New figures shed light on the donations received by Lancashire's MPs

MPs are required to declare their financial interests within 28 days of the start of a new Parliament. They must also disclose any gifts or benefits they receive that could be reasonably considered to influence what they say or do as MPs.

Newly-elected MPs must disclose any relevant financial interests from the year prior to their election.

Among the region’s MPs, the totals range from the £39,000 received by Oliver Ryan, who was elected as the Labour MP in Burnley, to Preston’s Sir Mark Hendrick, who received a total of just over £2,500.

In total, 498 MPs across Parliament reported donations they received. Labour MPs received the highest amount, totalling £9.3 million, followed by the Liberal Democrats with £3.2 million, and the Conservatives with £1.7 million.

Labour's Yvette Cooper was the top recipient, securing £393,000, including £210,000 from former Autoglass CEO Gary Lubner to fund “three additional members of staff for my office over the next 18 months”.

Labour MPs Ed Miliband and Rachel Reeves each received over £300,000 in donations.

Gifts such as tickets to football games and concerts were also declared as well as costly overseas visits by several MPs.

Rose Whiffen, senior research officer at Transparency International UK, said: “Politicians should be careful when accepting gifts and hospitality from private interests.

“Enjoying the generosity of companies and wealthy individuals risks the appearance of benefitting personally from their public role and damages trust in our political system,

“Decision makers should ask themselves why they're being taken care of so generously and what expectations of them may follow."

She added: “To avoid perceptions of undue influence it should be clear that any decisions they make are in the wider public interest and not just their financial backers.

“This would be greatly assisted by a comprehensive lobbying register. A cap on individual donations would also help improve the perception that money can buy access."

Data for how much MPs earned from paid employment was also included in the release.

The figures show Reform’s Nigel Farage is the highest-earning MP. He declared receiving almost £98,000 a month for presenting GB News, for a reported 32 hours a week.

However, Mr Farage said the income was for several months work for the channel.

A statement posted on X said: “To be clear… The GB News sum paid to me and declared includes VAT, and was for several months of work.

“It was paid to my company, which has significant expenses.”

In addition to his work with GB News, he received £16,600 from the paid video app Cameo and £4,000 for writing articles for The Telegraph.

What did each Lancashire MP receive in donations?

PRESTON

Sir Mark Hendrick (Labour) – first elected Nov 2000, re-elected July 2024

The figures show Sir Mark Hendrick received £1,740 in gifts and benefits and £840 to pay for visits overseas over the last year

RIBBLE VALLEY

Maya Ellis (Labour) – first elected July 2024

The figures show Maya Ellis received £5,000 in donations in the last year

CHORLEY

Sir Lindsay Hoyle (Labour) – first elected May 1997, re-elected July 2024

The figures show Sir Lindsay Hoyle – the current Speaker of the House of Commons – received £2,995 in donations in the last year

MORECAMBE & LUNESDALE

Lizzi Collinge (Labour) – first elected July 2024

The figures show Lizzi Collinge received £15,000 in donations in the last year.

BLACKPOOL SOUTH

Chris Webb (Labour) – first elected May 2, 2024, re-elected July 2024

The figures show Chris Webb received £17,000 in donations in the last year

FYLDE

Andrew Snowden (Conservative) – first elected July 2024

The figures show Andrew Snowden received £7,000 in donations in the last year.

SOUTH RIBBLE

Paul Foster (Labour) – first elected July 2024

The figures show Paul Foster received £22,000 in donations in the last year

BURNLEY

Oliver Ryan (Labour) – first elected July 2024

The figures show Oliver Ryan received £39,000 in donations in the last year¶

PENDLE & CLITHEROE

Jonathan Hinder (Labour) – first elected July 2024

The figures show Jonathan Hinder received £28,250 in donations in the last year

LANCASTER & WYRE

Cat Smith (Labour) – first elected to Lancaster and Fleetwood in 2015, elected to new constituency Lancaster and Wyre in July 2024

The figures show Cat Smith received £23,250 in donations in the last year

SOUTHPORT

Patrick Hurley (Labour) – first elected July 2024

The figures show Patrick Hurley received £41,500 in donations in the last year

* Data provided by the Press Association. No figures have been released for the Blackpool North & Fleetwood or West Lancashire constituencies

What is the register of members’ interests?

In existence since 1974, the register records all financial interests which “might be reasonably regarded as influencing the actions, words or votes of MPs”.

The are 10 categories of interests, including outside earnings, donations and shareholdings.

The register was toughened up in 1996 after the newly-established Committee on Standards in Public Life made a series of recommendations. The parliamentary commissioner for standards is responsible for maintaining the register, but MPs declare their interests through the office of the registrar, with details published on the parliamentary website.

MPs must register their interests within 28 days of a new parliament beginning, while any newly-elected MPs must include any relevant interests (other than earnings) from the year prior to their election.

Any changes or additions after this initial period must also be registered within 28 days. Updates to the register are usually published fortnightly when the Commons is sitting, and less frequently during recess.

Any cases of alleged non-compliance with the rules surrounding MPs’ interests will be investigated by the parliamentary commissioner.

If an MP is found to have committed a breach, it is commonly dealt with using a rectification process, which sees the MP involved making an apology and correcting the register.

According to the parliamentary commissioner, 13.5 per cent of registrations were submitted late in 2022-23, with the commissioner warning MPs that “a significant proportion of Members are habitually registering outside the 28-day time limits”.