SF and UUP stay in the black
Sinn Féin and the UUP were both in the black at the end of last year but the DUP and SDLP slipped into the red, according to accounts revealed today.
The sale of the Ulster Unionist Party’s former headquarters in Belfast kept the party in the black last year.
As accounts for Mark Durkan’s SDLP revealed it was over £93,000 (€140,000) in the red at the end of 2003, David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists reported a surplus of £319,718 (€484,330).
But that was due to the profit from the sale of its former offices in Glengall Street in Belfast city centre.
In their submission to the Electoral Commission, SDLP party managers said they would have to take steps to curb further borrowing after the party spent heavily during the election.
The SDLP, which was overtaken by Sinn Féin in last November’s election as the largest nationalist grouping in the Assembly, admitted: “The party is in a difficult financial position with liabilities exceeding assets and is in deficit to the extent of £93,147 at December 31, 2003."
Northern Ireland’s largest party, the Democratic Unionists recorded an overall deficit of £77,233 (€116,992), despite receiving a grant from the North's Electoral Commission last year and contributions from its electoral representatives.
The bulk of the party’s costs were administrative and the DUP confirmed most of the money it received from the commission and Assembly was spent on salaries and the publication of policy documents.
Sinn Féin had an operating surplus of £213,998 (€324,138) at the end of last year and attributed part of its success to contributions from elected members and overseas donations.
In its statement, Sinn Féin criticised the failure to give it policy development grants.
The party also said: “In the continued absence of our fair share of policy development grants and short money, we continue to rely on an ever increasing contribution from our elected representatives and the generosity of our donors, especially Friends of Sinn Féin.
“Although we increased our full time staff during the year we continue to rely on the unstinting efforts of our unpaid activists.”
The cross community Alliance Party lost approximately £4,000 (€6,000) last year but was mainly satisfied with its accounts.
