John Swinney has pleaded with the public to give money to the SNP after it revealed no reportable donations in the first three months of this year.
The SNP leader gave “a wee handy reminder” to the public that the party is “not in any way full up with donations” during a visit to Glasgow on Friday morning.
The First Minister also encouraged people to donate for the general election campaign “because we’ve got four expensive weeks ahead of us.”
The party received no donations from either individuals or companies of more than £500 in the first three months of this year.
Although it did receive £325,000 in public funds.
Opponents have suggested that people are not donating to the SNP because of Operation Branchform, the three-year investigation into the party’s finances.
Swinney was asked how he was funding the campaign and if the police investigation was putting people off from donating at the campaign event in Springburn.
He said: “We receive donations from lots and lots of party members.
“We have more party members than all the other parties in Scotland combined.
“And people generously make contributions to the party on an ongoing basis.
“If you’ve got money coming in from lots of people, small amount, it adds up into quite a big amount.
“So I’m really quite happy with the way in which donations are coming into the party.
“I obviously would encourage people to continue to give because we’ve got four expensive weeks ahead of us.
“So just a wee handy reminder to the watching public: we’re not in any way full up with donations.
“But that’s the funding base that we get.”
He also sought to reassure potential donors that their money would be in safe hands.
He said: “Anybody wanting to donate to the Scottish National Party knows that any money coming in is going to be handled under the governance of John Swinney and that [should] actually give people all the confidence that they require.”
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