Sir Kier.

Labour Party membership has sunk to its lowest level in a decade under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, figures reveal.

The party lost 37,000 members last year, bringing its total membership at the end of 2023 to 370,450, according to Labour’s official accounts.

The figure marks a new low for Labour membership under Sir Keir, compared to 532,000 members recorded in 2019 when Jeremy Corbyn was leader.

The latest figures represent the lowest total number of members supporting the party since 2014, when Labour introduced its “one person one vote” system that gave members and MPs equal sway in leadership contests. Membership doubled the following year to 388,000

The recent 9 per cent fall is also the party’s steepest year-on-year decline in membership since 2003, when it dipped by 13 per cent, down from 248,300 to 215,000, following the invasion of Iraq.

Despite a drop in membership, the party reported a loss of £851,000 as it ramped up spending ahead of the election – a smaller deficit than expected.

The party had originally been forecast to lose £2.5 million throughout 2023.

Treasurer David Evans attributed this to “an increase in high-value donations”, offsetting investment in staffing levels and technology and the move to a “more appropriate” head office.