UKIP matched the Conservatives almost pound for pound in this year's European election campaign spending and paid out nearly three times as much as Labour, official records show.
Nigel Farage's party registered £2,956,737 of spending in the run-up to European Parliament polls while the Tories racked up a £2,980,815 bill, according to the Electoral Commission.
The Liberal Democrats spent £1,580,575, outdoing the Labour Party, which spent £1,027,339.
Meantime, the SNP spent £267,372 almost triple what it spent in the 2009 campaign of £93,304.
In the spring, Ukip stormed to victory in the poll, knocking the two major Westminster parties off the top spot for the first time.
It gained 27.49 per cent of the vote, with Labour securing 25.40 per cent and the Conservatives 23.93 per cent. The Lib Dems polled just 6.87 per cent and lost all but one of their 12 MEPs.
Ukip's spending has swelled significantly since the 2009 European elections when it recorded £1,270,855 of campaigning.
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