Labour outspent rivals in election

Labour spent by far the most on advertising

Labour spent far more on its campaign for the Scottish Parliament elections in May than its main rivals, according to new figures.

The party spent almost as much as the Scottish National Party and the Tories combined.

However, Labour returned more MSPs than the total number for the SNP and Tories.

The cost of getting each MSP elected was less for Labour than it was for its main rivals.

Holyrood campaign

The Scottish Labour Party spent £726,832 on the Holyrood campaign, according to figures published by The Electoral Commission.

The SNP spent £478,957 and the Tories £332,404.

Labour's 50 MSPs worked out at £14,536 each, compared to the £17,739 the SNP spent to get each of its 27 MSPs.

The Tories had 18 MSPs elected, which worked out at £18,466 each.

Campaign spending from the Liberal Democrats was disclosed earlier this year when the commission published details of those parties which spent under £250,000 on the Holyrood campaign.

The SNP leader travelled the length of the country

The Lib Dems spent £130,358, which was £7,668 for each of the 17 MSPs returned.

The new figures reveal the different ways in which the main parties spent their money.

The SNP spent £62,287 on party political broadcasts - compared to Labour's £50,382 and the Tories' £29,123.

However, Labour spent massively on advertising - £374,271, compared to the SNP's £140,927 and the Tories' £81,200.

Labour spent least on leaflets and other "unsolicited material to electors".

Theoretical maximum

But it paid out most on market research and canvassing.

The SNP spent most on rallies and other "events".

Parties were allowed to spend £12,000 per constituency contested and £80,000 per region - a theoretical maximum of £1.516 million for fielding candidates in all 73 constituencies and eight regions

The controls applied for four months up to the date of the polls.