash they have access to through the independent groups, highlighting which companies and campaign groups MPs are most likely to interact with.

Ian Murray, Edinburgh South, Labour

Murray had the highest total out of the eight Scottish MPs in the analysis

Number of financial interests: 36

Gifts: £10,200 (5)

Donations: £73,000 (14)

Secondary earnings: £4740 (17)

Total: £88,250

Labour's only Scottish MP has the most considerable amount of declared cash than any of the other seven MPs in the analysis and by far the most in donations. Murray's most prominent donors are both peers; Lord Matthew Oakeshott, a former LibDem (now sitting as unaligned) investment manager who donated £10,000 twice, and Lord William Haughey, a Labour peer and Scottish businessman, who donated £5000 twice. He also accepted £5000 from Mark Bathgate, who previously gave cash to Tory MP and former Cabinet minister Liam Fox in 2009.

The largest of Murray's declared gifts came from the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, worth £7600. His secondary earnings came from two sources, YouGov and Luath Press, and Edinburgh-based publisher, with Murray declaring two payments totalling £2700. 

The MP is or was a member of eight APPGs, five of which received funding or benefits of £182,500. Murray is a member of two football related groups, and another titled Snooker. The biggest sources of income for the groups overall were Three Lines Sport, the Performers' Alliance and Cadent. 

Wendy Chamberlain, North East Fife, LibDem

Chamberlain tops the list of LibDem MPs (Image: PA)

Financial interests: 13

Gifts: £6350 (5)

Donations: £20,000 (2)

Secondary income: £950 (6)

Total: £27,300

The deputy leader of the Scottish LibDems comes second on the list, thanks to a boost of £20,000 in donations. Chamberlain's biggest donor is Sir Bob Reid, a Scottish businessman who formerly worked for Shell and as chairman of the British Railways Board, who gave £10,000. Peak Scientific Holdings, registered with Companies House in Renfrew, also donated £10,000. 

Her most expensive gifts were from Results UK, worth £2770, and St Andrews Links, worth £1480. Chamberlain's outsider earnings came from polling firms YouGov and Ipsos MORI.

The MP is or was a member of 14 APPGs, 10 of which had access to funding or benefits worth £377,000. Chamberlain is a member of groups titled Golf, Women and Work, Food Banks, and Frozen British Pensions. The largest sources of income for these groups included Three Lines Sport, Connect Communications, and The R&A.

Alistair Carmichael, Orkney and Shetland, LibDem

Islands MP Carmichael brought in over £17,000 in donations

Financial interests: 6

Gifts: £3420 (1)

Donations: £17,500 (3)

Secondary income: £700 (2)

Total: £21,620

Carmichael's biggest donor is Indian-born London-based businessman Sudhir Choudhrie, who donated £10,000 to the LibDem MP this parliamentary term. He also accepted £5000 from entrepreneur Joe Zammit-Lucia and £2500 from Robert Lawrence. 

His one registered gift came from the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, while both payments for secondary income came from House Magazine, a weekly parliamentary political publication. 

Carmichael is or was a member of 23 APPGs, 10 of which had access to funding of £422,000. The biggest of those groups were Hong Kong, China and Fisheries, with the main sources of funding including Whitehouse Communications, Mindfully Wired Communications, and HSBC.

Jamie Stone, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, LibDem

Stone accepted two gifts and one donation (Image: PA)

Financial interests: 3

Gifts: £7620 (2)

Donations: £2000 (1)

Total: £9620

Stone has only accepted one donation so far this parliamentary term from More United, which describes itself as a "cross-party political movement", in January 2020. He registered two gifts; one from Satellite Applications Catapult, based in Didcot, Oxfordshire, worth £6600, and one from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), worth £1020.

He is or was a member of 22 APPGs, 10 of which had access to funding estimated to be around £655,100. The groups he is a member of include Media, Armed Forces and International Freedom of Religion and Belief. The group's biggest backers include Healthcomms Consulting, Religious Freedom Institute and Whitehouse Communications.

Kenny MacAskill, East Lothian, Alba

MacAskill only logged secondary earnings on his register of interests

Financial interests: 38

Total: £8620 (secondary earnings)

The Alba MP only registered outside earnings, with the largest single amount coming from JPI Media, worth £800. The smallest amount registered was £78 from Scots Magazine, with the publication giving the MP £7820 since the end of 2019. 

MacAskill is a member of eight APPGs, five of which have access to £31,500. The groups he is linked to are on numerous topics including legal and constitutional affairs, trade justice and drugs and alcohol. The top sources for these benefits are Solidarity Consulting, Connect Communications and The Trade Justice Movement. 

Christine Jardine, Edinburgh West, LibDem

Jardine had the lowest amount of the four Scottish LibDem MPs

Financial interests: 5

Gifts: £4400 (4)

Donations: £2000 (1)

Total: £6400

Jardine only had one donor who gave her £2000, Piers Pim, who is registered as a chief operating officer of two companies. The largest gift she logged was worth £2300 from the Swiss Foreign Ministry, and the smallest £700 from the Scottish Rugby Union. 

She is or was a member of 22 APPGs, 14 of which have access to funds and benefits worth £748,500. The main groups Jardine had links with are United Nations Women, Media, Hydrogen, Hong Kong, and China. The biggest sources for these include Connect Communications, Whitehouse Communications and Beat. 

Neale Hanvey, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, Alba

Hanvey only declared secondary earnings (Image: PA)

Financial interests: 3

Total: £500 (outside earnings)

Former SNP MP Hanvey only declared three separate instances of secondary earnings during this parliamentary term, all from polling firms. He received £300 from YouGov and £200 from Ipsos MORI. 

He is or was a member of four APPGs, two of which are funded with access to £94,500. The two groups are named Whistleblowing and Restorative Justice, with the biggest sources for each WhistleblowersUK and CalComms.

Margaret Ferrier, Rutherglen and Hamilton West, Independent

Ferrier was suspended from the SNP for breaking Covid lockdown rules

No financial interests.

Ferrier has not not declared any financial interest during the current parliamentary term. 

The former SNP politician was suspended for breaking lockdown rules which she later pled guilty to in court.

She is or was a member of 23 APPGs, 11 of which received funding totalling £546,500. The groups centre on issues including Hong Kong, Gambling Related Harm, Mindfulness, and Human Rights.

The main sources of funding for these APPGs includes Derek Webb. Whitehouse Communications and Barrow Cadbury.