The Scottish National Party (SNP) only received big donations from dead people in a major blow to Humza Yousaf.
Analysis of SNP donation figures shows that the party received just one donation worth £50,000 or more from a living person in the last five years.
The party has become increasingly dependent on bequests left by dead supporters in their wills, receiving 13 sums of this size or more from the will of dead supporters over the same period.
Edinburgh University public policy professor James Mitchell said: “It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the SNP failed to think strategically or take advantage of the opportunity of having a mass membership.
“There seems to have been little preparation for potentially more challenging times.”
An exodus of big-money donors has left the SNP in disarray after the Electoral Commission revealed the party received just £4,000 in the first three months of 2023.
Scottish Labour and the Scottish Liberal Democrats in contrast raked in donations totalling more than £200,000.
SNP has also come under fire for its financial situation in recent years after Police Scotland launched its Operation Branchform probe into money raised to fund a second independence referendum campaign.
Ex-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was among the leading SNP figures to have been arrested and later released pending further enquiries.
The SNP’s financial woes have been made worse by a drop in subscription-paying members and a cut in taxpayer-funded support could soon follow if current opinion polls hold firm at the next election.
Under the leadership of Alex Salmond, the SNP managed to win over several business bigwigs north of the border with upwards of £100,000.
Big auction prizes and cold hard cash also helped fill the party’s coffers.
The SNP logged more than £8.2million in donations from individuals and companies during Salmond’s stint in Bute House.
The figure fell to just £4.1million during the subsequent Sturgeon years.
An SNP spokesperson said: “Unlike the Westminster parties, the people-powered SNP relies on our members’ donations for the vast majority of our income.”
They added: “As the Tory-made cost of living crisis deepens, it’s understandable that some people have less disposable income to spare but we remain confident of returning to surplus in this year’s accounts.”
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