Back in May readers might remember emphatic reports CCHQ hadn’t furloughed anybody despite facing a big financial squeeze from Lockdown; with a spokesperson telling the FT it “hasn’t furloughed any staff and doesn’t have plans to”. They clearly failed to stick to their plans however with Electoral Commission figures this morning showing the Tories took £80,163 of furlough money – almost 8 times as much as Labour’s £9,914. On top of recent sackings, the Tory coffers are clearly in a dire state…

UPDATE: A Tory spokesperson maintains CCHQ have not furloughed any staff, however clarified local associations are “no different from other voluntary sector organisations in facing challenging times”

It’s also been pointed out the New Statesman reported on the LibDems furloughing half their staff at the start of the pandemic, and as such have raked up a staggering £179,000 in taxpayer donations to keep their staff on the books…