Tory donors pour £2.5m into key seats

Conservative donors have poured more than £2.5m into key election battlegrounds to shore up support for MPs such as Michael Gove and Penny Mordaunt who are in danger of losing their seats.

- Rowena Mason, Henry Dyer

The 2024 election will be the highest spending contest ever, after the government raised national election limits to £34m per party - leaving the Tories and Labour in a race to raise cash over the past year. Tory candidates and their year. Tory candidates and their associations in some of the most closely contested seats have been bringing in £50,000 to £100,000 from donors over the past year as tight local spending limits kick in only during the last five weeks of the campaign.

A last-minute splurge by candidates is expected over the next week before the short deadline of 30 May. MPs and activists across the parties told the Guardian they were rushing out mailshots before the regulated period for spending kicks in, with tens of thousands of pounds going on targeted letters and surveys.

A briefing pack for Conservative candidates, shared with the Guardian, urges them: "Spend as much as possible between now and 30 May getting targeted social media adverts and campaign material out. This is important as whatever you can deliver and post between now and 30 May will not count towards candidate election expenses."

Experts warn that the parties are increasingly getting their funds from a small number of big donors with the power to influence results in marginal seats-despite Labour's commanding lead in the national polls.