THE Swindon South Labour Party had its battle fund bolstered by £1,500 in donations ahead of its close-fought General Election campaign.

The local party received two donations from the public sector union Unison in February of this year the first for £1,125, the second for £375.

Labour candidate Anne Snelgrove went on to retain the seat for Labour at the General Election earlier this month but the Labour majority was slashed by the Conservatives from 7,341 to 1,353.

The donations were revealed this week with the Electoral Commission's publication of donations in the first quarter of 2005.

The Electoral Commission also published details of a £2,000 private donation to the North Wiltshire Tories by an individual named Rudolph Agnew.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats in North Wiltshire were boosted by two sizeable donations.

The North Wiltshire Liberal Democrat Council group pledged £4,590 to help fight the General Election campaign, while the Wiltshire County Liberal Democrat Group handed over £1,042.

The cash helped bankroll a high-profile campaign in the constituency and funded leaflets and newsletters.

But the money failed to stop James Gray winning back his seat and adding 2,192 to his majority.

The Electoral Commission statistics showed Labour attracted the most money from big donors between January and March.

The party received £9.1m in donations. The Conservatives secured £8.1m and the Liberal Democrats were handed £4.2m.