Rotherham MPs' General Election campaign spending revealed

Election expenses forms reveal Labour maintained its policy of markedly outspending other parties’ candidates across the three Rotherham borough seats.

Between them, the 13 candidates sent out more than 341,000 leaflets, postcards and headed letters to voters.

Funding came from politicial party coffers, local party fundraising and donations from supporters.

Mr Healey, Sarah Champion and Kevin Barron clocked up £35,296 in winning the Wentworth and Dearne, Rotherham and Rother Valley seats respectively - more than three times the £10,898 expenses of the other ten candidates combined.

The effect was a larger majority for Ms Champion and Mr Healey, but a reduced one for Mr Barron.

Overall spending was down on previous years, with Ms Champion’s costs this time around dwarfed by the £45,000 she spent on winning the 2012 by-election as rival Jane Collins splashed out an almost equally-hefty £39,600.

The Conservatives got best value for money this time around, with their 43,017 votes costing an average of 15p compared to 48p for Labour.

Claim forms show Mr Healey (pictured right at the election count), had to cover the cost of running his constituency office during the campaign, which included rent, energy bills, £200 on tea, coffee, milk and sugar and even paying the window cleaner.

Mrs Middleton, who stood against Mr Healey for the Liberal Democrats, spent just £129, covering the £79 costs of 2,500 leaflets out of her own pocket, while Rother Valley Lib Dem candidate Katie Pruszynski clocked up a frugal £490 spend and borough councillor Adam Carter spent £793.

UKIP’s biggest spender was Lee Hunter, whose leaflet and Facebook advert-focused campaign cost £1,408, while the party’s group leader on Rotherham Borough Council, Allen Cowles, did not register any expenses at all from his bid to unseat Ms Champion.

Green Party candidate Paul Martin also registered no expenses.

Mr Barron’s closest rival in Rother Valley was Tory Bethan Eddy, who took advantage of UKIP’s falling national profile to build the party’s vote by 17 per cent.

She was backed by 45,000 leaflets and postcards contributing to a £4,658 overall spend, plus a £117 Facebook advert put out on election day.

Mr Barron said: “My campaign was based on trying to speak to as many people as possible - unfortunately this costs money.

“I do sympathise with smaller parties as fundraising was even harder this time due to the short notice period. 

“These returns, however, do not show the whole picture as other parties spent a lot more on national campaigning in Rother Valley, as the people who received numerous letters off Theresa May would vouch for.”

Cllr Carter said: “Unlike the other parties we’re not funded by big unions or big business. We’re funded by local hard-working people who want to get real change in Rotherham.”