Revealed: Members of House of Lords Have Donated £109m to Political Parties

Peers who sat in the House of Lords during the last parliament have given a combined £109m in political donations, almost £50m of which was contributed before they secured their seats.

- Michael Goodier

In a detailed study of the role the Lords plays in financing British politics, the Guardian has found that £1 in every £14 raised since donations were first published in 2001 came from peers either before or after they entered the second chamber.

Peers are chosen from lists put forward by political parties, and the Conservatives have benefited more than any other party from those they nominated, taking 62% of the £109m. Labour took a 21% share and 16% went to the Liberal Democrats.

The findings will fuel debate over the UK's second chamber.

Historically, reasons have not needed to be given for political appointments, but the government has recently changed the rules so leaders of political parties must explain future nominations.

Guardian analysis of Electoral Commission figures shows that 266 peers made a political donation in the period covered by the analysis, with 115 of these donating at least once before they entered the Lords.

The top three donors were David Sainsbury, with £25m to Labour and the Lib Dems, and Conservative supporters Anthony Bamford with £10m and Michael Farmer, £9m.