BUSINESSMAN Sudhir Choudhrie has emerged as one of the biggest British Asian donors to the Liberal Democrats in the last quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from the Electoral Commission.
Choudhrie, currently an advisor on India to the leader of the Liberal Democrats, contributed on six different occasions to the party between October and December 2024, totalling more than £23,000. He contributed in a similar fashion in the previous quarter as well.
Data from the Electoral Commission revealed last Thursday (6) that Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf contributed £6,000 to his party in November last year.
Analysts indicated that nationally, former Tory donors are shifting towards Reform in the latest quarter.
Latest figures from the Electoral Commission showed that the Conservatives raised nearly £2 million, while Labour garnered £1m; the Liberal Democrats, £685,727 and Reform, £280,000 from donors in last three months of 2024.
Businessman Ramesh Dewan has emerged as another significant Liberal Democrats donor, contributing approximately £15,000 in the last three months of 2024.
The commercial real estate and publishing veteran has developed over 40 million square feet of UK commercial property during his four-decade long career.
Beyond business, he leads The Dewan Foundation, which supports women-led micro-enterprises to combat poverty, and he also serves as a trustee for the DM Thomas Foundation for young people.
Other prominent Lib Dem donors include Ahmed AA Hindawi (who gave £10,000); Dinesh Dhamija (donated £4,000); Tushar S Prabhu (£2,500) and Arjuna G Sittampalam (£1,000).
London-based Tiktok Information Technologies UK Limited, which operates in the IT services industry and lists Harsh Govind Vekaria as a director, gave £8,400 to Lib Dems in the fourth quarter.
Mustafa Tariq Mohammed emerged as a top Tory donor who contributed more than £6,000 to the opposition party.
Tory peer Lord Rami Ranger donated £10,000 through his RR Asset Management Limited to the party.
Glass Express Midlands Ltd, a West Midlands-based manufacturer of energyefficient and sustainable glass solutions, donated a similar amount to the Tories. Arun Photay is the director of the Oldbury firm, which was set up in 2008.
Zia Yusuf
The global paper and board supplier, headquartered in Greenock, Scotland, gave around £4,000 to the opposition party. According to the Electoral Commission, the three parties – Labour, Tories and Liberal Democrats – raised just over £7m in the last quarter of 2024, compared with £22.6m in the same period in 2023.
Jackie Killeen, director of Electoral Administration and Regulation, said, “Almost £100m in donations was accepted by political parties during 2024. It is not unusual to see a spike in donations in the lead up to general elections as political parties began to campaign, and a drop in donations in the quarters after.
“The UK political finance regime has high levels of transparency, and we publish details of these donations so voters can see where the money is coming from.
“However there are parts of the system that need strengthening, and we have been calling for changes to the law in three key areas: limit company donations to the money that they have made in the UK; legally require parties to conduct know-your-donor checks on donations to assess and manage their risks; and ensure those who donate to unincorporated associations are permissible donors. Together, these reforms could help to improve the integrity of the overall regulatory regime.”
An aerial view of the British Steel Scunthorpe site on September 13, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
